NEW syllabus
NEW syllabus
NOTE: The original syllabus is still available HERE if you want to compare then and now. This new syllabus has been updated with NEW information that is now relevant in this shelter at home timeframe. Red text calls out things that have changed. - Dr. McCord
this document is now known as the
CH304K Chemistry in Context I Spring 2020Instructor
office hours: integrated with class zoom meetings
mccord301@cm.utexas.edu
For ALL things pertaining to Zoom Meetings, please check Canvas. We book through Canvas for security reasons. Any booked meeting (class, exams, office hours, reviews, etc...) will be there and will show up on your Canvas Calendar as well.
chembook: Dr. McCord's FREE online textbook. It is not behind a paywall or login page - free and open. The chembook website has the chapters presented in the same order that we will cover them in class. Click the link and then save the bookmark in your browser.
ANY Scientific Calculator: Although a good ol' TI-30Xa is shown here. Now that we are fully online, I really can't police the calculator issue. Just make sure you have a useable calculator that can handle scientific notation numbers and functions. I do not care if it is a graphing calculator or what. Just make sure it is there when you sit for your online exams.
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
This is the same as before the break - we are keeping it the same!
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 quiz average.
| Method 1 | |
|---|---|
| 3-Exam Avg | 65 % |
| Final Exam | 25 % |
| HW Avg | 5 % |
| QZ 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 % |
| QZ Avg | 5 % |
| Method 3 | |
|---|---|
| 4-Exam Avg | 90 % |
| Final Exam | 0 % |
| HW Avg | 5 % |
| QZ Avg | 5 % |
all drops mentioned below will occur on Thursday, 5/7
Dr. McCord will use the HIGHEST score for you using all three methods. You can see these for yourself by inputing your scores into this excel spreadsheet that will calculate your score and letter grade for all three methods.
Note that these are the new, kinder, gentler grade breaks - they are all 3 full points lower than the initial grade breaks.
Course grades will be determined according to the following scale or cut-offs:
| A | ≥ | 90.00 |
| A- | ≥ | 87.00 |
| B+ | ≥ | 84.00 |
| B | ≥ | 80.00 |
| B- | ≥ | 77.00 |
| C+ | ≥ | 74.00 |
| C | ≥ | 70.00 |
| C- | ≥ | 67.00 |
| D+ | ≥ | 64.00 |
| D | ≥ | 60.00 |
| D- | ≥ | 57.00 |
| F | < | 57.00 |
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.
Exam 1 was on site in class. The other regular exams (2-4) will be held on the following class days from 12:30pm - 2:00pm and administered through Canvas. The final exam is as scheduled on the Registrar's website - it will also be on Canvas.
Check for yourself on the Official Registrar's Site - Final Exams - Spring 2020
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 and there are no events that can even take place.
IF, however, you do think you have a situation that requires you to miss the scheduled time, please contact Dr. McCord and/or Jimmy Wadman about the conflict and they will work with you to arrive at a workable solution. Please communicate with us in these difficult times.
All SSD students have already (as of 4/3/20) registered with us their requested accommodations. We can no longer use our physical offices to have you take your exams. For that reason, you will need to communicate with Dr. McCord and Jimmy Wadman about your times available for the canvas exams. They will try to communicate with you to make sure you get your extra time as documented in your SSD letter.
I'm trying to be as brief as possible below on these sections. The more verbose versions are on the original syllabus. Much has changed because exams are online now.
Exam 1 was given in class and was answered via bubblesheet. The remaining exams are all going to be online and administered through Canvas. Watch details about these exams on the website. They are still to be synchronous which means "at the same time" as our class. Login on exam day, fire up the zoom meeting for the exam, and click to start the exam in canvas. You'll have 1.5 hours to complete the exam and then Canvas will shut you out.
The final exam WILL be comprehensive in nature which means that it will cover all the material that we covered throughout the semester. It will be 40 multiple choice questions (10 per unit exam). 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. This year, our final exam is on the very first day of finals: Wednesday 5/13 from 7pm-10pm. So study early and be done with chemistry sooner.
"Class" is now a Zoom Meeting. You should login and try your best to pay attention. We will basically mute all microphone to keep the meeting as quiet as possible. We will keep the chat window open to communicate with Dr. McCord and Jimmy as the meeting proceeds. Dr. McCord will pause at times to look for questions to answer - this is effectively like an office hour. So feel free to bring questions you plan on asking to class.
Work outside the class includes learning via the assigned reading of chembook and other online resources. There are two assignment types outside of class - quizzes and homeworks which are both available in Canvas. The quizzes are always on class days and directly relate to what was covered and done in class that day - anything goes here, meaning the questions might not even be about chemistry. The HWs are out for more like a week to two weeks and 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 QZs and 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. The QZs are one attempts and are due by midnight the day of class. You HAVE to at least submit something on all QZs and HWs 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 HW pdf that I (Dr. McCcord) post on our website - or another students canvas version. I will not post QZ pdfs. 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% and QZs count 5% as well. We will drop at least 2 HW scores for your average and canvas will actually show this overall average correctly. Will do a similar drop with QZs.
Please don't cheat. I'd go on but won't. You're welcome.
NEW: The last day to drop the course is Friday, May 8th, 2020 - which is the last day of classes.. You should be able to do this all online of course.
The new deal for this weird semester is you change your status from a letter grade to pass/fail status AFTER grades come out. The deadline to change grade status is 5/29. Students have different expectations - YOU decide if you want to change that passing letter grade to just a "pass".
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.
Not so relevant now because we are not on campus. 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.