syllabus
syllabus
CH304K will cover the following subjects which will be divided into four exams (or units). Each exam/unit of coverage will have a corresponding in-class exam to go with it. Each exam will correspond to one or two chapters from Dr. McCord's online eBook - "Chembook - Chemistry (somewhat) in Context".
1 - Fundamentals of Chemistry
2 - Atmosphere, Air, and Gases
3 - Radiation & Atomic Theory
4 - Bonding and Energy Transfer
5 - Fossil Fuels and Thermodynamics
please note that chapters 0 (stuff you already know) and 1 (fundamentals of chemistry) will always be "in play" on all exams
chembook: Dr. McCord is frantically writing this book as we speak. Supposedly, all of our course topics are covered via this FREE online eBook. The chembook site has chapters presented in the same order that we will cover them in class. Dr. McCord will try his best to "stay ahead" of the class. Realize though that you can't simply jump ahead and see content. This is a brand new thing - it should be good (cough).
gchem website: This is the online eBook that Dr. McCord designed and wrote with the help of Dr. LaBrake and Dr. Vanden Bout beginning in 2011. It is the website/book that we use to teach our majors courses of CH301 and CH302. Besides the written content, there are hundreds of videos available via throughout all the chapters. Some videos are for "big picture" concepts while others are for specific problem solving skills. It is free.
OpenStax eBook: Rice University has dozens of open source eBooks that were created for teaching. Here is a link to their second edition "Chemistry" eBook. Browse the table of contents to find the right chapters. Plus, Dr. McCord will put directly links to OpenStax in his Chembook site.
iClicker REEF Polling Software: We are using iClicker REEF software as our in-class response system. Each student will need to set up an account and have a smart device (phone, laptop, tablet, etc.). You will need to bring your wifi enabled device to each and every class in order to obtain points for the "REEF" portion of your grade. We will not be using the iclicker remote which is a separate, more expensive product - only the app will be used. The app is free on the App Store and is named "iClicker Reef". Download it and follow the appropriate directions to sign up and register for this class. There is even a help page on this right here: Sign Up for iClicker REEF. Please read through this whole page before you sign up and purchase your subscription.
Scientific Calculator: We will only allow simple scientific calculators for our exams. No programmable or graphing calculators will be accepted. The TI-30Xa is the best calculator for this job and is only about $10 dollars. Plan on using it for homework as well as your exams.
We will use three methods to calculate your overall score in the course. Your official score will be the highest score of the three methods. Each method uses various scenarios of your exams scores, final exam score, homework average, and reef average.
| Method 1 | |
|---|---|
| 3-Exam Avg | 65 % |
| Final Exam | 25 % |
| HW Avg | 5 % | Reef Avg | 5 % |
Note that Method 1 is the only method that Canvas knows about and calculates for you.
| Method 2 | |
|---|---|
| 3-Exam Avg | 40 % |
| Final Exam | 50 % |
| HW Avg | 5 % | Reef Avg | 5 % |
| Method 3 | |
|---|---|
| 4-Exam Avg | 90 % |
| Final Exam | 0 % |
| HW Avg | 5 % | Reef Avg | 5 % |
3-Exam Avg is your average of your three highest exams - allowing you to drop your lowest exam in your average. 4-Exam Avg is all four exams averaged with no drops. Please note that only method 1 will be what canvas shows for your score. Dr. McCord will also calculate method 2 and method 3 in his gradebook.
Course grades will be determined according to the following scale or cut-offs:
| A | ≥ | 93.00 |
| A- | ≥ | 90.00 |
| B+ | ≥ | 87.00 |
| B | ≥ | 83.00 |
| B- | ≥ | 80.00 |
| C+ | ≥ | 77.00 |
| C | ≥ | 73.00 |
| C- | ≥ | 70.00 |
| D+ | ≥ | 67.00 |
| D | ≥ | 63.00 |
| D- | ≥ | 60.00 |
| F | < | 60.00 |
Your score is calculated to the nearest 1/100th - that's 2 places PAST the decimal. So the only digit that is rounded "up" is the 1/1000th's digit.
The four regular semester class exams will be held on the following class days from 2pm - 2:50pm. The final exam is as scheduled on the Registrar's website.
Note the final exam room is not our regular classroom - it is the adjacent room (next door).
Check for yourself on the Official Registrar's Site - Final Exams - Fall 2019
Look up your actual Final Exam time and room: Final Exam Look UP
There should be very few conflicts with the exam times, since they are given during your regularly scheduled class time. There are certain circumstances that create a conflict of schedule and we will try to accommodate you:
We do not offer any other alternate exam periods for other reasons. If you fit one of the above conflicts, please contact the Chemistry Student Services Office (BIO 4.04, 512-471-1567) for help in scheduling your exam.
Please reschedule ALL exams that you will have a time conflict with for the entire semester.
If you are a student registered with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities and receive special accommodations for your exams, the Chemistry Student Services Office (BIO 404) is equipped with a limited number of seats in a reduced distraction environment for the administration of exams. Please submit your SSD letter to them.
Please go to this online sign-up page and reserve your time for accommodated exams for this course. You may contact Chemistry Student Services (512-471-1567) with any questions related to setting up SSD accommodations for a chemistry class. If you want to handle this in person, go to BIO 404 and the folks there will get you set up. If you have questions and prefer email, send your questions to undergraduates@cm.utexas.edu with any questions, and someone will answer them as soon as possible.
Reschedule ALL exams that will require accommodations.
Four examinations will be given during the semester. Each of the exams will be around 20-25 questions that are all multiple-choice questions. The number of choices of choices will vary anywhere from 2 up to 10 choices. Each student will turn in their exam copy, scratch paper, and a bubblesheet (an answer sheet that will be scanned and graded). Exam scores and full solution keys will be available on our Canvas site (eventually). Dr. McCord is building and creating his own scrambled exams. Scrambled means that each student will get a unique version of the exam. Think of an exam as a deck of questions where we shuffle the deck of questions and we also shuffle the answers. Very important for each and every student to bubble in correctly the version number of the exam they have.
The final exam WILL be comprehensive and mandatory. No longer mandatory because of "Method 3" in the grading scheme. None-the-less, if like most students, you chose to take the final - it will cover all the material that we covered throughout the semester. It will be around 40 to 50 multiple choice questions. The final exam will either be counted as 0%, 25%, or 50% of your overall grade - depending on which method gives you the highest score. Unfortunately, the final exam schedule is set by the registrar's office and cannot be changed.
You should stay fully engaged in class. Opportunities to test your prior knowledge, your progress on the learning curve, and your mastery of chemical principles will be given in class using our in-class polling system (Reef). It is very important that you remember to bring your "device" so that you can answer questions and get credit this way. We use technology (your cell phone, laptop, or other wifi-enabled device) to facilitate this in-class polling, but be sure not to let your device get in the way of your engagement in the class! Practice the skill of being fully involved in the present - keep your device closed or face-down on your desk when not using it to enter your answer to the polling questions. The score from the polling questions will be 5% of your overall score.
Work outside the class includes learning via the assigned reading of chembook and other online resources. We also have assigned homework (HW) in canvas. The HWs are designed to help you test your knowledge of various concepts for the course well before the exam date. Both quantitative (calculations) and qualitative (conceptual) questions will be on the HWs. The HWs are a great way to test yourself as we move through the material. Some questions are easy while others will be much harder and push you to develop more sophisticated problem-solving skills (remember that QR flag?).
Canvas Policy on HW All HW assignments will be allowed three attempts max on canvas. Once the due date and time arrives, the assignment will close permanently and not reopen. Please please please at least submit something on all HW so that you will have access after the due date. If you do get locked out of the HW after the due date, then study off the pdf that I (Dr. McCcord) post on our website - or another students canvas version. We will not reopen assignments for those that didn't at least open and attempt a submission. Remember, in all 3 methods of grading, HW counts 5% of your overall score. We will drop at least 2 HW scores for your average and canvas will actually show this overall average correctly.
Be sure and bring your approved non-programmable, non-graphing calculator (TI-30Xa) to the exam. We cannot provide calculators. You CANNOT use your cell phone or any other device as your calculator. Each student will receive a unique exam copy with a specific version number on it. There is a different exam version for every student in the class; no two students can have the same version numbers (it is impossible). When you finish the exam you will turn in your fully filled out bubblesheet with your answers. We will only grade what you bubble in and nothing else. So even if you circled the right answer on your exam copy, we will grade what you bubbled in. So bubble carefully and double check your bubbling. This is a pretty low-level skill that even elementary school students can do - so college-level students should also be able to as well.
So we keep your bubblesheet and you get to keep your exam copy and any scratch paper. I will make the KEY to all exams available immediately after the exam on our website - just click, type in your version number, and you'll see the answer key for your exam. This way, you'll have a pretty good idea of your score assuming you bubbled in correctly.
You CANNOT make-up a missed exam for ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. If you have a University approved conflict that requires rescheduling an exam, you must notify the instructor within the first 2 weeks of the course. You get to drop one exam score from your overall average, so for whatever reason you miss, that particular exam score (a zero) will be your dropped exam.
If you get caught cheating in any way, whatsoever, you will have to discuss the situation with us. We will arrive at a penalty and write up a formal report. The minimum penalty for cheating is receiving a 0 on the assignment on which you cheated. In this class, in addition to all the traditional types of cheating (looking at someone else's answer, utilizing "cheat sheets" of any form or fashion – paper or digitized, getting an advance copy of an exam or quiz), we also consider allowing someone else to enter answers in class with your phone or tablet cheating. For example, if you send your iPhone to class with another class mate or an individual who is not you and you are caught, you and your accomplice will be penalized. If you deny the allegation, we will proceed by filing a formal report to the Judicial Services in the Dean of Students Office as is policy. Judicial Services will decide the final penalty after a hearing on the matter. For more information, read in the General Information Catalog about scholastic dishonesty (i.e. cheating).
The last day to drop the course (or switch to pass/fail) is Thursday, October 31, 2019 (ooh... scary). This will require you to go to your college and get a drop form. Before the deadline, you can finish the drop procedure by yourself. After the deadline, students must go to the Dean's office, WCH 2.112, to begin the appeal for substantiated non-academic reasons.
Please notify me of any modification/adaptation you may require to accommodate a disability-related need. You will be requested to provide documentation to the Dean of Students' Office, in order that the most appropriate accommodations can be determined. Specialized services are available on campus through Services for Students with Disabilities. The official wording is this: The University of Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-6441 TTY or Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 512-471-6259, http://diversity.utexas.edu/disability/
Religious holy days sometimes conflict with class and examination schedules. It is the policy of The University of Texas at Austin that the student must notify each instructor at least fourteen days prior to the classes scheduled on dates he or she will be absent to observe a religious holy day. For religious holidays that fall within the first two weeks of the semester, the notice should be given on the first day of the semester. The student may not be penalized for these excused absences but the instructor may appropriately respond if the student fails to complete satisfactorily the missed assignment or examination within a reasonable time after the excused absence.
Occupants of buildings on The University of Texas at Austin campus are required to evacuate buildings when a fire alarm is activated. Alarm activation or announcement requires exiting and assembling outside. Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of each classroom and building you may occupy. Remember that the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when entering the building. Students requiring assistance in evacuation shall inform their instructor in writing during the first week of class. In the event of an evacuation, follow the instruction of faculty or class instructors.
Do not re-enter a building unless given instructions by the following: Austin Fire Department, The University of Texas at Austin Police Department, or Fire Prevention Services office. Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL): 512-232-5050
This course carries the Quantitative Reasoning flag. Quantitative Reasoning courses are designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for understanding the types of quantitative arguments you will regularly encounter in your adult and professional life. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your use of quantitative skills to analyze real-world problems.
This course may be used to fulfill three hours of the natural science and technology (Part I or Part II) component of the university core curriculum and addresses the following four core objectives established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: communication skills, critical thinking skills, teamwork, and empirical and quantitative skills.
Students will work in class, on homework and on exams to apply scientific model to explain empirical data as well as to use models to predict physical and chemical change. Students will be able to connect mathematical formulas and graphical representations to communicate scientific concepts.
Students are presented with many opportunities to use critical thinking skills to solve problems both in class via clicker response system and on graded homework assignments. These skills are assessed on the exams.
Students work in small groups in class on guided group activities designed to help the student come to a deeper understanding of the content and to "discover" chemical principles via the process of inquiry. Outside of class students are encouraged to continue working in groups on better understand homework assignments.
Students are required to calculate answers based on their understanding of scientific laws and derived equations. These methods include skills in manipulating units, understanding and applying the concept of ratios, proportionality, rearranging algebraically to solve for a specified unknown, understanding and applying rates of change, interpreting equations using physical models. These skills are assessed on the exams.