EVERYDAY  CHEMISTRY

REQUIREMENTS | RESEARCH PAPER | GRADING | LECTURE TOPICS | LAB REPORTS | LAB SCHEDULE

CHEMISTRY 102   -   FALL 2009

THIS SYLLABUS AS A PDF: CLICK HERE

        Topics for Exam #2        Sample Questions + Answers

Writing Assignment # 3 [Due Nov. 17th]

This course is designed for "non-science" majors in fulfillment of the general education requirement. Although many students have taken one or more chemistry courses before, this course is offered on the presumption that students have had no chemistry background.

The main focus of this course is application of chemical principles to "everyday" life, particularly to areas which affect you on a personal as well as global scale. Since this is not a "hard core" science course, you will learn just enough of the chemical theory and language to approach practical problems from a scientific perspective.

REQUIREMENTS and GRADING.

ATTENDANCE:    Attendance in both lectures and laboratories is mandatory. Absence without sufficient reason from more than THREE lectures or TWO laboratory sessions constitutes grounds for failure.  There is no required text for this course, so all of the material you need to know is presented in the lectures.  There is a non-required supplementary text recommended below.

LABORATORY:    There are 14 laboratory sessions this semester, which include the student presentations (see below). You may be able to make-up a missed laboratory in another section - all Everyday classes perform the same experiment within a week. You must inform your instructor if you anticipate missing a laboratory. Laboratory make-ups are scheduled at the discretion and convenience of the instructor. It is very difficult for you to make up an experiment once the laboratory set up has been taken down.  The student presentations given in the last three laboratory sessions are considered to be "experiments" in the sense that one will receive a grade of ZERO for non-attendance.

EXAMS and WRITING:   There will be 3 in-class exams given at approximately equal intervals during the semester (about every 4 - 5 weeks).  The last exam will be given on the last day of lecture (DEC 10^th, 2009).  These exams will consist of short-answer-type questions and essays.  The writing component of the Freshman Year Experience aspect of the course is fulfilled by a series of 5 writing assignments, which together will count as a fourth lecture exam.  The student will be given an article or essay or some other reference material relevant to the course material and to our "everyday" lives.  The student is asked to submit a written evaluation of or a response to the material based on an assigned question or approach.  These writing assignments will be distributed weekly or biweekly on a Thursday, for submission on the following Tuesday.  Your writing submissions are expected to be logical, concise and grammatical, and of sufficient length to address the assignment.  For help in writing, please refer to the STUDY SKILLS LABORATORY and the WRITING LAB (106 Berkshire Hall, 837-8728) and the new TUTORING RESOURCE CENTER (104 Berkshire Hall, 837-9245).  Note that since you will also be submitting weekly laboratory reports, it would behoove you to hone your writing skills if you feel the need.  I don't expect perfection, but I do look for series effort.

BACK TO TOP

RESEARCH PAPER and PRESENTATION:   There is a term paper requirement for this course.  This is due on the last day of class, DEC 10^th, 2009.  Choose a topic related to chemistry or science in general. Some suggestions are given below.  The paper should be organized, concise grammatical, and include scientific facts. If appropriate, use tables, graphs and illustrations to supplement the text. You must clearly note your reference sources in a footnote or bibliography section. If you do not include references, the grade will be reduced by one full letter grade.  Information copied or paraphrased from the internet is not acceptable reference material, unless it is from a credible source and is duly referenced.  Please do not BUY a term paper - I will refrain from commenting on this anti-intellectual commerce.  Your paper will be evaluated on the aptness of the topic, the understanding of the subject, the thoroughness of the exposition, and the correspondence of the words and sentences to English.  Again, I don't expect perfection, but appreciate an honest effort to fulfill the assignment.

A 15 - 20 minute presentation of your work will be made during one of the last laboratory sessions. The dates are: APR. 30 and MAY 7.  You should inform me of your choice of topic and date as soon as possible (a date, likely the first session, will be assigned to you after APR 9^th).  Each student in each laboratory session must have a different topic, so keep me posted as to your topic possibilities.  Your presentation will be evaluated not only by the instructor, but also by your classmates.  Each person in your audience will fill out a questionnaire addressing various aspects of your talk (e.g., factual content, clarity, audibility, etc.).

TOPIC SUGGESTIONS:

BACK TO TOP

YOUR GRADE:    Every student begins the course with a grade of A.  It is your job to maintain your A grade by working honestly and to the best of your abilities and taking pride in the work you produce.  Your instructor is your primary resource, and is available during office hours (see my schedule) and by appointment at times more convenient to you.

Your final grade will be based on the following:

(1) [50 %] The average of the 4 exams.

(2) [25 %] The average of the 10 written laboratory reports (see below) and the 3 "attendance" reports (see LABORATORY above).

(3) [25 %] A final researched paper covering some area of chemistry or science, or an area related to science.  Please see above for information about the paper.  The due date is DEC 10^th, 2009. Associated with your paper is a 15 - 20 -minute presentation of your research paper to be presented during the last several laboratory periods (see above).

A NOTE ABOUT DEADLINES:  Submitting your course materials on time is good!  Assignments (lab reports, papers, etc.) handed in late will have a 25 % grade reduction to start.  Also, the instructor will approach the grading of these late materials with a definite grudge!

BACK TO TOP

       BACK TO TOP

Experiment handouts will be provided at least one week in advance of the laboratory. A schedule of experiments can be found below. BEFORE BEGINNING AN EXPERIMENT, you are asked to submit at the beginning of the laboratory session an OUTLINE or FLOW CHART or "MAP" of the experiment which you are about to perform. This submission should be your interpretation of the experiment to be done that day in some format. This work will be credited as 25 % of your grade for that particular experiment. If you do not submit this outline or map, you cannot receive more than a 75 % on the laboratory report. It would be useful to have a copy of this sheet for your use during the experiment.

A lab report for each experiment is to be submitted ONE WEEK after completion of the exercise. Although pairs of students will carry out the experiments, the reports are to be independent efforts.  Please write your lab partner's name on your lab report cover sheet.

The laboratory reports should adhere to the following format, which is appropriate for the presentation of scientific material.

LABORATORY REPORT FORMAT:

BACK TO TOP

HOME