CHM112-102, Fall 2007Dr. Miroslav Rezac

ElginCommunity College

CHM112, Section 102 / Fall 2007

Instructor: Dr. Miroslav Rezac

Office:Room MSC 226

Office Hours:MTuWTh 11:45AM – 1:00PM; TuTh 5:00PM – 7:00PM, F 9:00-10:00AM and by appointment

Office Phone:(847) 214-7320

Email:(best way to contact me)

Web Page:faculty.elgin.edu/mrezac (course materials available online)

This course consists of lectures and laboratory assignments: 5 credit hours

Lectures:MW1:00PM –2:40PM, Room MSC 214

Laboratory:Tu1:00PM – 2:40PM, Room MSC 209

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in MTH 098 or appropriate placement test score This course is designed as an introductory chemistry course for students preparing for nursing and other health professions programs. Topics covered include measurements; states, compositions, and properties of matter; atomic structure and chemical bonding; chemical reactions, chemical equations and calculations of formula mass and moles; solutions; acid-base equilibria and nuclear chemistry.

TIME COMMITMENT: Expect to spend about 7 hours a week working at home, in addition to class/lab time.

TEXT (required):

  • General, Organic and Biological Chemistry, 4th Edition (2006), by H. Stephen Stoker, Publ. Houghton Mifflin
  • Lab Outlines for CHM112, by Neidig, Publ. International Thomson Publishers

TENTATIVE EXAM SCHEDULE

The schedule below is tentative and may be modified as needed. Keep a date before and date immediately after a scheduled exam free from all commitments in case of re-scheduling. Also, on exam days plan you arrival on campus to account for any unforeseen circumstances, e.g. lack of parking or a traffic jam.

Exam # / Date
1 / 19-Sep
2 / 17-Oct
3 / 7-Nov
4 / 5-Dec
Final / 12-Dec

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: ECC is committed to supporting persons with disabilities. The college is dedicated to creating an accessible environment for all students, employees, and visitors. If you need an accommodation, please read “Requesting Accommodations” in the College Catalog. Reasonable accommodations are designed to support the documented disability. They are determined on an individual basis; therefore, not all accommodations are appropriate for every student. For details, please see the appropriate chapter in the College Catalog and talk to ADA Coordinator at 847-214-7220. Please notify me no later than the end of first week of classes if you are requesting any accommodations.

ATTENDANCE: You are responsible for any information, including, but not limited to, announcements, handouts, assignments and course material, provided during your class. You are expected to take notes in such a manner that you can study from them. Should you miss a lecture, you will be responsible for obtaining lecture notes and other information from other students in your course. While your textbook is a very good guide, ultimately the material covered in the classroom, together with any assignments, will determine the contents of your exam. My lecture notes are not publish-ready and will not be provided. Missed material is your responsibility and I cannot be expected to re-lecture the topic.

You are required to attend 80% of lectures; you do not have to provide excuse for absence. However, if you score 85% or more on your first semester exam, this requirement will be waived. This privilege will be revoked for the rest of the semester should any of your subsequent exams not meet the 85% cut-off. Failure to maintain required minimum attendance may result in issuance of a failing grade.

Unless a class is formally canceled by the college, any activity will occur as scheduled.

TARDINESS: It is important that you stay until the end of the class. Beginning and end of the class is time when announcements are made, handouts given, homework assigned. If you are late or leave early, it is your responsibility to check with your classmates what you missed. Late arrivals and early departures are extremely disruptive and frequent or habitual tardiness will not be tolerated.

CONDUCT: As adults, you are expected to be respectful of yourself, of your instructors and of each other. Any behavior violating college policies or applicable laws will not be tolerated. Additionally, you are expected to refrain from any activity, which is disruptive to the class: making loud noises, leaving or entering the classroom, asking questions unrelated to the topic all can be extremely distracting; please be mindful of your colleagues. Please plan ahead and use the rest room and stock up on snacks and beverages prior to the lecture. I encourage students to ask questions, make relevant comments and give feedback. However, I reserve the right to limit classroom discussion should it ever begin negatively impact the lecture.

PAGERS AND CELL PHONES: All wireless – and any other noise generating devices must be silenced during lectures and labs. Should an emergency require you having your phone or pager on, it must be set in “vibrate” mode. Additionally, the instructor must be notified of this situation before the instruction begins. Use of all communication devices during exams is strictly prohibited. This includes use of the calculator feature of your cell phone. Violation of this rule will result in penalties up to and including a failing grade for the course.

PREPARATION FOR THE CLASS: You are expected to read your textbook and/or handouts ahead of time. That will give you a jump-start on the classroom material. Expect to spend each weak on your preparation at home at least the same amount of time you spend in lecture/lab. While in the class you are expected to take notes, respond to questions and work on assignments as directed.

HOMEWORKS: Due dates will be given when homework is assigned. Late homework assignments will not be accepted. While homework assignments are worth some credit towards your final grade, please consider them a service to you – you may consider them a “dry run” for your exams. Any and all homework assignments are to be submitted stapled, with your name in block letters appearing in the top right corner of the front page. You will use only black or blue pen or pencil.

CALCULATORS: You will need a scientific calculator with exponential and logarithmic functions available. You need to have this calculator with you for the class. Graphing and/or programmable calculators are not to be used for exams. For the exams, please use the same calculator you used for your classroom and home work; it is crucial you “get used to it”.

EXAMS: Four mandatory exams are scheduled during semester. There is one cumulative final exam. The worst of your semester exam scores will be dropped. However, you MUST take the final.

As the exam schedule is tentative, it is your responsibility to verify any exam schedule changes if you miss a lecture and thus any possible announcement. Exams are limited to 1 hour 30 minutes, as speed is part of knowledge.

Each person will be allowed only ONE make-up of a semester exam, for serious, documented reasons beyond your control, provided I am notified before the exam time and the make-up exam is taken within 3 business days after the scheduled exam. This deadline may be extended, at my discretion, should your circumstances warrant. There are no make-ups of the final exam and you will receive a grade reflecting “0” for your final if you miss it. Except for the waiver above, no semester exam can be substituted for a final. At my discretion, for an exceptionally serious and documented reason, I may allow you to take the final during the following semester and submit a grade correction form, if warranted.

Flat tire excuse: Automotive problems are not considered serious. Give yourself ample time, keeping in mind traffic conditions, plan plenty of time to find parking. If an excuse for make-up exam is a flat tire and similar, this will count to your once-per-semester allowance. Additionally, you will have only 24 hours to complete make-up exam.

You are responsible for having pens and/or scratch paper for exams. You will use only black or blue pen or pencil.

While late arrival for a lecture is a nuisance, it is absolutely unacceptable at an exam: you interrupt thoughts of all your classmates. Should you be more than five minutes late, you will be allowed to work only as long as at least one of your classmates is still working on their exam.

Completed exam must be turned in to the instructor before you leave the room. Graded examinations will be given to you for an in-classroom review; it must be returned to the instructor. Failure to comply with either requirement will result in 0 points for the exam in question.

All make-up examinations must be scheduled and authorized by me and will be taken at the TestingCenter at SRC-108. You will need a photo ID.

All semester exams will be permanently returned to you before the classes end, however you are required to keep the graded exams until the final grades are issued. Should any dispute arise, failure to present a graded exam to the instructor will imply 0 points received for the exam in question. Your final will not be returned. It will be available for your inspection during office hours the following semester.

I will not be answering your questions regarding lecture material within 1 hour of any of your exams.

GRADING: Your final grade will reflect the composite of your semester exams, final, homeworks. The % weight for each source is shown below. For each source (1-5), take your total, divide by maximum possible, and multiply by respective multiplicator. Thus obtained results for all 5 sources will be added up and result rounded to one place right of the decimal to provide your grand total. There is no extra credit.

SOURCE / PERCENT CONTRIBUTION / Multiplicator / Possible range
1 / Semester exams / 55% / 55 / 0 to 55
2 / Final Exam / 20% / 20 / 0 to 20
3 / Labs / 15% / 15 / 0 to 15
4 / Homeworks / 5% / 5 / 0 to 5
5 / Quizzes / 5% / 5 / 0 to 5

FINAL LETTER GRADE will be determined from your grand total as follows:

GRADE / GRANDTOTALRANGE
A / >90.0
B / 80.0-89.9
C / 70.0-79.9
D / 60.0-69.9
E / <59.9

Please evaluate yourself prudently as the class progresses. Study regularly and if you don’t understand a topic, deal with it fast. The single worst problem between you and a good grade is a poorly understood material accumulated over many weeks. If you need regular help, consider walk-in or scheduled tutoring available in SRC-108.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY: It is your responsibility and yours alone to verify a withdrawal deadline, up to which you can withdraw without grade penalty, and actually withdraw, if you chose to do so. I cannot withdraw anyone past the deadline date and should a major emergency warrant your withdrawal at a later date, please contact registration for advice.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: You are to present your original, independent work when claiming credit. Academic misconduct can have many forms. The most common include: copying someone else’s answers or data, using cheat sheets, presenting someone else’s work as your own, altering graded exam answers to claim regrade, obtaining past papers and exams, using lies for excuse and so forth. The penalty for cheating of any kind will result in failure for that particular assignment and up to and including a failing grade for the whole course. If unclear about difference between collaboration versus cheating, ask the instructor.

SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND SMALL PRINT: Should any rule described herein conflict with a college policy, the latter will prevail. However, all remaining rules remain in full force. Any decisions rendered during an appeal process will impact only the particular case under review, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Waiving of any rule will be considered strictly on case by case basis and no potential waiver will be precedent setting. While reasonable care will be taken to provide accurate feedback and final grade submission, any semester grade reports are provided without guarantee. Further, should any errors be discovered, final grades are subject to change within the timeframe specified by ECC’s policy.

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LAB RULES

Due to the unique nature of laboratory work there are some specific requirements.

  1. You must wear pair of goggles/safety glasses at all times.
  2. Failure to wear goggles or to follow safety precautions will result in you being asked to leave the lab and getting zero for that lab.
  3. Reckless conduct, intentional violation or refusal to comply with any safety requirement will result in you not being allowed into the lab for the remainder of the semester (losing lab points).
  4. Conducting unauthorized experiments will result in a failing grade.
  1. You will attend all labs regardless of your grade.
  2. The lab must be read in advance and the pre-lab preparation must be shown to the instructor before work can proceed.
  3. You are expected to understand the work to be done. Any substantial confusion about the experiment will be interpreted as lack of preparation. For the sake of safety, the instructor will ask any unprepared student to leave.
  4. You must leave your bench clean and inspected, any data must be signed by the instructor
  5. Pre-Laboratory Assignment is due at the beginning of a lab before you commence work.
  6. Data Sheet and Post-Laboratory Assignment are to be turned in one week laterat the beginning of scheduled lab period. I reserve the right not to accept any late assignments.
  7. You will use only black or blue pen or pencil.
  8. You are allowed to miss one lab for serious documented reason. You will lose points for that lab; there will be no make-up labs. Missing more than one lab may constitute grounds for issuance of a failing grade.
  9. Tardiness will not be tolerated: I give instruction before work proceeds and missing them can jeopardize your safety. For every minute you are late, two points will be subtracted from your grade for that particular lab.

Grading and evaluation:

Each lab will be grades as follows:

SOURCE / POINTS
Pre Lab Assignments and Quizzes / 30
Data Sheets and/or Lab Report / 30
Post Lab Assignments / 20
Attendance and Performance / 20
Total for each lab / 100

Your worst lab of the semester will be dropped (if you miss a lab, this will become the dropped one…). There may be a lab exam at your checkout lab: it will be worth 100 points just like a regular lab but it cannot be dropped. Lab point average will be computed from your non-dropped labs and your lab exam and this will contribute 15% to your final course grade.

Tentative Lecture Schedule

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