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Chem V01A: General Chemistry I                                  David Oliver

Fall 2006                   Office: Sci 340; Phone: 654-6400 ext. 1252;  e-mail  d.oliver10@gte.net

http://doliver1.pageout.net  For taking on-line quizzes, on-line practice quizzes, checking on-line quiz scores, and multimedia content.

 

http://fp.academic.venturacollege.edu/doliver/ or  http://chemserv.ventura.cc.ca.us For practice quizzes and practice tests, lab, cumulative grades and other useful information.

 

Office Hours: in Sci-340 – M,W   9:00-10:00 am, T, Th 12:00-1:00 pm, and MW 1:30-2:30 pm

Chem 12A Lab Sci-216 TTh 7:30-10:30

 

Required Text:    Silberberg, Martin, Chemistry, 4^th  Edition

 

Your grade in this course will be determined as follows:

 

            Homework (best 12 of 13)                 10 pts each for a total of        120 pts             17.1%

            Chapter Quizzes (13)                         10 pts each for a total of         130 pts            18.6%

            Hour Exams (best 3 of 4)                 100 pts each for a total of         300 pts             42.8%

            Final Exam (1)                                                                                 150 pts            21.4%

            -------------------------------------                                               -----------       --------

            Total                                                                                                700 pts           100.0%

 

      At the beginning of the semester, you will receive an assignment sheet that will tell you the due dates of the homework problems that will be required in the course.  On the due date, it is to be turned in at the beginning of the class hour.  If you are late for class, you should turn in your homework as you enter the room.  After the class hour is over, the homework assignment is considered late and the maximum points possible drops from 10 to 6.  Late homework will be accepted for only one week after the original due date.  The best way to guarantee success in this class is to do your homework regularly and not to get behind.

      4 of the 10 points of each homework assignment will usually be divided between two randomly selected homework problems.  The score you receive out of the maximum of 6 points will depend on how correctly you have done the two problems.  You must show all your work on all problems.  The 6 remaining points are given based on how well the other problems are done.  If the assignment is late, the two randomly selected problems are only worth 1 point each.

      At the end of every chapter you will be required to take either an in-class or on-line quiz randomly selected by the instructor. In-class quizzes will be based on homework problems. On-line quizzes will be randomly selected problems from the publisher's test bank. Each chapter has at least 2 practice quizzes you can take. I strongly recommend that you do these quizzes first before class. The graded on-line quiz will be posted for one day and must be completed within the time limit.

      The exams (including the final) will consist of problems very similar to those assigned as homework.  As on the homework, you must show all your work on the exams to receive full credit.  There is no makeup on exams; however, your lowest exam score will be dropped before your course grade is computed.  The final exam is cumulative and mandatory; you must take the final in order to pass the class.  The exam dates are listed below and will not be changed:

 

                  Exam #1          Thursday,     September 21 

                              Exam #2          Thursday,     October  19

                              Exam #3          Tuesday,      November 21 

                              Exam #4          Thursday,     December 7

                              Final Schedule  Tuesday,      December 19            10:00 – 12:00 noon

 

      After every exam, I will post your grade online.  As a result, you will be regularly informed about how you are doing in my class.

      I grade strictly on a point basis.  At the end of the semester, I will add up all the points that you earned throughout the semester, and rank the class by total points.  There is no predetermined percentage or number of points required to receive a particular grade.  (For example, receiving 80% of the points in the class does not guarantee you a "B" in the course.)  I also do not automatically award grades to a fixed percentage of the class (e.g. I do not necessarily limit A's to students in the top 10% of the class.)  I have a pretty good idea how much material a student earning each grade should know and I also look for large (usually > 30 points) gaps between students.  As a result, I may give no A's or I might give everyone an A it just depends how well each student does and how well the class does as a whole.

      By state law, I am required to take attendance every day.  However, as you can see from the chart above, it does not count towards your grade.  If it turns out, though, that you are on the borderline between two grades, it will give your grade a "psychological" boost if your attendance record is good.  (I consider a "good" attendance record to be one where fewer than 3 classes are missed over the course of the semester.)

      It is your responsibility to remember drop deadlines and regulations.  I will drop you at census time if you have missed two consecutive weeks of classes.  I will try my best to be careful and accurate, but in the interest of self preservation, you should drop classes yourself.  Here is a list of some important deadlines:

 

            Friday,             September      15          Last day to drop with no entry on transcripts

            Friday,             September      22        Last day to file credit/no credit request

            Friday,             November      22        Last day to drop; W's not allowed after this date

 

      A final note:  I don't want you to be intimidated any more than you probably already are, but I must warn you about this class.  I am a very demanding instructor and chemistry is a very challenging subject.  If you find that you are having problems, you should go to the tutoring center or see me during office hours immediately.  There is no charge for tutoring services.  The rewards that you reap from this class are directly proportional to the amount of time and effort you are willing to invest.  Hence, if you turn in all the required work and I am convinced that you have tried your absolute best (i.e., you have a good lecture attendance record, you have religiously visited my office hours, you have haunted the tutoring center, etc.) you will not fail.  Good luck!