This is the first of two semesters of
General Chemistry, a general education college level upper-track course designed primarily for
those who intend to pursue a career in teaching high school science,
or who need to establish certification for teaching chemistry in high
school. A lab course, (TEAC) CHEM 1111 R50, to complete
this course for teacher certification is offered separately. This
course will be taught at a campus site in Summer 2004.
Course
Objectives:
Our goals are primarily twofold:
To gain
considerable factual knowledge about the terminology and language of
chemistry. In other words you will learn to "speak"
chemistry. It has been said, and rightly so, that there are as many
new terms to learn in the first year of chemistry as there are in the
first course in a foreign language.
To learn to interpret and
reason using basic chemical concepts, law, and theories. Mathematical
relationships will be introduced and will be used to solve problems
which are commonly encountered in scientific endeavors.
By the end of the semester the student should be able
to:
Understand the role of the atomic concept in chemistry
Be able to understand how to set up and solve standard chemical
calculations bases on chemical formulas and balanced chemical
equations.
Understand simple concepts of chemical bonding
Understand the importance of molecular geometry in determining
chemical properties and reactivity
Understand the role of energy in chemical reactions
Understand the the properties of solutions of
chemicals
Prerequisites
and Co requisites:
No prior experience in chemistry is required, but a
general knowledge of mathematics through algebra is essential.
Course
Topics:
The course is divided into ten (10) sequential units. Each
subsequent unit is dependent on the previous units. These are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Specific
Course Requirements:
To succeed in this course the student must be curious,
self-motivated, well-organized and capable of sustained effort.
The student must be computer-literate having the abilities to access and
browse the web, to use word processing software, and to send and receive
attachments via email. The ability to use spreadsheet software to
create simple line graphs is a plus.
Textbooks,
Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
The
minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.
Specific hardware requirements for this course include...(A list of software
the student is required to purchase or download for the course, Real
Player, Media Player, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office, etc).
Instructor
Information
Please
see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information
as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication
information.
Assessment
and Grading
Testing
Procedures
Unit tests
are required at the conclusion of each unit (module.) They may be
taken one time only during a specified time period.
Results, with feedback, will be available immediately to both student
and instructor. 8 of these will be counted toward the final grade.
Two (2)
proctored mid-term exams, each taken during a specified time period,
complete the testing process. The student is responsible for
selecting and obtaining an acceptable proctor. Instructions for
this procedure are found at http://www.rodp.org/proctorstudentform.htm
Grading
Procedure:
A student's grade is determined based on his/her numerical
average achieved through completion of seven items: homework, class participation (discussion forum usage), unit tests,
internet research project, mid-term examination and final
examination. Levels of achievement and weighting for each of these
elements is outlined below.
Grading
Scale:
Numerical
Range
Letter
Grade
90-100
A
80-89
B
70-79
C
60-69
D
Below
60
F
Grades are
assigned in conformity with a standard college grading scale listed
above. The numerical grade is computed from a weighted average of
the following items with the indicted weights. In cases where a
student has demonstrated a significant level of improvement, the weight
of the final exam may be increased to reflect the then-present level of
mastery.
Item
Weight (%)
Homework
20
Class
Participation
10
Unit
Tests (8)
40
2
Exams
30
Total
100
Assignments
and Participation
Assignments
and Projects:
The
student should plan on completing one module each week in the order
shown on the Module link in WebCT. Assignments for this course
will consist of a homework set for each module, ten module on-line
tests and two exams. The time at which each homework assignment and
module test can be taken is shown in the course
calendar. Time windows of availability will be found by referring
to the homework instrument or to the WebCT "Tests and
Quizzes" link.
Class
Participation:
Each student is expected to participate fully in the class
discussion bulletin board. This participation is of two kinds:
sending and responding to pleas for help from fellow students and
responding to the instructor-posted Discussion Questions. The
instructor will post discussion questions unannounced. It is the
student's responsibility to check the bulletin board daily for open
threads and announcements. Each student is required to respond, in
a thoughtful manner, to each discussion question as well as to respond
to the comment of at least one fellow student on that same
question. After a suitable time the discussion will be ended by
the instructor and student responses noted and graded. Every
comment must observe proper netiquette. Every comment must be
labeled with the students name to permit proper evaluation.
Last but not least, learn to email the instructor regularly with
questions. He or she thrives on
them.
Punctuality:
Planning your
week is of vital importance. To keep yourself on track plan to do the following each week:
work through a module with its assigned lecture videos, text book
reading and homework submission. Participate in the
discussions and chat room. They will be of great help in
understanding the material. End each week by taking the
module test. You can't do it all on Saturday
afternoon. Chemistry takes time to absorb (a chemical
term.) Anyway, the instructor is not available on Saturday
afternoon.
Course
Ground Rules
All work you submit must be your own. However, you are
encouraged to seek help from the instructor and from each other via
email using the internal WebCT email tool and the class discussion
forum. Your instructor expects questions concerning course
material, and the answering of conceptual questions. If you knew it
all already, you wouldn't be in the class and we would be out of a
job. Use proper
netiquette in you communications. Remember, there is a record of
every word you put in an email and you don't want to have to eat any of
them. Introduce yourself to other students as early as
practical. Get started, right away. Set regular times for
your home "class" and guard this time zealously.
If technical problems arise seek help from WebCT
immediately. You have a course calendar that includes due dates
and times for all assignments. You know when things are due.
Plan ahead and do not expect extensions except under extreme
circumstances. To help with circumstances that may be beyond
your control we drop one homework grade, and two unit test
grade.
Guidelines
for Communications
Email:
Always
include a subject line.
Remember
without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way.
Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful
in some cases.
Use
standard fonts.
Do not
send large attachments without permission.
Special
formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should
be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
Respect
the privacy of other class members
Discussion
Groups:
Review
the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion.
Be a lurker then a discussant.
Try
to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting
a new topic.
Do not
make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the
discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
Be patient
and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering
your remarks.
Be cooperative
with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
Be positive
and constructive in group discussions.
Respond
in a thoughtful and timely manner.
Chat:
Introduce
yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
Be polite.
Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
Be concise
in responding to others in the chat session.
Be prepared
to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
The
Tennessee
Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents
Degree Program. Links
to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary
loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian
support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online
assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.
Students With Disabilities
Qualified
students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary
academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability
services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability
accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification
of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability
services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility
to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services
staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation
notice sent to the instructor.
Syllabus Changes
The
instructor reserves the left to make changes as necessary to this syllabus.
If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor
will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual
email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s)
on the course bulletin board.
Technical Support
Telephone
Support:
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS please
visit the AskRODP Customer Support web page at
http://help.rodp.org or call the AskRODP Help Desk at
1-866-550-RODP (1-866-550-7637)