Syllabus for Chem 1220 Section 6  (CRN 45551),  Spring 2006

            Your instructor is Dr. Holly Phaneuf (pronounced “I will be your biggest fan-if you work hard in the course.”)  I love science in general, and feel it is my duty to translate the material in a clear fashion as well as to provide a sense of wonder and excitement about the composition of our universe. I will also try to relate the material in terms of your own interests and prospective careers.

Times: MTWR, 10:00-10:50 Room N-120

Required materials: The required text for this course is General Chemistry, 8th Ed., by Ebbing and Gammon. You also need a scientific calculator (one with a “log” button).

Optional materials: While the answers to exercises and odd-numbered problems are already in your required textbook, detailed explanations of how these answers are obtained are in the optional  Student Solutions Manual, and many students find this helpful.

            Answers to homework questions: The answers to many homework questions can be found by going to the front desk of the library, and asking for the reserve copy of the answer manual for this class. Do not copy out of the book without thinking and double checking it--it is full of  typos and that will make you look bad. Use it as a guide to learn why the problems are solved with a particular method, so you can do the same all by yourself on the exams.

Prerequisites: Passing grades in chem 1210 and Math 1050 are REQUIRED prerequisites for this course.

Required Lab course: Registration for the lab course is REQUIRED for this course. It is taught by a different instructor. It is graded separately from this course and does not affect your grade in this course.

Problem Sessions course: Chem 1228  is optional but many find it helpful. In it, we  review and work through homework problems and discuss topics related to the material. I do teach this course. It is graded separately from this course and does not affect your grade in this course. It meets on Fridays in our classroom, at 10:00. If you are not registered for this course, you may show up from time to time anyway, to see how our homework problems are worked out. If you want this course, be sure to take the one (section 4) at South City campus, taught by me, not at Redwood Road by a teacher who may teach subjects in the class in a different order than me.

Reaching me: If you are panicking over a homework problem or just before an exam, the fastest  way to reach me is by email: holly.phaneuf@slcc.edu

You can also call my office at 957-3259, leave your name and number.

Either way, I’ll try to get back to you as soon as I can to go through the problem over email or on the phone, but honestly, email is the best bet to get me right away.

Office hours: Monday 11:00-12:30,  Tuesday 11:00-12:30 Wed 11:00-1:00,  room

N-326-N. If these times are not convenient for you, I will be happy to make an appointment to meet individually with you.

Grading:       Your grade for the course will be determined as follows:

Homework:                                        25%    due every Monday

Exam 1                                               25%    Mon., Feb.13*

Exam 2                                               25%    Mon., March 27*

Final (not comprehensive)   25%    Mon., May 1, or Wed May. 3, your choice*

*These dates are tentative and subject to change upon my announcement in class. You can come in at the usual class time or come in as early as 9AM  for your exam if you wish, or alternatively join the evening session of people taking exams in our classroom starting at 4 or 5 PM. You will have unlimited time, within reason (few people take longer than 2 hours)

A = 93% or higher; A- = 90-92%; B+ = 88-89%; B = 83-87%; B- = 80-82%; C+ = 78-79%; C = 72-77%; C- = 65-71%; D+ = 63-64%; D = 53-63%; D- = 50-52%; F = below 50%.

Exams: Attendance during scheduled exams IS absolutely required! You will have unlimited time.  Exams are made of 40  multiple choice questions. Former students say they my tests can be quite long, so be sure to give yourself extra time. Multiple versions of the same exam are handed out with answers and questions scrambled so that no one can copy off someone else’s exam without my knowing it. A former, practice exam with answers will be handed out for you to study at least a week before the exam, to give you an idea of what to expect. Former students say that the practice exam is one of the most helpful aids in the course, so study it well.

Make-up exams: make-up exams are generally not given unless there are dire circumstances (hospitalization, death in the family, etc.) which prevent you from attending an exam. Please notify me immediately if such a circumstance arises, and I will decide whether or not to grant you a different, but similar exam.(my voice mail at 957-3259 is always available for you to leave a message) If you know that you have a conflict ahead of time, (scheduled a family reunion, etc.) please let me know, and I will see what may be done.

Turning in Homework: Homework will be due every Monday, and only one late homework  per person will be accepted. I am very sympathetic to the demands of adult life, however, so call me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE if some emergency occurs. My sympathy does not extend to weekly emergencies, but to rarer circumstances. Homework can be turned in during class or slipped under my office door any time on Monday. No homework is assigned the weekend before a test.

Homework difficulties: Examples of problems similar to the homework are solved within each chapter. I strongly recommend you go through these examples to see how to solve the homework problems. Also, problems are discussed and sometimes completely worked out during the problem solving sessions, which you can attend even if you are not registered if you have a particular homework question. Thus the problem solving session is essential if you have difficulty with the homework.

What your homework should look like: Please write legibly and I will love it if you can circle your answers. Since I grade the process of how you get the correct answer more than the answer itself, please show me your work.

For answers that require even simple calculations, PLEASE SHOW ME your calculations to receive full credit for the problem. This will also PROTECT you if you do not get the correct answer: I can at least give you partial credit or full credit if you, for example, accidentally wrote a number down incorrectly and still worked the problem out using the correct technique. I can also tell you exactly where you are making a mistake if you show me all your work. This will help you to avoid making the same error in the future.

Always include a unit with a number. Almost all mathematical answers in chemistry require BOTH a number and a UNIT. For example, “5” is only half correct if the answer is actually “5 feet”.  The number 5 is meaningless with a descriptive unit.

Lecture Attendance: There is strong correlation between good grades and attendance, so try not to miss a class! I am sympathetic to the demands of life, however, so if you miss a class, just be sure to ask about what you missed, and get notes from a classmate as soon as possible.

(Details in  the syllabus may be changed if required, and I will inform  everyone if this occurs.)

Students with disabilities: If you feel you have a disability which could hamper your efforts in this class, feel free to contact the DRC (disability resources center) for a private assessment to consider whether special accommodations can be provided for you.