SYLLABUS
Spring, 2008
Instructor:
Dr. Ed
Vitz
Office: 315 Boehm Hall
Office
Hours: W,F 2-4; H 1-2. Other times by
arrangement--please call or email
Phone:
610.683.4443
email: vitz@kutztown.edu
web: http://faculty.kutztown.edu/vitz/
Text: John W. Hill and Doris K.
Kolb, Chemistry For Changing Times,
11/E, Prentice Hall, 2006 (ISBN 0136006442 or 9780136006442-with OneKey).
Study Guide: The study guide with problem solutions is
available at the Library Circulation Desk.
Lab Text: The laboratory experiments are found on the Web in
Blackboard® under Course Documents.
Also
Required: Safety glasses for lab;
scientific calculator (with scientific notation, log)
Course
Features:
Introduction
to Chemistry is designed for majors in non-science disciplines. It is designed to show how an understanding
of the world in chemical terms,
complements other ways of understanding the world.
**Web
Site: Browse to http://faculty.kutztown.edu/vitz/CHM020/020home.html.
Here you will find a copy of this syllabus, the course schedule, links to the
Textbook homepage with practice quizzes and other resources, and links to
the laboratory homepages and to the Blackboard® online
resources.
**Text
Web Site: http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_hillkolb_chemistry_10. Click on
“Jump to” dropdown menu to find Practice Questions and other
ancillary features that can be used for extra credit.
** Blackboard®:
Lecture homework assignments, laboratory instructions and lecture slides will
be accessed in Blackboard. There is a
link to Blackboard on the CHM020 web site, or go to http://blackboard.kutztown.edu/ To logon to Blackboard:
Blackboard Login ID: Use your KU ID
(assigned to you by KU). To set your KU
password at initial logon, see https://secure.kutztown.edu/StudentAccountSystem/ In the lab, enter Username: newaccount; Password: Spring-2008;
and Domain: Students (students.kutztown.edu).
Blackboard Initial Password: First four letters
of your last name in capitals and your birthdate in the
format YYYYMMDD: If your name is Joseph
Jones and you were born on September 14, 1987, your password would be
JONE19870914.
In Blackboard, the most frequently used
features will be:
Announcements: Blackboard will always open to the
Announcements page. It is important to
always read the announcements, as this will be a main communication tool for
your instructor to relay messages to you.
Course Documents: This folder will contain the lecture slides,
problem sets & solutions, solutions to tests and the laboratory handouts.
Check Assignments: This folder will contain quizzes that you
will be asked to periodically complete.
Check for Grades: To find out
your test grade, click on the link titled Tools, this will take to page with a
menu of choices. Click on My Grades for
quiz and test grades.
**Course
Schedule: A schedule of
course topics, reading assignments, and tests is attached. Students
should skim the sections of the text and
Blackboard questions assigned on the schedule before lectures, then review
and complete the exercise assignments shortly after the corresponding
lectures. You will not do well on quizzes and tests if you do not
thoroughly understand the assigned readings, and doing text problems will increase
your understanding. The quizzes and
tests, which are listed on the schedule, will have questions similar to those
assigned for homework.
**Electronic Homework (Blackboard) Assignments: The homework assignments for each topic on the course schedule are completed by going to the Blackboard site. Individually-graded Electronic Homework assignments should be completed without consulting other students or instructors about specific problems (general questions and discussion is encouraged). Evidence of other students doing your work can lead to zero credit in this part of the course. Your scores will be automatically recorded when you complete assignments on any networked computer, and for credit, you must complete the assignments by the deadline (usually the following class after the assignment date on the Schedule, but starting dates and due dates for each assignment are given on the Schedule and at the Blackboard site). You must finish all assignments, but you have unlimited attempts to do so before the deadline. Blackboard saves the last score you obtained. After the deadline, the note “Grades Uploaded” will appear to indicate that the scores have been downloaded to my gradebook, so any score you achieve after that time will not be recorded. This allows you to practice the questions before tests without having to worry about the score.
Merely getting the right answer to a homework problem is not the goal: Learning the concepts is the goal. Answers are actually provided during the electronic homework sessions. You should know why these answers are correct, but to learn the concepts you should also
(1) try
alternative solutions to correctly solve problems,
(2) try
alternative solutions which incorrectly solve problems, and know why
they’re wrong, and
(3) visualize
how the solutions might be applied in the laboratory, home, or industry (this
will help you recognize when the problem solution is appropriate).
**Study
Guide:
Copies of the Study Guide and Answer Book are available at the Library at the
Reserve Desk next to the Circulation Desk on the Main Floor of the library.
**Supplemental
Instruction:
Three optional but highly recommended periods per week of help sessions,
practice quizzes, and tutoring will be led by an upper-class Chemistry Major.
**Extra
Credit will
be used as a reason to “boost” grades that are close to the next
higher letter grade at the end of the semester.
If 80 is the cutoff for a “B”, 78 or 79 is a “C”
but extra credit may prove to me that you deserve the higher grade. Extra Credit can be earned by submitting
solutions to end of chapter problems for the assigned readings, by visiting and
reporting on chemistry web sites that are related to what we study (links are
provided on the CHM020 home page), or by doing Practice Questions or other
activities at the Text Web Site (see above).
You may take notes on
“GC Interactive CDs”, “SIRS” or “Comprehensive Chemistry” on lab computers. A small extra credit bonus will be awarded
for attendance, which will be recorded daily.
**Tutors: If you have
difficulty, student tutors will be available at the
**Laboratory: The lab experiment for each week is shown on
the Lab Schedule. Instructions for each
experiment are found in Blackboard.
You must attend one two-hour laboratory session weekly. You must have a written
excuse for absences in order to make up a missed lab; otherwise you will
receive a zero for the missed session. You must arrange with your instructor to
make up a lab within one week of missing it. You need to supply your own safety
goggles (available in the bookstore or hardware stores). Students will not be allowed to work in the
laboratory without goggles.
Component
Weightings: Grade
Assignments
Test I and II: 36% A 90-100%** ** of highest score
Final Exam: 18% B 80-90%
Blackboard Assignments: 18% C 70-80%
Lab: 28% D 60-70%