Syllabus

UNE Summer Session

CHE 110: General Chemistry I

Credits - 4

Description

An introduction to the principles of Chemistry: reaction stoichiometry and the mole concept, periodic properties of the elements, atomic and molecular structure, thermochemistry, chemical bonding, and chemical reactions. CHE 110 is online and will require students to watch pre-recorded lectures and complete guided Content Questions while watching. Understanding of course material will be assessed through Problem Sets, weekly Quizzes, three Midterm Exam, and a Cumulative Final Exam. Labs are performed concurrently with lecture topics, with an emphasis on reinforcing topics covered in the textbook and learning basic lab procedures. 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

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Locate and identify atomic numbers, mass numbers, and atomic weights within the periodic table.
• Apply periodic trends toward chemical properties such as: ionization energy, electron affinity, and chemical reactivity.
• Explain the relationship between the ground state electron configuration of an element and its position in the periodic table.
• Name elements, ionic compounds, covalent compounds, acids, and bases.
• Describe the differences between ionic and covalent interactions.
• Determine the Lewis structure, molecular geometry, and polarity of a compound from its chemical formula.
• Complete quantitative calculations for a variety of chemical problems, including reaction stoichiometry, calorimetry, concentration relationships, and thermochemistry.
• Identify precipitation, acid-base neutralization, and oxidation-reduction reactions and predict when they will occur.

This course also counts as fulfilling the Laboratory Sciences requirement of the Core Curriculum, which includes the following learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate a functional understanding of the scientific method to make informed decisions based on scientific information.
• Demonstrate conceptual and practical knowledge of course topics and describe ethical implications of human interactions with natural systems.
• Demonstrate scientific literacy and the ability to communicate science-based information.

This course also counts as fulfilling the Scientific Method Critical Content Tenet of the Core Curriculum, which includes the following learning outcome:

• Evaluate and interpret objectively gathered scientific data to draw conclusions in multiple contexts and effectively communicate them in written and oral formats.

 

Assignments

Pre-Recorded Lectures & Content Questions (CQ; 15%)

Students are required to watch all Pre-Recorded Lectures. While watching these Lectures, students will complete guided Content Questions that walk them through course material alongside the Lectures. Importantly, all Content Question assignments must be completed by hand either on paper or on a tablet. Students must have access to a printer or a tablet. Students will upload .pdf files of their completed assignments. Please find the Content Question rubric available on Brightspace. For the weeks when Content Questions will be assigned, Content Questions will always be due on Sundays by 11:59pm EST. The only exception to this will be for Week 1 when Content Question #1 is due on Wednesday May 2oth by 11:59pm EST. Please see the Course Schedule to find which weeks will require Content Questions.

Problem Sets (PS; 15%)

Upon completion of Content Questions, student understanding of course material will be assessed through quantitative and conceptual Problem Sets. Like Content Question, all Problem Sets must be completed by hand either on paper or on a tablet. Students must have access to a printer or a tablet. Students will upload .pdf files of their completed assignments. Please find the Problem Set rubric available on Brightspace. For the weeks when Problem Sets will be assigned, Problem Sets will always be due on Wednesdays by 11:59pm EST. The only exception to this will be for Week 1 when Problem Set #1 is due on Friday May 22nd by 11:59pm EST. Please see the Course Schedule to find which weeks will require Problem Sets.

Quizzes (20%)

There will be short weekly quizzes for you to complete that will assess your knowledge and understanding of that week’s topic. All weekly quizzes are open book and open notes. You can take up to 30 minutes to complete each of the 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 Brightspace site. Doing well on the quizzes will help prepare you for the Midterm and Cumulative Final exam, which are timed and proctored. The quizzes are graded immediately and you may access your graded quizzes at any time in the Course Progress section of Brightspace. This will allow you to use the quizzes to study for your midterm or final. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped. For the weeks when Quizzes will be assigned, Quizzes will always be due on Fridays by 11:59pm EST. Please see the Course Schedule to find which weeks will require Quizzes.

Midterm (15%) & Cumulative Exam (15%)

The Midterm and Cumulative Final Exams are CLOSED book, CLOSED notes, timed and proctored. You will be required to set up an external webcam as described above in the “Materials” section.  

You may use:

• The provided PDF entitled “Chem 1012 Exam Information and Equations”
• An 8″ X 11″ whiteboard, marker, and eraser
• A stand-alone scientific, non-programmable calculator
• Nothing else

The Midterm consists of 40 questions to be completed in 120 minutes. There will be 2 final exams: Final Lecture Exam &
Final Lab Exam. Each exam is to be completed in 120 minutes. Your exam scores will be available after you take the exams. The Midterm Exam is scheduled for Wednesday July 1st and the Final Exam is scheduled for Friday August 7th.

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 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 Assignments will always be due on Fridays by 11:59pm EST. 

Laboratory Report

One originally written lab report turned in as a Word document or .pdf file in Brightspace, is assigned for the Week 6 Experiment. Guidelines for writing a lab report can be found in the document “Lab Report Directions for PBPH Courses.” This can be found in the Week 6 module. The Laboratory Report is due by Friday July 3rd. 

 

Grading Policy

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

Grade Breakdown

Pre-Recorded Lectures & Content Questions (15%)

Activities & Homework (15%)

Quizzes (20%)

Midterm Exam (15%)

Laboratory Assignments (15%)

Laboratory Report (5%)

Cumulative Final Exam (15%)

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	93 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 92.9%	3.75
B+	87 – 89.9%	3.50
B	83 – 86.9%	3.00
B-	80 – 82.9%	2.75
C+	77 – 79.9%	2.50
C	73 – 76.9%	2.00
C-	70 – 72.9%	1.75
D	60 – 69.9%	1.00
F	00 – 59.9%	0.00