CHEM201A - Summer 2022 Welcome Letter (CRN 50061)

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CHEM201A - General Chemistry I

Summer 2022 with Dr. Kelli M. Gottlieb

This is the welcome letter for CHEM201A! This letter outlines some of the policies and the timeline for the course. The syllabus for the course, which fully outlines all policies and procedures for this course, will be handed out in class on the first day of the summer session. This letter is subject to change! It was last updated 6/10/2022.

Please pay special attention to the description of the workload, the pacing of the course, and the tentative quiz an exam dates before deciding to take this course!

Note: If you are planning on going on vacation during the summer session, I do not recommend taking this course over the summer. You will have 3 weeks worth of material (lecture, lab, homework - plus multiple quizzes and an exam) to complete every week of the summer session. If you get behind, it is incredibly difficult to get caught up. 

 

Description

CHEM201A is the first of the two-semester general chemistry series at Cuesta College. This course builds the foundation for all future chemistry classes. Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. More specifically, CHEM201A focuses on:

  • defining matter (it matters!) and its properties and changes
  • atoms, atomic structure, and the periodic table
  • the phases of matter and their fundamental differences
  • an introduction to chemical reactions (the booms, the sparkles, the colors!)
  • analyzing the energy of reactions and processes (why do some combinations of substances warm up while others cool? What happens when water freezes?) qualitatively and quantitatively
  • quantitative analysis using chemical equations to predict amounts of reactants or products needed or formed, respectively (stoichiometry)

The laboratory component incorporates material from lecture and places a specific emphasis on measurement, data analysis, and observation.

 

Instructors:

Dr. Kelli Gottlieb (kelli_gottlieb@cuesta.edulab and lecture instructor

Email is the best way to get in touch with me. If you email me, please allow at least 24 hours for a reply. I generally do not check my email after 8pm. I also often do not check email on Saturdays. Emails must be sent from either your CUESTA email or through Canvas. I will not send a meaningful response to any emails from non-Cuesta emails due to privacy (FERPA) concerns.

 

Note: If you are planning on going on vacation during the summer session, I do not recommend taking this course over the summer. You will have 3 weeks worth of material (lecture, lab, homework - plus multiple quizzes and an exam) to complete every week of the summer session. If you get behind, it is incredibly difficult to get caught up. 

 

Course Information:

CHEM201A - CRN 50061

Course website: Canvas (cuesta.instructure.com - log in with your Cuesta username)

Course dates: 6/13/2022 - 7/22/2022
Full Canvas Availability: 6/13/2022 after first class meeting
Final Exam : R 7/21/2022 at 9am

This semester, lab and lecture meetings will be in-person

This course is extremely fast paced, especially during the summer. You will have a week's worth of assignments to work on assigned 3 days a week (each week is a day to finish the course in 6 weeks) and a quiz or exam almost every day.

There is a lot of work in-class as well as studying and work to be done out of class as well. You can count on the following most days of the week:

  • assignments due for lab (a prelab, a lab report, and/or another lab activity)
  • an experiment to complete in lab (we will have a new experiment each day material is assigned)
  • Up to 4 hours worth of lecture to watch at home in preparation for lecture assignments and activities in-person
  • There will also be online assignments that aren't due immediately but that you'll need to work on regularly (online homework through CHEM101, for example).
  • a quiz or exam

This list details the in-class time requirements. Outside of class, you'll need to study and do practice on your own to succeed in class. It is a very heavy workload. You can count on an additional least 2-3 hours/unit per week for studying, it adds up to a lot of hours (your mileage may vary, depending on your comfort with the material - some people may take longer or shorter). This is a 5-credit hour courseload with the work to match.

 

Tentative Quiz/Exam dates - all assessments will be held in-person; there is no virtual option.

Quiz Dates

6/16, 6/20, 6/23, 6/27, 6/30, 7/5, 7/11, 7/14, 7/18, 7/19

Exam Dates

6/21, 6/28, 7/7, 7/12, 7/21 (Final Exam)

 

 

 

 

Class and Electronic Device Requirements

If you believe (based on your personal knowledge and your self-assessment survey results) that you can be successful online, you will need the following:

  • You must have constant access to a reliable computer (minimum specs for a reliable computer). This should be most days of the week, not just the days our class meets (you'll want regular access to our materials on Canvas).
  • You must have a reliable Internet connection, meaning you can be on conferencing software, Canvas, and download and upload documents. 
  • A device for scanning. This can be a scanner or a phone app that scans (there are many free ones out there! I will provide some examples once we get started). 
  • You must have access to your my.Cuesta.edu email account (or have successfully set up email forwarding to your third party email provider).
  • You must have access to Canvas, Cuesta College's learning management system (LMS).
  • You must have a backup plan in case your internet provider or computer goes down For issues related to accessing Cuesta's Canvas Site, email: support@my.cuesta.edu
  • You must have a good understanding of the following online activities to succeed in this course: email, internet navigation, online communication, pdf creation (as well as other file-types), document uploading and downloading.
  • Optional but highly recommended: a reliable way to print documents (like a printer). This isn't mandatory but will be really useful to you as we go through the semester. It wouldn't be considered reliable if you need to pay a lot of money to be able to print (there will be alternatives).

 

Textbook Information

There is a free, online version of the textbook available from Cuesta that you can get here.

Alternatively, you can purchase the textbook on Amazon or find it available elsewhere with this information: ISBN 9780134874371 (5th edition)

 

Required Materials

The following items listed below are the only course-specific materials you will need for this course.  Retailers may “suggest” or “recommend” additional items (e.g., lab coats, laminated Periodic Tables, study guides, etc.).  Those are not required for this course and you do not need to purchase them.  You will need:

  • Chemistry, A Molecular Approach, Tro, Nivaldo J., 5th Ed. (4th edition will work, won't match my notes perfectly but I'll have section differences indicated on Canvas)
  •  CHEM101 Online Access (aka AktivChem)
    • This access can be purchased through Canvas on the first day of class. You can also purchase a code through the bookstore but this is only recommended if you have financial aid.
  • Scientific calculator
    • Examples of acceptable models include the Texas Instruments TI-30Xa or TI-30XIIS and the Casio fx-115ES Plus models.
    • Scientific calculators in the $10-$20 range should be fine (you can find them for as low as a dollar!).
    • You will not need a graphing calculator; we'll be using scientific calculators exclusively in this class.
  • Splash-proof goggles. These are available at the bookstore or can be purchased online.
    • UVEX Stealth goggles are recommended, especially if you are taking more chemistry after this class.
    • If you are considering goggles besides those at the bookstore or linked above, please verify with the instructor that they can be used; not all goggles are viable for use in the chemistry lab. 
  • Internet-connected device
  • A way to scan documents
    • This can be a scanner or a scanning app on a phone or other device with a camera.

 

Attendance and Participation

  • You will need to attend lecture and lab and complete assignments at home to stay caught up in the course.
  • If you do not attend lecture and lab on the first day of summer session, you will be dropped from the course. 
  • If you do not attend for an entire week, you will be dropped from the course.
  • If you miss 2 or more quizzes in a week without contacting the instructor, you will be dropped from the course. 
  • If you miss a quiz and an exam in a week without contacting the instructor, you will be dropped from the course. 
  • If you fail to attend four or more labs, you will not pass the course - even if  you have a passing grade in the lecture portion of the course. 

 

Drop Policies

  • If you no longer wish to be enrolled in the course, you must withdraw on your own. Make sure to check the financial aid or other implications with a counselor before you do so. (How to drop) (Drop/Withdraw FAQs)
  • If you do not participate during the first day of classes, you will be dropped from the course. 
  • If you do not attend lab on the first day of classes, you will be dropped from the course. 
  • If you do not participate in the course for an entire week you will be dropped from the course. 

 

Accessibility

Students with documentation with DSPS and require special accommodations should see the instructor during the first day of class for a confidential discussion. Students with extended time accommodations must start their assessments by 8am on exam days and 8:30am on quiz days to assure they'll be able to fully attend the rest of lecture and lab. Anyone using an extended time accommodation must do so at the DSPS testing center in the library at the SLO campus.

 

Academic Honesty

“Academic honesty is essential to the academic community. Students expect that Cuesta College faculty be fair, truthful, and trustworthy. Faculty expect that Cuesta College students share these same values. Students who violate these principles by cheating, plagiarizing, or acting in other academically dishonest ways are subject to disciplinary procedures.” – Cuesta College Academic Honesty Agreement

It is allowed and expected that you will work together on assignments and lab reports; it is also expected that each student will do their own work and write their answers in their own words. To avoid any academic honesty issues, it is best to talk about a question, discuss an answer, and then each student writes their answer in their own words. Perform all your own calculations; do not write the result of another student’s calculation.

Exams are meant to be completed on your own. You are committing an act of academic dishonesty if you consult resources not provided with the exam, including notes, tutors, other people in your house, or other resources that weren't specifically included with the exam. Academic dishonesty also includes posting quiz or exam questions to online forums, regardless of if the question is answered or not. While you may ask for help from online tutors for other non-assessment assignments, quizzes and exams are meant to be taken ON YOUR OWN with only the resources I provide. 

Any student found to be engaging in academic dishonesty will receive a 0 on the assignment or exam in question, which may result in failure of the course. Academic dishonesty includes claiming work to be your own when it was not (copying off of another quiz or reporting data as your own when were absent from lab that day) as well as sharing your work with others.

Cuesta Academic Honesty

 

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Describe the chemical and physical properties of a chemical substance based on the atomic and molecular structure including orbital theory, the type of chemical bond, and the shape of the molecule.
  • Evaluate and interpret numerical and chemical scientific information.
  • Solve stoichiometry problems, including mass/mass, mass/volume, and volume/volume relationships.
  • Communicate chemical concepts through the use of molecular formulas, structural formulas, and names of compounds.
  • Perform laboratory experiments based on gravimetric, volumetric, qualitative and instrumental analysis techniques and effectively utilize the appropriate experimental apparatus.

 

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