SYLLABUS FOR CHEMISTRY 1A – SPRING 2008

Section 57009 

Instructor:       Veronica Cornel     

Contact info:   e-mail vmcornel@scccd.org (using “Chem1A” as the subject or I will delete it) or leave message at the front desk or on my voicemail (559) 638-3641 ext. 3449

Website: http://blackboard.reedleycollege.edu

Office Hours: 10-11am MWF in PHY81

Course Objectives: Chemistry 1A is an general course in chemistry designed not only for chemistry majors, but also for biology, physics, chemical engineering, pre-medical and pre-pharmacy majors.  As a prerequisite students need to have passed CHEM10, or High School chemistry, with at least a C grade as well as basic algebra (Math 101).

Textbook:          Nivaldo J. Tro: Chemistry: A Molecular Approach (same as Fresno City College)

Lab Manual:      Dekker: Quantitative and Qualitative Laboratory Experiments BOOK A  (not BOOK B)

Other Supplies:  A calculator is required (needs exponents and logs)

                           Approved safety goggles, lab coat and closed shoes (First two available for rent for $3 and $5 respectively)

Lecture Notes: Download from my Blackboard website prior to class and fill in the notes during class. Homework is assigned at the end of the notes and is due the next lecture period. Studies have shown that 90% of the lecture material is retained if you review the lecture within 24 hours.

Homework: Homework will be assigned every lecture, collected at the beginning of the following lecture and a few problems graded. It is essential to your success in this class that you do all the assigned homework and read the relevant sections in your textbook. This is to ensure that you work consistently and can apply what you learn to problems. There will be no make-up homework assignments, but I will drop the lowest two homework assignments. Do not do your homework with somebody else. You only learn by doing the homework problems for yourself. You can ask another student or tutor to help you with some problems, but you need to work them out for yourself. If two students hand in identical homework, I will deduct points from both students! Even if you get all the problems wrong, you will still get 70% for the assignment for attempting all the problems yourself, and you will learn where you are going wrong when I go over the homework. If you can’t attend the lecture, give your homework to me or to switchboard prior to the class period they are due. .

Attendance: Attendance in lectures and lab is mandatory. The student will be dropped automatically if she/he misses 4 consecutive lectures without contacting the instructor. If you miss a lecture you need to obtain the notes to fill in from another student and read the section in the textbook before meeting with the instructor/tutor to discuss any problems. As an incentive to attend lectures, an additional two homework assignments will be dropped at the end of the semester if a student attends 90% of the lectures. If a student is disruptive (including using cell-phones, interrupting the instructor continuously) they may be asked to leave the lecture/lab and recorded as "absent".

Drop Date: The last day to drop this class is Friday March 7, 2008. After this date a grade will be assigned.

Change to Pass/No Pass: The last day to make this change is Friday, February 8, 2008

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday, January 21. No classes held

Washington Day: Monday February 18. No classes held

Spring Break: March 17-21

Final Exam Date: Monday, May 12, 9:00-11:00. Not cumulative except for nomenclature and mole calculations.

Grading : There will be 4 lecture exams, equally weighted and counting towards 65% of your grade. The final exam will be mainly on the last few weeks of material, but will include questions similar to those on the earlier 3 exams. Homework will count 10% and your lab work will count 25% (12.5% lab reports and 12.5% lab quizzes)

General Grading break-off : A 90-100%, B 80-89%, C 70-79%, D 60-69%, F 0-59%

Tutoring: Free tutoring is available at the Tutorial Center at the Library

Please be aware of the following rules:

• Tardiness, leaving early, or sleeping during lectures will result in a partial or full absence being recorded. Students need to sign the sign-in sheet within the first 10 minutes of class.
• Fraudulent behavior during exams is graded with a (0) zero.
• Copying of homework, experimental data, and lab reports is considered fraudulent behavior for both the copier and the originator. DO NOT HAND IN IDENTICAL HOMEWORK.
• No homework may be handed in after I have gone over it in class.  No alternative homework will be given. I will drop the lowest two homework assignments though.
• No extra credit will be given. You need to work consistently from the beginning.
• Please turn your cell phones onto “silent buzzer” mode during lectures so as not to disturb the class. No cell phones or i-pods will be allowed during exams.

LABS

• Safety glasses need to be worn whenever somebody near you is conducting an experiment.
• No experiments may be conducted without the instructor or teaching assistant present
• No horseplay or unauthorized experiments. Do not taste any chemical or smell any chemical directly.
• Dangerous behavior in the lab will result in the student being asked to leave the lab.
• No visitors inside the lab. You need to go outside to meet with them.
• No food or drinks allowed.
• Backpacks should not be left on the floor where others can trip over them.
• Closed shoes and lab coats must be worn in the lab at all times.
• Long hair should be tied back so it will not fall into chemicals or flames.
• If any accident occurs in the lab, inform your instructor and follow safety procedures. (To be discussed during first lab period)
• Clean up any spills promptly (Clean-up procedures will be discussed during first lab period)
• Do not point the open end of a test tube towards anybody
• Turn off flames when working with organic solvents. Dispose of them in waste bottles in the fume hood, not down the sink.
• At the beginning of each lab your instructor will inform you of any special safety precautions and how to dispose of used chemicals. You need to be on time for the lab so that you hear these instructions.
• Do not dispose of matches, paper or solid chemicals in the sink. Use the large evaporating dishes or sand bucket for spent matches.
• Put broken glassware in the “broken glassware box”, not in the trash.
• Before leaving the lab, wipe the desktop and wash your hands with soap and water.

If you have a verified need for an academic accommodation (especially in labs) or materials in alternate media (i.e., Braille, large print, electronic text, etc.) per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, please contact me as soon as possible.

CHEM 1A Spring 2008

	Date	Lab
T	Jan 8	Unit 1: Introduction to Laboratory Safety, and Inventory Check-in
Th	Jan 10	Unit 2: Mixtures and Pure Substances
T	Jan 15	Unit 3: Measurement
Th	Jan 17	Unit 4: Gravimetric Analysis
T	Jan 22	Nomenclature
Th	Jan 24	Lab Quiz 1
T	Jan 29	Unit 5: Double Displacement Reactions
Th	Jan 31	Lecture Exam 1
T	Feb 5	Unit 7: The Mole
Th	Feb 7	Unit 8: The Formula of a Hydrate
T	Feb 12	Unit 9: Stoichiometry
Th	Feb 14	Unit 10: Alum Crystallization.  Recycling Aluminum Cans
T	Feb 19	Unit 11: Properties of Solutions
Th	Feb 21	Lab Quiz 2
T	Feb 26	Unit 16: Formation of a Simple Salt and Complex Ions
Th	Feb 28	Lecture Exam 2
T	Mar 4	Unit 15: Redox Reactions- The Burning of Magnesium
Th	Mar 6	Unit 21: Charles's Law
Fri	Mar 7	Last Day to drop class to get a “W”
T	Mar 11	Unit 22: Molecular Mass of a Volatile Liquid
Th	Mar 13	Unit 23: Atomic Mass of an Unknown Divalent Metal
	Mar 17-21	Spring Break
T	Mar 25	Unit 27: Heat Flow, Calorimetry
Th	Mar 27	Unit 13: Acids and Bases
T	Apr 1	Unit 14: Buffers and Antacids
Th	Apr 3	Lab Quiz 3
T	Apr 8	Unit 17: Percent Iron (II) in an Unknown
Th	Apr 10	Lecture Exam 3
T	Apr 15	Unit 18: Color and Action of Bleach
Th	Apr 17	Unit 19: Vitamin C in Fruit Juices
T	Apr 22	Unit 30: Freezing Point Depression
Th	Apr 24	Unit 24: Preparation and Properties of Oxygen Gas
T	Apr 29	Unit 28: Molecular Geometry Part 1
Th	May 1	Unit 28: Molecular Geometry Part 2
T	May 6	Unit 29: Polarity Parts 2 and 3
Th	May 8	Lab Quiz 4
M	May 12	Final Exam 9:00-10:50 in PHY 82