CHEM 142 B: General Chemistry

Download a PDF of the Course Schedule:

• 2019.09.24 Version
• 2019.10.04 Version
• 2019.10.30 Version

CHEMISTRY 142 B (12250), FALL 2019

M, W, F  9:30 PM –   10:20 PM in KNE 130

Course Web Site:      https://canvas.uw.edu/

Add or Drop:             Go to Bagley 303 (Chemistry Department’s undergraduate services).

TEACHING TEAM

Course Instructor:   

Prof. Colleen Craig | BAG 202 | cfcchem@uw.edu

Office hours:

• • Week 1: Fri, 10:40-11:30 am
  • Week 8 (Veteran's Day): Wed, 2:00-3:00 pm; Fri, 1:00-2:00 pm
  • Week 10 (Thanksgiving): Mon, 10:40-11:30 am
  • Week 12 (finals): Mon, 10:40-11:30 am; Tues, 2:00-3:00 pm 
  • All other weeks:  Mon, 10:40-11:30 am; Wed, 2:00-3:00 pm

Lab Instructor:                  

Prof. Andrea Carroll | BAG 201 | ageddes@uw.edu 
Office hours: by appointment

STEM-Dawgs Coordinator:

Abbie Pickering | BAG 203 A | abbiep@uw.edu
Office hours: by appointment

Lead Teaching Assistant:

Sam Barlow | sbarlow1@uw.edu
Office Hours: Mon, Tues 1:20-2:20pm 

Teaching Assistants:

You are welcome to attend office hours of any TA in 142 B. 

Questions about the Course? Use Canvas Discussion Board.

With so many students in our classes, it’s simply not feasible for me or the TAs to respond to individual emails about the course content or schedule. If you have a question along these lines, please post it to the Canvas Discussion Board rather than emailing one of us directly. That way you will be accessing the collective knowledge of literally hundreds of people, who are all thinking about the same things as you. You are likely to receive an answer much more quickly than if you only email me or your TA. However, The TAs and I will be actively monitoring the discussion board and will answer questions as we find them. Many of your colleagues will probably have the same question as you, so posting your question on Canvas helps everyone in the class.

How to get me to respond to your email:

I receive a lot of emails. I will do my best to respond within 48 hours to an email you send me, but to maximize your chances of hearing back, please adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Email me about private matters, such as grades, or requests for private appointments. Questions about course content or course schedule should be posted to the Canvas Discussion Board.
2. Use cfcchem@uw.edu.  
3. Present yourself in a professional manner.

• Use an appropriate salutation (“Dear Dr. Craig,” or “Hi Dr. Craig,” etc.) and sign-off (“Best, Leia Organa” or “Thanks, Han Solo” etc.).
• Write in complete sentences.
• Employ proper punctuation and grammar

How to make an appointment to see me:

If you are unable to attend my regularly-scheduled office hours, or would like to schedule a time to speak with me privately, I am happy to meet with you! I typically schedule student meetings in 30-minute blocks. When you contact me to set up a meeting, please follow these steps:

1. Send me an email. I will not remember to put our meeting in my calendar if we only speak in person.
2. Indicate whether you want to schedule a private meeting (if you have questions about grades, DRS accommodations, etc.), or if other students may attend (if you want to discuss course content).
3. Suggest two or three possible days for our meeting, and give me your detailed schedule on those days. I will email you back with a 30-minute block that will work for both of us.
4. Confirm via email that the day and time I suggest will work for you.
5. If you have to reschedule or cancel a meeting we’ve set, email me as soon as possible.

ACCESS AND ACCOMMODATIONS

Your experience in this class is important to us, and it is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. Disability Resources for Students (DRS) offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.  If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary or permanent disability that requires accommodations, you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or visit disability.uw.edu. If you have already established accommodations with DRS, please use the information provided on the website for this course when submitting your Alternative Testing Contract to DRS via their online system. Students with accommodations are solely responsible for submitting the Alternative Testing Contract and scheduling the exams with DRS well in advance of the exam dates.  If you require accommodations in the laboratory (including assistants and/or interpreters), please contact the Undergraduate Services Director (Bagley 303D) in person in the first week of the quarter to discuss your accommodations.

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATIONS

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).

COURSE MATERIALS

Except where indicated, all items are required and available from the University Bookstore:

• General Chemistry 142, University of Washington, Zumdahl/Decoste (custom-split version of "Chemical Principles," 7th edition. Chem 142 version contains Chapters 2, 12, 13, 3, 4, 15, and 5 and the complete Student Solutions Manual).
• STEM-Dawgs Workshop Manual (this will be provided FOR FREE in your first Discussion Section)
• Study Guide, Chemical Principles, 7^th ed.,Zumdahl/Kelter (optional).
• UW General Chemistry 142 Laboratory Manual, Autumn 2019-Summer 2020 (Hayden McNeil)
• UW Chemistry Laboratory Notebook (Hayden McNeil) with numbered pages and carbonless duplicate pages. 
• Lab coat and safety goggles (NO safety glasses or any other type of goggles).
• Non-Programmable Scientific calculator. There are numerous inexpensive scientific calculators on the market. Graphing/text-entry calculators WILL NOT be permitted on exams. 
• ALEKS access. Purchase online: www.aleks.com (see ALEKS info on the course website for more information).
• Standard (purple) Scantron forms for exams. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students who successfully complete CHEM 142 will be able to

• Explain the chemical and physical behavior of matter based on the modern atomic theory, quantum mechanics, and the resulting atomic periodicity.
• Describe the formation and energetics of chemical bonds based on electrostatic forces.
• Describe and predict the structure of covalent and ionic compounds
• Describe the physical and chemical changes taking place in chemical reactions at both the particulate and macroscopic levels.
• Write balanced chemical equations for acid-base, precipitation, and oxidation-reduction reactions and use the balanced equations to predict quantities of reactants and products.
• Explain the rate of chemical reactions and the conditions that influence the rate using rate laws, reaction mechanisms, and collision theory.
• Explain the behavior of gas phase chemical systems at the particulate and macroscopic level using ideal gas behavior.
• Develop skill in visualizing the particulate level as related to the concepts listed above.
• Clearly define a problem and develop solutions for that problem including the use of central and auxiliary equations and conversion factors.
• Relate empirical observations, particularly in the laboratory portion of the course, to concepts listed above.
• Demonstrate laboratory, data analysis, and scientific writing skills.

NOTE: The Course Topics module contains a more detailed list of the learning goals for each Unit and Lesson in this course.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

1. Attend ALL classes, pay close attention, and take notes.
2. Learning chemistry is a sequential process. You must understand today’s material before you can understand tomorrow's. As with all courses at UW, your instructors and TAs will assume that you are studying at least two hours for each hour of lecture and one hour for every hour of lab. Find a place that allows for periods of uninterrupted study. Skim through the book sections to be covered in the next lecture.
3. Working in shorter, more frequent sessions in ALEKS will be more efficient than long, marathon sessions.
4. Practice! Work on suggested end-of-the-chapter problems and worksheets as well as topics in ALEKS - focus on understanding the concepts and general processes, not just memorizing how to solve a specific problem.
5. Talk chemistry with fellow chemistry students. You will not only learn more, but you will probably also enjoy the course more.

COURSE COMPONENT AND GRADING

The course consists of:

• 3 lectures per week
• 1 discussion section per week
• 1 three-hour lab session certain weeks of the quarter (6 labs total – see the Labs document for details.)

The point distribution for the evaluative components of the course is as follows:

Surveys

Your Surveys score is comprised of a series of surveys I will ask you to complete during the quarter. These surveys are designed to assess your approach to studying and your attitudes towards taking exams. They will be worth 2-3 points each, and all of them will count towards your Surveys score (i.e., the lowest score will not be dropped). The Surveys category will be scaled to 5 course points (1% of course grade).

Class Prep Quizzes

There will be a 5-10 question Class Prep Quiz in advance of each class day, which will cover the assigned reading for that day's material. Each Class Prep Quiz question is worth 1 point. The goal of the Reading Quizzes to is help bring your attention to important concepts and terminology in the chapter that we will build on during class. Class Prep Quizzes will be graded on accuracy, not merely on completion. The lowest 4 Class Prep Quiz scores will be dropped, allowing you to miss a few without penalty. The Class Prep Quiz Category will be scaled to 10 points (2% of course grade).

Concept Tests

Concept Tests are single-question multiple-choice quizzes intended to help you engage with class material and learn more deeply. They are delivered during class using the Poll Everywhere audience response system. Each Concept Test is worth 1 point, and will be graded on completion only (that is, you will receive credit for any response you submit). There will be approximately 3-8 Concept Tests per class. The lowest eight Concept Test scores will be dropped at the end of the quarter, allowing you to miss to miss a few due to absence or technology issues without penalty. The Concept Test Category will be scaled to 10 points (2% of course grade).

STEM-Dawgs Workshops

STEM-Dawgs Workshops take place during your Discussion Section every week, and are worth 5 points each. To earn all of your points, you must participate in good faith during the Discussion Section, not simply be in attendance.  Details about the workshop activities will be described by your TA during the first discussion section. The lowest score will be dropped, allowing you to miss one workshop without penalty. The STEM-Dawgs category will be scaled to 10 course points (2% of course grade).

ALEKS

ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces) is the online homework system that your will use in the CHEM 142/152/162 sequence. (You can learn about ALEKS in the ALEKS Online Homework module here on Canvas.) Your ALEKS grade will be constructed from your ten Objective scores and the fraction of the Pie you complete by the end of the quarter. The more of the pie you complete, the higher your ALEKS score will be, but you do not have to complete the entire pie to earn credit for ALEKS. Similarly, you do not have to complete all the topics in an Objective to earn credit. Whatever percentage of topics you complete by the due date will be your score for that Objective. Each Objective is worth 10 points, and there are eleven Objectives, so the Objectives portion is worth 110 points. The Pie Mastery portion is also worth 110 points. The ALEKS category will be scaled to 50 course points (10% of course grade).

Laboratory

Your Laboratory grade is comprised of six prelab quizzes (5 pts/ea), six postlab reports (60 pts/ea), the Undergraduate Stockroom contract (5 pts), and the Safety Quiz (5 pts), for a total of 400 points. The Lab category will be scaled to 75 course points (15% of course grade).

Midterm Exams

Midterms will focus on the most recent set of lectures, but chemistry is a cumulative subject by nature, so I will assume that you have a firm understanding of material from earlier in the quarter when I write the exam questions. Midterm exams are entirely multiple-choice, and are worth 100 points each. The Midterm Exams category will be scaled to 190 course points (38% of course grade). 

Final Exam

The Final Exam is cumulative. I will provide details about the percentage by points of each course unit on the final towards the end of the quarter. The final exam is entirely multiple choice, and worth 150 points. The final exam represents 150 course points (30% of course grade).

Grade Distribution

The final mean GPA in the CHEM 1x2 generally falls within the range 2.6 +/- 0.2. It is the Chemistry Department’s policy not to make grade changes of 0.1 after final class grades are submitted to the UW Registrar.

Monitor your Scores

Your scores for Participation, Lab, and Exams  will be recorded using the Canvas Gradebook. Your ALEKS scores can be monitored through the Gradebook and Reports tabs on ALEKS. Your overall ALEKS grade will be imported to the Canvas Gradebook at the end of the quarter.

ACADEMIC ETHICS

Original work performed in good faith is assumed on all assignments and course components.

The Washington State Administrative Code for University of Washington (see https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/WAC/478-121TOC.html) outlines the following forms of academic misconduct:

• Cheating
• Intentional misrepresentation of credentials
• Falsification of data
• Plagiarism
• Unauthorized collaboration
• Engaging in behavior specifically prohibited by an instructor in the course of class instruction or in a course syllabus
• Multiple submissions of the same work in separate courses without the express permission of the instructor(s)
• Taking deliberate action to destroy or damage another's academic work in order to gain an advantage for oneself or another
• The recording of instructional content without the express permission of the instructor(s), unless approved as a disability accommodation, and/or the dissemination or use of such unauthorized records

Failure to adhere to this code of ethics will result in referral for possible disciplinary action as described in the Student Conduct Code (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/SGP/SPCH209.html). Sharing information about quizzes and exams with students in other sections of CHEM 142 is strictly prohibited, and will be prosecuted accordingly. 

It is presumed that the data you record and report in laboratory, and the work you submit in an exam, is your work. In addition, all data analysis and writing you submit should be yours alone, even if you collected data with a laboratory partner. We often find examples of plagiarism in which lab reports are copied from someone else, or from an earlier quarter. If you have questions about what might cross the line, please do not hesitate to ask your lab or class instructor.

CLASS SESSIONS

Lesson Schedule. An approximate schedule for the chapters to be covered each week is available in the Canvas calendar for this course. You are responsible for material covered in class AND in the textbook (whether or not it was covered in class). In class lessons will cover only highlights of the textbook material.

Lesson Notes and Recordings. PDFs of the lesson notes I will present in each class are available on the Course Topics module. All lessons will be recorded using the Panopto lecture capture system. Note: If a technical problem causes a scheduled recording to fail, the lesson will not be re-recorded.

Common Courtesy. Out of respect for me and for your classmates, observe the following rules:

• Arrive on time. If an emergency causes you to arrive late, complete all noise-making (removing your coat, getting out notes, zipping up your bag, turning off your phone) before you enter the class, and find a seat on the periphery.
• Do not pack up your belongings before the end of class.
• Keep side conversations to a minimum.
• Keep your cell phone or pager on silent, and do not send or read text messages.
• Do not browse or read materials that are unrelated to the lecture. This includes---but is not limited to---newspapers, books, magazines, and the internet.

Attendance in lecture is encouraged, but not required. If you don’t want to be in class to pay attention, don’t come. Students who are not paying attention are a distraction to students who are paying attention. If you are causing a distraction to other students, I will ask you to leave.

DISCUSSION SECTION

During Discussion Section each week, you will collaborate with your colleagues on a series of activities collectively known as the STEM-Dawgs Workshops. The purpose of the workshop activities is to develop a small community of students in each section of this large-lecture class, and to improve your skills for high achievement in this and future science courses.

The activities were developed from the findings of seminal studies in cognitive psychology and education research, and are interwoven with chemistry content that is aligned with the weekly progression of our course. The activities will teach you:

1. study skills shown in the literature to effectively prepare students for success
2. how to practice metacognition to evaluate the effectiveness of your study strategies
3. higher-order problem solving skills through collaborative group work

ONLINE LEARNING (ALEKS)

This course uses the internet-based learning program ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces). In ALEKS, you will complete learning objectives rather than traditional homework assignments. An ALEKS Objective contains topics relevant to the lecture discussions. ALEKS will present you with a series of problems that explore a particular topic. The problems will have enough variability that you will only be able to get them consistently correct by understanding the core principle or skill defining the topic. Once you consistently answer the problems for a given topic correctly, ALEKS will conclude that you have learned the topic, and you will then be allowed to choose another topic to learn (refer to the ALEKS Orientation posted on the course website for more details). Your daily/weekly work on ALEKS will be on your own schedule outside of class, although there are specific deadlines by which you must complete various Objectives. The registration code for your ALEKS course can be downloaded from Canvas. Make sure that you register for the ALEKS course specific to your section of 142.

The registration code for your ALEKS course can be downloaded from the ALEKS module. 

Your first task in ALEKS will be to complete an Initial Knowledge Check. This is ALEKS’s way of assessing your current knowledge of math and chemistry, so that it can guide you appropriately. The Knowledge Check will contain 25-30 questions and shouldn’t take more than 40-60 minutes to complete. You will probably be asked a few questions that you don’t know how to answer. Don’t worry…the ALEKS system is only determining your knowledge baseline so that it can be tailored to address your specific needs. When you use ALEKS, you will complete the learning tasks you need and not those somebody else needs. After you complete the Initial Knowledge Check, ALEKS will provide one-on-one instruction intended specifically for you. ALEKS will also give you a new Knowledge Check after you complete each Objective, so that it can track your evolving knowledge state as you move through the material, and continue to tailor its approach to your unique learning path.

You, alone, are responsible for monitoring the due date and time for all ALEKS Objectives. Note that it is not possible to open up an ALEKS Objective 3 or 4 hours before it’s due and be able to complete it. ALEKS will not let you access the problems corresponding to the more advanced topics in an Objective until you have mastered the basics, so you will need to spend time nearly every day on ALEKS to complete the Objectives. The schedule of Objectives and their due dates is available on the Canvas course site.

EXAMS

There are two midterm exams and one final exam in this course. The dates for these exams are provided in the course schedule on Canvas. Chemistry knowledge is cumulative so questions on exams will often depend on knowledge from earlier chapters and courses.

Information about the seating chart for exams, exam coverage, and exam review materials can be found in the Exams module.

Exam Protocol

• Bring a few # 2 pencils, a couple of Scantron forms, your NON-PROGRAMMABLE scientific calculator, and a photo ID to all exams.
• Submitted Scantron forms must be filled out completely.  Any identifying information (name, student number, section letters, and test version) that is missing or incomplete will result in a 3-point deduction from your exam score. All answers must be recorded on the Scantron form by the end of the exam in order to be graded.

• You must sit according to the seating chart that will be posted on the course website prior to Exam 1. 

Midterm exams will be returned in Discussion Section, and the keys will be posted on Canvas. Final exams will not be returned, and the key will not be posted on Canvas. However, you may contact Dr. Craig after the quarter to review your final and the key.