This is the course syllabus for CHEM 10, second semester general chemistry course at UC Merced.
A note about printing this page: Please don’t. This page will be at this URL long enough to share with your children and grandchildren. You don’t need a paper copy of it.
Course instructor: Professor Erik Menke
Laboratory instructors:
-Dr. Petia Gueorguieva
-Ms. Deborah Lair
-Ms. Jingru Shao
Class room and hours:
-Lecture: Classroom Building, Room 102, MWF 8 - 8:50 am.
-Lab/Discussion: Depends on your assigned section, please check your schedule.
Note that labs are not held during the first or last week of classes.
Office: Science and Engineering, Room 358
Office hours: Drop by my office any time if you have questions or concerns. If I don’t have time to talk, we can schedule a time. In addition, I will be available for the hour immediately following class at the Lantern Café in the library. Alternatively, all of the lab instructors have office hours, and would love for you visit. Please contact them for the specific times they are available.
Contacting me: In addition to visiting my office, you can reach me by e-mail or leaving a message on the UCMCrops website for the class.
Course description: CHEM 10 is the second semester general chemistry course at UC Merced, and as such is a continuation of the first semester general chemistry course, CHEM 2. This course will expand upon what was taught in CHEM 2 and continue with the basics for understanding chemistry. The focus of this class will be on introductory thermodynamics, kinetics, spectroscopy, and bonding, as they pertain to chemical systems.
Expected student learning outcomes: By the end of the semester you should be able to:
-Critically analyze and solve both qualitative and quantitative chemistry problems.
-Communicate effectively regarding chemistry.
-Work safely and efficiently in a chemistry laboratory.
Relationship to program learning outcomes: The primary focus of CHEM 10 is on fundamental knowledge and skills. This course introduces major concepts and principles necessary for understanding chemistry, as well as builds on skills and knowledge introduced in CHEM 2. In addition, although to a lesser extent, this course explores scientific methodology, i.e. how a scientist integrates fundamental knowledge and skills into scientific inquire, improves scientific communication skills via written lab reports, and helps you gain an appreciation for scientific ethics and the role of chemistry in society by showing you how to handle data in the laboratory and providing real world examples of the importance of chemistry.
Required text: "Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change", 5th Edition, by Martin S. Silberberg
Other required materials:
-Basic scientific calculator.
-A clicker.
-Laboratory notebook (must have bound and duplicate pages).
-Laboratory safety goggles.
-Access code for the WebAssign online homework system.
Prerequisites: CHEM 2.
Class policies: The number one rule is to respect the time of everybody in the class, including the instructor. Ultimately, I believe that this is the only rule we should need, but it is rather vague. To help overcome the vagueness of said rule, here are some examples of what this covers:
-Refrain from using cell phones in class (this includes texting or having the ring volume above vibrate).
-Refrain from talking out of turn.
-Do not tease, taunt, or belittle others.
-Anything that someone else reads (e-mails, homework, message posts) should be legible, with (mostly) proper grammatical structure and spelling.
Academic integrity: This is a topic that I take very seriously. While I understand that shortcuts are attractive, they very rarely end up helping in the long run. Dishonest practices, like cheating and plagarism, typically prevent you from understanding the material, which is ultimately why you are here in school. A full description of the University policy, as well as the judicial process and potential penalties, can be found on the student life website. Students should be familiar with the University policy as anyone caught violating the policy will be dealt with harshly.
Disability services: A disability should not impede learning. To this end, UC Merced provides a number of options to help people with disabilities suceed in their academic career. If you have a disibility, I encourage you to contact the University Disability Services Office to find out how they can help. You can find out more information on their website, e-mailing them at disabilityservices@ucmerced.edu, or calling them at 209.228.6996. In addition, please let me know so that we can take measures to ensure that it has a minimal effect on your ability to understand the material.
Grading: Overall, there will be a total of 1000 points, distributed as follows:
-Laboratory reports (30 points each, with the highest 10 reports counting) = 300 points
-In-class participation = 100 points
-In-class exams (100 points each) = 200 points
-Homework = 200 points
-Final exam = 200 points
The grades will be assigned according to the following scale:
1000 - 990 = A+
989 - 940 = A
939 - 900 = A-
899 - 860 = B+
859 - 820 = B
819 - 780 = B-
779 - 740 = C+
739 - 700 = C
699 - 600 = D
590 - 0 = F
Exams: There will be two 50 minute in-class exams, worth 100 points each. The final will be a cumulative exam, worth 200 points. There will be no make-up’s allowed for missed exams. If you miss an exam and have a legitimate excuse (i.e. doctor’s note or equivalent) the second exam will be renormalized to make up the point difference (i.e. the other exam will be worth 200 points). Each in-class exam will consist of two parts, a 15 question multiple choice portion and a single multi-step question you will be given prior to the exam. Due to the nature of the questions, you will not be permitted to use a calculator. However, you will be allowed to have a single 4" x 6" index card with notes and formulas on it. The final exam will follow a similar format, only longer.
Exam regrades: If you think that a mistake has been made on your exam, I will be happy to regrade it. However, please note that I will regrade the entire exam, so your score may go up, down, or not change as a result. In addition, due to the size of the class I will only regrade exams that have not left my posession. Therefore, you should thoroughly go over the exam as soon as you pick it up, and bring any issues to my attention before you leave.
Exam schedule:
Exam 1: Friday, February 25th.
Exam 2: Friday, April 8th.
Final: Monday, May 9th, 6:30 - 9:30 pm.
Homework: Homework problems will be posted on WebAssign, which can be accessed by a link on the CHEM 10 CROPS page. Late homework will receive a zero, and no extensions will be granted. If you are unable to turn in your homework assignment on time, and have a legitimate excuse (i.e. doctor’s note or equivalent), your overall homework score will be renormalized to make up the point difference.
In-class participation: I will routinely be polling the class on various topics through the use of a "clicker" system. Your participation in these surveys and mini-quizzes will affect your grade. I will focus primarily on participation, rather than getting the correct answer, although correct answers will also play a role in your grade.
Course structure and expectations:
Critical thinking is the cornerstone for all modern science and technology fields, and is a skill that will serve you well in life. Due to the importance of critical thinking, this class will focus primarily on improving your critical thinking, although with an emphasis on applying critical thinking skills to chemistry problems. Unfortunately, very few students, or adults in general, have well developed critical thinking skills. So what does this mean for you? It means that this class will be extremely difficult. This course is likely to be among the hardest classes you have had in your career as students. You will almost certainly need to read the book outside of class, work extra problems, and spend time studying and thinking about chemistry.
A secondary reason for focusing on critical thinking skills in this class is the limited time. There is a lot of information that we need to get through, so rather than discuss all of the minutea in each chapter, we will only cover broad topics. However, you will be expected to know everything in each chapter, and I will ask questions, both on homework and tests, of stuff we don't explicitly cover. Again, this means that you will almost certainly need to read the book outside of class, work extra problems, and spend time studying and thinking about chemistry.
Laboratory structure and expectations:
The lab/discussion sections will be used to complete the 11 assigned experiments. Some will be done individually while others will be done in pairs. The lab descriptions, procedures, and write-ups can be found on the CROPS website, under the Resources section. You are responsible for bringing a copy of the lab handout for each experiment to the lab. The lab write-up is due at the beginning of the next lab period. There will be no make-up labs, and lab write-ups will not be accepted late. The first 30 minutes of each lab will be treated as a discussion section during which time the lab instructor will provide background for the experiment as well as answer questions regarding the lecture. Please come to each lab section prepared to work (i.e. having read and understood the experiment), and you will be expected to follow the safety rules at all times.