Syllabus

Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals

CHEM 1010: General Chemistry I – Lab

Credits - 1 (Lab)

Description

This lab course is designed at a level to provide an introductory-level, college general chemistry I course. An emphasis is placed on understanding the concepts within the labs and the scientific method. Since today’s healthcare professionals are expected to have a general understanding of how science and the scientific method contribute to their profession, this course is designed to serve this purpose as well as provide a general chemistry lab appropriate for a number of applications. The hands-on labs will be performed in the home of the student using a designated lab kit. Course pre-req: one semester of college algebra.

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 lab section, students should 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. For the lab component of this course, most weeks contain a short introductory video, followed by information on that week’s activity assignment. 

Laboratory Assignments

Most of the weeks include a laboratory assignment. Introductions to a week’s laboratory assignment can be found in that week’s learning module. However, the actual lab work will be completed in the completed in the HOL Cloud website. 

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.  Each lab in the HOL Cloud website includes pre-lab questions, the experiment, and post-lab evaluation questions. There is a lab video that 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.  

Laboratory Report

One originally written lab report turned in as a Word document or .pdf file in Brightspace, is assigned for the “Stoichiometry of a Precipitation Reaction” experiment, found in Week 8. 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. 

Discussion Activities

There will be two required lab discussion question posts. These will occur in Weeks 3 and 14. They are designed to allow you to make some personal connection to the lab content and may require some Internet research. See below for more detailed discussion guidelines.

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

Discussion Board Posts Overview

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. 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.

Lab Final Exam

The final exam is CLOSED book, CLOSED notes, timed and proctored. 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-compliant 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

The lab final consists of 40 questions and you can have up to 120 minutes to complete it. 

Exam scores will be available after you take the exam, but exams will not be released to students for review. Please contact your instructor for specific feedback.

Grading Policy

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

Grade Breakdown

Category	Points Available
Lab Component
Lab Assignments	60%
Lab Discussions	10%
Lab Report	15%
Lab Final Exam	15%
Lab Total	100%