Syllabus

Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals

CHEM 1010: General Chemistry I – Spring 2020

Credits - 3 (Lecture), 1 (Lab)

Description

This is a one-semester course with a laboratory designed for individuals with a baccalaureate degree who need first semester general chemistry as a prerequisite to apply for admission to health professions programs. These may include graduate programs in medicine, veterinary medicine, dental medicine, nursing, physical therapy and physician assistant.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Program Outcomes

In lecture courses, students should be able to:

• Communicate scientific concepts and information clearly.
• Illustrate fundamental laws, theories, and principles of scientific disciplines.
• Apply knowledge and critical thinking skills to scientific problems.

In lab courses, students should be able to:

• Ask a question or define a problem that can be tested.
• Hypothesize possible result(s).
• Plan and/or conduct an investigation individually and/or collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence.
• Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (i.e. computational, mathematical, graphical, etc.) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.
• Communicate the results by constructing an explanation based on multiple pieces of valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students’ own investigations, models, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
• Apply scientific ideas, principles, and/or evidence gained from various experiments, as well as other observations and/or research, to provide an explanation of phenomena and solve design problems, taking into account possible unanticipated effects.

Course Objectives

After completing the lecture section, students will be able to:

1. Define and apply parts of the scientific method.
2. Describe the fundamental properties of atoms, molecules, and physical states of matter.
3. Perform calculations that relate atoms, molecules, moles, and mass.
4. Trace the flow of energy in chemical reactions and perform energy calculations.
5. Identify the organizing principles of elements in the periodic table and use these to predict trends in atomic properties.
6. Relate basic quantum mechanical principles to electronic structure and chemical bonding.
7. Convert quantities in related units and systems of measurement.
8. Calculate solution concentrations and perform dilution calculations.
9. Balance chemical reactions and use the balanced reactions to calculate reaction yields.
10. Identify and classify precipitation, acid-base, and redox reactions.
11. Predict the shapes of molecules with a single central atom.
12. Use the ideal gas law to calculate the properties of gases.

After completing the lab section, students will be able to:

1. Utilize basic scientific equipment safely and accurately.
2. Make, record, and report experimental observations.
3. Create and analyze Excel-based graphs of experimental data.
4. Observe and interpret chemical reactions.
5. Effectively communicate experimental information in a scientific writing style.

SELF PACED DESIGN

On the course start date, students will have access to orientation. This must be completed to be able to gain access to the first module in the course. Students must complete the first module to gain access to the next one. We recommend that students spend about 15 hours per week to complete a course in 16 weeks. When trying to complete the course in less than 16 weeks, we typically see students do this successfully within 12-14 weeks. Instructors will be timely in grading and feedback, but it will not be instant.

Assignments

Course Details

The General Chemistry I course is divided into 16 weeks.  Each week contains a reading assignment and homework problems that address the course objectives. There are several short lecture videos that cover some of the major concepts covered that week. There is a lecture quiz each week. Most of the weeks include a laboratory assignment for those students taking the laboratory course. Three discussion questions are spread throughout the course.

Assigned Reading and Homework Problems

Each week’s Learning Module includes a reading assignment within each chapter that covers the specific course objectives for the week. Every chapter includes “Guided Notes”, a document that can be downloaded from the “Course Text” section in the course. Within the reading there are practice problems that should be worked as you move along. The assigned homework problems from the end of the chapter will allow you to review the material that was covered. Be sure to ask your instructor for help with any problems that you do not understand. Also, there are many more problems at the end of the chapter. You should work through problems other than those assigned in any area where you feel extra practice is necessary.

Discussion Board Posts

Discussion questions cover interesting current events or materials that contribute to a deeper understanding of key concepts and allow you to interact with your classmates and the instructor. There are a total of three required discussion questions found in weeks 1, 6, and 15. Most of the discussion questions are designed to accompany particular chapters (see specific discussion questions for more information). Each question may require you to conduct internet research. Then you will write a response following the guidelines in the assignment.

To earn full credit: you will need to post a response, respond to the original posts of at least two other students, and then contribute to an ongoing discussion. For special cases where one or two students are accelerating faster through the course, the instructor will participate in the discussion so that everyone has the opportunity to interact.

Discussion Question Guidelines

1. Read the assignment carefully so that you are familiar with the materials that you need to cover and how to craft your post.
2. Respect each other’s ideas, feelings, and experience. Some of the questions involve areas of disagreement. Expect your classmates to have different opinions.
3. Use proper writing style. Correct spelling and sentence structure are expected just as if you were writing a regular paper. Use spell check and grammar check before you submit.
4. Create your post in a word document initially. That way you can save a copy and use spell check and grammar check.
5. Cite the sources that you use to write your response. Follow the AMA guidelines.
6. Avoid posting large blocks of text. Break your writing into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs to make your posting easier to read online.
7. Subscribe to the discussion so that you get email updates when there is activity.
8. Use the “reply” button rather than the “compose” button when responding to someone else’s post.
9. When responding to a classmate, address them by name.
10. Do not use postings such as “I agree,” “I don’t know either,” or “ditto.” They do not add to the discussion, take up space on the Discussions, and lower your grade.
11. Everyone benefits from an active discussion. Check back frequently to see what others are saying.
12. Plan your time carefully. You will need to give your classmates time to respond to your postings. This is an asynchronous class where students will be in different points of the class.

Laboratory Assignments

Most of the weeks include a laboratory assignment. The laboratory assignments for each week are in that week’s Learning Module folder as well as in the Laboratory folder. You will perform all laboratory assignments in a non-laboratory setting, such as your kitchen. The labs include four prerequisite labs that can be done before the lab kits arrives,  and 10 graded laboratory assignments distributed throughout the course. The laboratory assignments are completed in the HOL Cloud website and include pre-lab questions, the experiment, and post-lab evaluation questions. There is a lab video which accompanies each lab. This will give you some details about the lab and suggestions for things that will make the lab go smoothly. It will also connect the lab to the chemistry content.  Parts of the lab are graded automatically within HOL. Data and free response questions are graded by your instructor.  

One originally written lab report turned in as a Word document or .pdf file in Blackboard, is assigned for the “Stoichiometry of a Precipitation Reaction” experiment, found in Week 6. Guidelines for writing a lab report can be found in the document “How to Write Lab Notes and Lab Reports” published by Hands-on Labs. This can be found in the Week # 6 Lab folder.

There will be two required lab discussion question posts. These will occur in Weeks 3 and 14 of the lecture course. They are designed to allow you to make some personal connection to the lab content and may require some Internet research. The same criteria will be used for lab posts that is described above for those found in the lecture course.

There will be a lab final that covers the objectives from each of the required labs.  Exam details are given below.

Weekly Quizzes

All weekly lecture quizzes are open book and open notes. You can take up to 30 minutes to complete each of the 10 multiple-choice lecture quizzes. Although the quizzes are open book and open notes, you need to study the material and work the problems in order to do well on the quizzes. The quizzes will be taken online through the course Blackboard site. Doing well on the quizzes will help prepare you for the midterm and final exam, which are timed and proctored. The quizzes are graded immediately and you may access your graded quizzes at any time in the Learning Module folder by clicking on the quiz attempt. This will allow you to use the quizzes to study for your midterm or final.

Lecture Midterm and Final Exam, Lab Final Exam

The midterm and final exams are CLOSED book, CLOSED notes, timed and proctored by ProctorU. If you use the official UNE whiteboard (see Materials Section, above), you will be required to show your proctor that your whiteboard is clear at the beginning of your testing session, and you must erase your whiteboard in front of the proctor before disconnecting from your session. If you do not do this, your exam will not be credited.  You will also be required to set up a UNE-authorized webcam as described above in the “Materials” section.  

You may use:

• The provided PDF entitled “Chem 1010 Exam Information and Equations”
• The official UNE whiteboard, marker, and eraser
• A stand-alone scientific, non-programmable calculator
• Nothing else

Detailed instructions for registering for your exams with ProctorU are given in the Week #8 Learning Module folder and the Laboratory folder.

The lecture midterm, lecture final, and lab final each consists of 40 multiple choice questions and you can have up to 120 minutes to complete them.  

Your exam scores will be available after you take the exam, but exams will not be released to students for review.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Category	Grade
Lecture Component
Weekly Quizzes	28%
Discussion	12%
Midterm Exam	30%
Final Exam	30%
Lecture Total	100%
Lab Component
Lab Assignments	35%
Lab Discussions	10%
Lab Report	20%
Lab Final Exam	35%
Lab Total	100%

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00