Course Syllabus for Principles of Chemistry I

 

CHEM 1211k – Fall 2007

Waycross College

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Instructor:      Bernard Majdi

 

Office:            170A              

Email: bmajdi@waycross.edu

Webpage: http://www.waycross.edu/faculty/bmajdi/

 

Office Hours: 9:30-10:50 am MWF; 11:00 am – 12:00 pm T, TH; 4:30-5:30 T, TH

Telephone: (912) 285-6138

 

Texts: 

Chem Skill Builder, Version 6.2, by James Spain and Harold Peters

Chemistry Activities packet by Bernard Majdi       

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Chemistry is the study of the properties of matter and how properties change under different conditions, including changes in composition.  The two course sequence, Principles of Chemistry, explores the meaning and implications of that statement.  We will survey a set of topics and principles, and introduce a number of operational skills that, by consensus of the professional chemistry community, have become the standard definition of what is meant by the term ‘general chemistry’.

 

The Units of Study in this first course of the sequence are:

 

Unit 1             Introduction to Chemistry

Unit 2                         Units and Measurement

Unit 3             Chemical nomenclature

Unit 4             Stoichiometry

Unit 5             chemical Reactions

Unit 7             Properties of Gases

Unit 8             Thermochemistry

Unit 9             Atomic Structure

Unit 21           Thermodynamics  

Unit 15           Properties of Solutions

 

COURSE FORMAT AND MATERIALS

 

          The Principles of Chemistry course will be taught in a nontraditional manner. The lecture and laboratory experiences have been integrated, so the course will be taught using a lecture / problem‑solving format.   Instead, the majority of the problem-solving will occur outside of class time, through the use of Chem Skill Builder electronic homework, and students will spend most of class time completing activities that illustrate key principles of chemistry.  Each activity will require a written student response, which will be kept in a three-ring binder portfolio.  The course grade will result from an evaluation of the portfolio according to the point distribution given in the next Section.  All activity worksheets and data, quizzes and exams should be collected and saved in the course portfolio, which will be turned in for evaluation by the instructor at the completion of the course.

 

 

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

 

The grade for the courses will be based on the successful completion of the multiple learning tools employed in the course.  One-fourth of the grade will be based on the successful completion of the assigned Chem Skill Builder activities.  Another fourth of the grade will result from an evaluation of the activities contained in the student portfolio.  One fourth of the grade will be determined from the scores received on the weekly quizzes, and one fourth of the grade will result from unit examinations and the final exam.

 

Activity                                              Points

 

Weekly Quizzes                               200

Chem Skill Builder                          200

Activities                                            200

Exams                                                150

Total                                                   850 Points

 

 

Please note that it is much more important to be successfully completing weekly quizzes and assignments (25% of the total grade) than to focus on exam scores (17% of the total).  This evaluation rubric has been deliberately constructed to encourage continual, daily understanding of the material and to discourage ‘cramming’ for exams.  Also note that the final exam is worth approximately 8% of the total grade, and therefore a student should not count on a strong final exam score to over-compensate for a history of poor classroom performance.

 

 

 

Final grades will be based on a scale that will not more stringent than the traditional formula:

 

90 ‑ 100%     A

80 ‑ 89 %      B

70 ‑ 79%       C

60 ‑ 69 %      D

below 60%    F

 

However, the grading scale may be adjusted to the benefit of the student, so that a higher final grade may be assigned for a percentage score that falls below these cut-off values.

 

 

OTHER INFORMATION

 

1.                  No student will successfully pass the course without taking the final exam.

 

2.                  I reserve the right to adjust a student's percentage on any chosen grading scale by +/‑ 2% based on attitude and behavior.  If an adjustment is made, the student will be informed of the adjustment and reasons will be given for the adjustment in writing, citing specific facts and instances that justify the change.

 

3.                  Because of the nature of the instructional method, it is very important to attend class every day.  It may be possible to make up missed activities, but that option is not guaranteed.  That includes unit exams, whether they are administered in class or at the Academic Support Center.

 

4.                  Waycross College has a stated policy that ‘students who have missed 20% of regularly scheduled class meetings may be dropped by the instructor and assigned a grade of WF.  If such excessive absences are the result of extenuating personal hardship, the withdrawal grade will be either a W or WF, depending on the student's status at the time the drop occurred.’  I will record daily attendance and  I will withdraw a student with excessive absences.

 

5.               Much of the work performed in class will be collaborative, however cheating on quizzes or exams will not be tolerated.  A student caught cheating will be given a grade of F for the course.

 

ADA Statement

 

"In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Waycross College will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Students must self disclose their documented disability to the Student Disability Office (Merry Trammell) before academic accommodations can be implemented.”

 

Dropping a Course Without Penalty

 

In order to officially drop a course without penalty, a student must obtain and fill out a drop/add form from the Registrar's Office, acquire appropriate signatures, and return the completed form to the Registrar's Office before the designated date published in the academic calendar in the Waycross College Catalog (October,11, 2007)

 

Academic Support Center

 

The Academic Support Center (ASC) was created to offer supplemental assistance to students enrolled in all courses at the College.  The ASC offers a variety of services at all levels, ranging from personal tutoring in math, reading, and composition skills to providing handouts and supplementary materials on writing research papers and critiques, taking essay and objective tests, and developing effective study techniques.

 

Through audiovisual, computerized, self‑paced, and one‑to‑one tutorial work, the ASC assists students in developing strengths and eliminating deficiencies.  Students may be referred by instructors or may independently seek additional help.

 

Plagiarism

 

Plagiarism, intentional or unintentional, is prohibited.  Plagiarism is defined by Webster as the stealing and passing off of ideas or words of another as one's own.  Further, the MLA Handbook states, "Plagiarism may take the form of repeating another's sentences as your own, adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own, or even presenting someone else's line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it were your own."

 

For further information about plagiarism, see Lester, Writing Research Papers, pp. 107‑111.  Alleged violations involving plagiarism and other academic misconduct will be handled according to the procedures outlined in the Waycross College Student Handbook.