301N
S22
301N
S22
Instructor
office hours: see homepage to website
mccord301n@cm.utexas.edu
Teaching Assistant
office hours: see homepage to website
shelbydevin@utexas.edu
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.
Scientific Calculator: Although a good ol' TI-30Xa is shown here, you can use any decent scientific calculator. Make sure you know how to use it - especially how to punch in and handle scientific notation, exponents, and log functions. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide are givens. You will use this calculator for both in-class work, homework, and exams.
Here is a whole page on approved calculators for the course.
CH301N will cover the following subjects which will be divided into four units or modules. Each unit of coverage will have a corresponding exam to go with it. Each exam will correspond to one or two chapters from the chembook website (eBook).
1 - Chemistry Fundamentals
2 - Atmosphere, Air, and Gases
3 - Radiation & Atomic Theory
4 - Bonding & Energy Transfer
5 - Thermodynamics & Fossil Fuels
Please know that the information in Chapters 0 and 1 are "always in play" for the rest of the exams as well.
NOTE: The final exam will be a comprehensive exam that is an overview of all the material that was covered in units 1-4 (chapters 1-5 on chembook). Technically, the final exam is optional because you only need 4 exam scores for your average. The final exam is a safety net exam to allow you to drop one of the first four exams and count the final exam in its place.
Any class that is done through ZOOM is recorded and available via the Zoom menu in canvas for our course. The semester will begin with 2 weeks of Zoom (remote) lectures. Those will be recorded.
Once we are back in person in our lecture room (UTC 2.102A), there will be no recordings. IF (big if there) I can easily run a simultaneous Zoom session during class, I will do so. This will have to be a wait and see type of scenario.
To be CLEAR: this is an in person, on campus class. You are expected to attend all the lectures and participate during class. Obviously, the COVID situation could change this type of thing, but for now, we are anticipating live lectures in the classroom.
We are keeping the grading in the course rather simple. Your overall grade in the course will be determined by your averages in each of three categories: Exams, Homework, and Quizzes with the percentages as shown below for each of the three categories.
This will be the average of your top 4 exams scored out of the total of five exams (exams 1-4 and the final exam). Canvas will not drop your lowest exam of the five until the end of the semester. All your exams count (in canvas anyway) until then. Canvas will correctly show this average.
This will be your average of your homework scores. At least one score will be dropped in the average. The drop will occur at the end of the semester. Canvas will correctly show this average.
This is mostly a participation score and about staying engaged with the course. These "quizzes" are either InstaPolls given during class or assigned quizzes in canvas. The quizzes and InstaPolls will have separate averages until the end of the course when I will combine them to be one overall "Quiz" average.
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.
Our four "regular" exams will be held on the following class days in UTC 2.102A from 2:00pm to 3:15pm.
The final exam is scheduled by the University and we will comply with their time. The room will be made available 2 weeks before finals.
There should be very few conflicts with the exam times, since they are given during your regularly scheduled class time and there are no UT sanctioned events scheduled at that time. You signed up for this class, please be available during the times that are published for this class.
IF, however, you do think you have a situation that requires you to miss the scheduled time, please contact Dr. McCord and Johnny TA about the conflict and they will work with you to arrive at a workable solution. Please communicate with us in these difficult times. Communication is critical if you want to get a grade. Please do so ahead of time so that arrangements can be made. NOTE: We do not give any make-up exams after the exam is made public and the answers are posted.
All SSD students need to realize that they technically "have a conflict" with the published times. I have created a web page just for information on how to receive your accommodations:
SSD Student Accommodations Web Page
The person(s) in the Office mentioned in the above link are there to help you get your documented accommodations.
Each of the first four exams will cover new material from the associated chapters. Each of the exams will be around 20-25 questions that are all multiple-choice questions. The number 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 will be uploaded to Canvas. The exam keys and full solutions will be available here on this website (not canvas). Dr. McCord has his own hand-coded program that scrambles exam questions. 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 is a comprehensive exam which means that it will cover the major topics from all the material that we covered throughout the semester. Unlike the regular exams, it will be a bit longer with around 30-35 questions. The final exam effectively allows you to drop your lowest regular exam and substitute the final into its place for your exam average. If you just do well on exams 1-4, you can skip the final exam and be done with the course after exam 4. The University determines the date and time of the exam which happens to be Friday, 5/13, from 9am to 12pm. Classroom assignments for finals will be announced by the registrar 2 weeks before the end of classes.
"Class" time is being IN class and listening and participating when necessary. Please do not use your phones in class. Please, no texting, messaging, posting... you know what I mean. Only use your "device" when an InstaPoll is active. Speaking of which...`
InstaPoll: In addition to the above in-class "listening" activities, Dr. McCord and Johnny TA might have one or more "live" questions that you will answer via InstaPoll which is part of our Canvas account. These "in-class" quizzes are short-lived, meaning they are due as soon as Dr. McCord ends the question. Many questions will be calculations and you will need to have your scientific calculator available to assist you. Your "InstaPoll" score will be a part of your "Quiz" portion of your overall grade which is 5%.
There are really about 3 things you will do outside of class.
Canvas Policy on HW All HW assignments will be allowed two attempts max on canvas. Once the due date and time arrives, the assignment will close permanently and not reopen. If you do happen to get locked out of the HW after the due date, then study off the HW pdfs that I (Dr. McCord) 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, HW counts 15% - so don't blow it off. It is also the best way to get ready for the exams. We will drop at least one HW score for your overall average. Canvas will not show this drop until the end of the semester.
CheatingDon't cheat! We are doing everything we can to help you be successful in this course. There is no reason to cheat and doing so diminishes the entire learning experience. I'd go on but won't (for now). You're welcome.
The last day to drop the course is Monday, April 4, 2022. It is also the last day that you can change the grading status for the course to pass/fail. You should be able to do all of this online.
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.
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.
The following learning objectives were developed by the faculty committee that oversees the Quantitative Reasoning Flag. Although it is not required that every Quantitative Reasoning course meets every objective, the committee hopes that many Quantitative Reasoning courses will strive to do so.
Students should be taught to do the following to make sense of and gain a deeper understanding of the real world:
Sharing of Course Materials is Prohibited:No materials used in this class, including, but not limited to, lecture hand-outs, videos, assessments (quizzes, exams, papers, projects, homework assignments), in-class materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets, may be shared online or with anyone outside of the class unless you have my explicit, written permission. Unauthorized sharing of materials promotes cheating. It is a violation of the University’s Student Honor Code and an act of academic dishonesty. I am well aware of the sites used for sharing materials, and any materials found online that are associated with you, or any suspected unauthorized sharing of materials, will be reported to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students. These reports can result in sanctions, including failure in the course and expulsion from the University.
This course may be used to fulfill three hours of the Natural Science and Technology Part I component of the university core curriculum and addresses the following four core objectives established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board:
CH301N · 49619 Chemistry In Our World I
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