CHEMISTRY 132 - APPLICATIONS OF CHEMISTRY

Spring, 2000

Textbook: We will continue with the same text used in CHY 121: Chemistry: The Central Science, 7th edition, by T. L. Brown, H. E. LeMay, and B. E. Bursten.

Electronic Resources: A Web page for the class is available at http://umeche. maine.edu/CHY132.html. It will contain supplementary materials, exam keys, study and review aids, announcements, and other items of interest. You may direct questions to me at any time by e-mail at rcfort@maine.edu. Your questions (with your name deleted if you so desire) and my responses may be posted to the Web page if I judge them to be of general interest.

Coverage: Our approximate coverage is indicated in the attached outline. You will be given explicit study goals in class. You will find that I do not always discuss in class everything in an assigned section of the text, and conversely, that I will frequently add information not in the text. I try to present the most important or difficult material in class. Because we are trying in this course to illustrate the ways in which an understanding of chemistry is useful in our society, we will be "jumping" around a LOT within the text, and using a variety of additional materials.

Problems: Assignments of problems representative of the kinds of things I shall expect you to be able to do on examinations will be made in class and on the Web page. I do not collect or grade these assignments. At least two-thirds of your study time (which should be at least three hours for each hour of class time, per week) should be spent working problems.

Attendance and Classroom Behavior: I do not assign seats or take attendance. I do, however, tend to be aware of who is coming to class regularly. I think it highly unlikely that anyone other than an exceptional student can achieve a passing grade by missing class regularly. Since I do not require attendance, I do expect that when you are in class you will conduct yourself in an adult manner, paying attention to what is going on, and refraining from talking, eating, or reading other materials. Once a class session has begun, you may not leave the classroom for any reason without prior permission from me. If you arrive late, please enter the classroom through the door at the far rear (top) of the room, which is accessible only from the second floor of the building. DO NOT walk between me and the class or make disruptive noises. The behaviors described are rude and distracting, not merely to me, but more importantly, to your classmates who want to benefit from the classroom experience. I have the power to drop disruptive persons from the class, and I will exercise it if forced to do so.

Examinations: We will have three preliminary examinations and a final examination. The prelims will be given in 316 Aubert at 6:30 PM on the following dates.

Examinations consist of 200 points in questions requiring short written answers, calculations, and chemical equations and structures. No multiple guess or true/false questions will be set. Prelims are modestly comprehensive, since that is the nature of the subject. The final examination is strongly comprehensive. Necessary constants and algebraic relationships are supplied. No personal informational aids of any kind may be employed.

The only acceptable post facto excuses for missing an examination are: (1) a written note from a physician stating that you were incapacitated by an illness ("advised to rest" doesn't cut it), or (2) a death in your immediate family (proof of which must be supplied on request). A missed examination receives a zero (0), without exception. If you have a good prior excuse, such as another examination on the same day, please visit my office several days ahead of time to explain and make appropriate arrangements. Social events generally are NOT good prior excuses.

I personally grade all examinations. Although getting the correct answer is important, showing clearly how the answer is obtained is even more important. No credit is given for a numerical answer without the work that produced it. I give partial credit for partially correct work; however, this does not mean that points are awarded for random scribbles.

Students who have a B average or better on the three prelims may, if they wish, substitute for the final examination a 1000-word paper on a topic related to something we have discussed in class. A list of suggested topics will be posted on the Web page, but choice is not limited to these. Students must notify me no later than 28 April if they intend to exercise this option. The paper is due at the scheduled time for our final exam.

Grading: The course grade will be based on the weighted average of the examinations (the paper will be graded and weighted like the final) employing the following scale:

I reserve the right to deviate slightly from this scale in response to individual circumstances.