Syllabus

Welcome to this online section of General Chemistry II.  

• Course Number: CHEM 1220-090
• Prerequisite: A C grade or better in General Chemistry I (CHEM 1210) is a prerequisite for this course. College Algebra (MATH 1050) is also prerequisite for this course, but more generally, actual competence in algebra is a prerequisite.  
• Course credits: 4
• Faculty:  Greg Owens, Ph.D. 
• E-mail:  owens@chem.utah.edu 
• Office hours: You’ll find links within Canvas for live office hours, in which we can talk to one another and work through problems.  Office hours are by appointment; just send me a message through Canvas or email, and we'll set up a day and time.
• Course Format: This is an online, asynchronous course, but active class discussion is encouraged.

This is the second semester of general chemistry especially for science majors, engineering majors, and students of all disciplines who plan to pursue professional degrees in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and physical therapy.  All of these fields of study depend in some way or another on understanding the atomic and molecular nature of the vast majority of matter, explaining why so many diverse subjects require chemistry courses as prerequisites. 

A lot of General Chemistry I focuses on the atomic and molecular nature of matter and the electronic structure of atoms as the bases for chemical reactivity and physical properties.  In General Chemistry II, we will build on these ideas in a more detailed study of the behavior of solutions, a study of the speeds of chemical reactions and dynamic equilibrium, a more detailed look at acids, bases, solubility, redox reactions, and thermodynamics, and a brief look at coordination chemistry.  We also will learn about some of the transformations of elements through nuclear processes.  

These are the skills and abilities we'll be working toward all semester:

Identify the correct mathematical concepts required to solve various chemistry problems and use these concepts to successfully solve problems in chemistry.

Draw chemical structures in order to understand chemical reactivity.

Understand the concept of energy as it relates to molecules and chemical systems.

Understand the different forces that hold molecules together and are responsible for interactions between molecules.

Understand both qualitative and quantitative aspects of chemical equilibrium, especially regarding phase changes, solubility, acid-base reactions, redox reactions, and thermodynamics.

Understand the connections between the atomic/molecular nature of matter and macroscopic behavior.

Manage the pace of our studies and take responsibility for frequent practice in order to best master and deeply learn course concepts.

Weekly Objectives:

There are lots of them, more than I should list here.  You’ll see them for each module of material in Canvas, where the modules correspond to the weeks of the semester.

Much of what you’ll need to do well in this course is available either directly or indirectly through Canvas.

Book:  Chemistry, ISBN 978-1-938168-39-0, by OpenStax, a nonprofit organization based at Rice University.  You can find links to an online version, a print version, and the student solutions manual here Links to an external site..  I adopted this book particularly because of its cost ($0), but there are lots of good books available for learning general chemistry.  Some of the better ones are written by Peter Atkins, Nivaldo Tro, Steven Zumdahl, and Theodore Brown/Eugene LeMay/Bruce Bursten.  Brand-new, current editions of books by these authors are not cheap, but older editions are; at the time of this writing, the 13th edition of Brown/LeMay/Bursten's Chemistry:  The Central Science is $175 on Amazon, but the 11th edition is only $40.  Rest assured that general chemistry has not changed substantially between the 11th and 13th editions.

Calculator:  You’ll need a scientific calculator with logarithm/exponential functions and scientific notation.  Programmable calculators or other electronic devices, including your phone (smart or otherwise), capable of storing alphanumeric data are not allowed for use on exams.  Something like a TI-30Xa will run you $10 or so.  Get something now, and use it for all your work in this class; you don’t want to walk into an exam with a calculator you’ve never used before.

WebAssign:  This is the platform we will use for homework and quizzes.  WebAssign costs $28 for the semester, and you’ll need to register here.  When setting up your WebAssign account, use your UNID as your WebAssign username.

I use the announcements feature in Canvas to provide students in this course with all important and time-sensitive information. You are responsible for reading all announcements made during the semester.

You are required to log in to the course a minimum of 3 times per week to read all course announcements, and you are responsible for staying on top of the announcements and reading all information sent out about the course.

If you fail to meet assignment requirements, deadlines, and instructions because you have not read the announcements in a timely manner, you will not be allowed to make up any points or assignments lost.

To read announcements, click on "Announcements" in the navigation menu on the course's Canvas homepage.

You can adjust your Canvas settings to push announcements to your email accounts and mobile phones. Read the Canvas Guide on adjusting notification settings for more information.

 A lot of online courses are basically independent-study courses in which the instructor posts a bunch of stuff the students are supposed to read, and there are some quizzes or something to take every now and then, and, even at the university level, a student might be able to get away with doing everything in the course over a couple of long weekends.  This course will not be like that even a little bit, and it shouldn’t be.  Tuition at the freshman/sophomore level for 4 credits is $1847.97, and add another $60 fee for the online nature of this course.  That amount might be “low” relative to private universities and most if not all of the U’s PAC-12 associates, but it’s not objectively low.  Many of you work so much to pay for your education that an online course is the only thing that will fit into your schedule, and if you’re paying $60 more than people taking the offline course, you should be getting the same value for your money.  You will get the same value, and this section will be just as rigorous and difficult and valuable for your education as the offline sections. 

For the overwhelming majority of students, pace is everything when learning chemistry.  Our online section will work at the same pace as the other CHEM 1220 section, not faster, not slower.

I have designed this course to be as close to a regular course as possible while retaining the temporal flexibility that makes online courses generally appealing.  Rather than coming to a set location on set days at a set time, you have the flexibility of viewing our course lectures where and when you want, at least within a reasonable time-frame.  Each lecture is a video in which I present, at least most often, prepared PowerPoint slides with real-time narration and annotation using a tablet PC.  Those prepared PowerPoint slides will be available for you to download on Canvas.  The idea, then, is for you to watch the video and annotate in real time along with my annotation and narration.  This style saves you from having to scribble frantically or pause the video every 20 s to catch up while also engaging you in a more active role than as a passive observer.  

In the overwhelming majority of the lecture videos, quiz questions will pop up every now and then; these are scored and tabulated in Canvas, and they’ll end up counting for 10% of your total grade, so take them seriously.  Videos will be available all semester, but you will be required to watch them every few days, rather like coming to class.  Expect video-quizzes to be due on Thursdays and Sundays.

You’ll have homework assignments due each week on the WebAssign platform.  The homework assignments are not meant to contain exactly the same kinds of problems you'll see in the videos, just as the videos are not meant to be comprehensive for every single kind of problem in general chemistry.  Instead, the videos and the homework are meant to be complementary; in some cases, the videos will emphasize particular topics and ideas that the homework assignments don't, and vice versa. 

You get five tries for each HW assignment to get everything right, so don't be afraid to fail at a problem even a few times before you figure it out.  In total, these are worth 18% of your grade.  In chemistry, homework is practically everything.  Few people do well in the course without extensive practice.

WebAssign Quizzes are opportunities to assess your understanding/ability at the end of each module and just before each midterm.  These are timed, just like your midterms, you get two attempts on each question, and you'll get the most out of them if you treat them as practice for the real thing.    

A word about collaboration:  One of the most glaring drawbacks of an exclusively online course is that its very nature limits interaction.  Since one of the best ways to learn is to work together and bounce ideas off each other, I actively encourage you to work together on homework assignments (but only homework assignments).  Meet in person to work on these things.  Post questions and responses on the Q&A Boards within Canvas.  

This freedom to work together, though, does have limitations.  First, you are responsible for submitting your own homework assignments.  Second, no posting of explicit answers to specific problems online; that goes beyond collaboration.  The point is to help each other learn chemistry and do well in this course. 

Cooperation, not competition.  Grades in this course are not a zero-sum game because this course will not be graded on a curve.  Earn 93% or more of the points in this course, get an A, regardless of what all other students do.  All of this is to underscore the point that cooperation is beneficial; help each other learn, and you’ll help yourself in the process. 

Each of the three midterm exams counts 13% of your total score.  I encourage cooperation and collaboration on homework assignments, but these are absolutely forbidden for midterm exams and the final exam.  See the section below on Academic Integrity for full details.

The final exam is a standardized general-chemistry exam written by the American Chemical Society.  This link Links to an external site. takes you to a website where you can purchase a copy of the Official Study Guide for the exam.  The final exam counts for 20% of your total score.  I highly recommend this guide both as a general if brief review and as practice for your final exam.

The following table shows how each type of assignment will contribute to your final grade. 

Grading Scale:

A   93-100% 
A-  90-92
B+  87-89
B    83-86
B-   80-82
C+  77-79
C    73-76
C-   70-72
D    60-69
E    <60

• Midterm Exams will be given during the following periods:
  • Midterm Exam 1:  June 8-9
  • Midterm Exam 2:  June 29-30
  • Midterm Exam 3:  July 20-21

• Midterm exams will be given in the University’s UOnline testing center in the Marriott Library at scheduled times throughout the testing days.  More details about the exams will be provided later in the semester. 

• The only legitimate excuses for missing your testing period are extenuating circumstances that are beyond your control. Examples of these circumstances are illness, death in the family, or car accidents on the way to take the test. Legitimate excuses must be accompanied by proper documentation within two days of the missed exam period.

• You must bring a clearly legible University of Utah ID Card. You must also bring your calculator and a pen or pencil. Only approved calculators can be used in CHEM 1220 exam sessions. 

• The final exam will be given August 3-4.
• The final exam, a standardized exam written by the American Chemical Society, is multiple-choice and will be done on paper with a number 2 pencil. It is comprised of 70 questions and is given in a 120-minute time frame.

The Chemistry Department has a tutoring area in room 1316 of the Chemistry Building.  It is open and available to you Monday through Friday.  Exact hours of operation will be posted on the door soon after the beginning of the semester and on this page as the information becomes available.  Each general chemistry TA is required to spend at least 2 hours per week there. You may attend any of our TA office hour sessions.  

If you can come to the University campus, the Marriott Library offers writing tutors for undergraduates Links to an external site..

Need off-campus tutoring help with your writing?  Access etutoring Links to an external site. and click the blue button to log in with your Unid.

Is English your second language?  Find extra library help Links to an external site..

It is your responsibility to maintain your computer and related equipment in order to participate in this online course.  Equipment failures will not be an acceptable excuse for late or absent assignments.

Discussion threads, e-mails, and the Discussion forum of Canvas are all considered to be equivalent to classrooms, and student behavior within these environments shall conform to the Student Code.  Specifically:

• Posting photos or comments that would be off-topic in a classroom are still off-topic in an online posting.
• Using angry or abusive language is called “flaming”, is not acceptable, and will be dealt with according to the Student Code.
• Do not use ALL CAPS, except for titles, since it is the equivalent of shouting online, as is overuse of certain punctuation marks such as exclamation points !!!! and question marks ????. 

Questions about technical issues?  Don’t hesitate to contact me.  If I can’t answer it, I’ll refer you to someone on campus who can.

We strongly recommend you have at least two browsers on your computer:  Safari, Chrome, or Firefox.  If something in Canvas isn't working correctly, copy the page URL and open it in a different browser.  This often solves the problem.

Collaboration is encouraged on homework assignments; proper collaboration excludes the posting of explicit answers to specific problems online.  Where quizzes and exams are concerned, your work must be exclusively your own. 

Incidents of academic misconduct (e.g. cheating, plagiarizing, research misconduct, misrepresenting one's work, and/or inappropriately collaborating on an assignment) will be subject to penalty per Section V of Policy 6-400, the Student Code Links to an external site., a penalty which may include a 0 on an assignment, a 0 for a grading category, a 0 on an exam, or an E in the course, and the incident will be referred to the dean of your major-department college.  Please note:  Speaking to a fellow CHEM 1220 student from any section about an exam question before the last testing session for that midterm exam has closed is also considered an act of cheating.

 Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a civil rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran’s status or genetic information.  If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building, 801-581-8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union Building, 801-581-7066.  For support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426 SB, 801-581-7776.  To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety, 801-585-2677 (COPS).

The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities.  If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD).  CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations.  All written information in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.

Students may drop any class without penalty or permission by Friday of the 2nd week of classes. After that date, students may withdraw from a course without permission until midway through the semester (see link below for specific dates). In this case, a “W” grade will be recorded on the academic record and applicable tuition and fees will be assessed. Students may appeal withdrawal deadlines “in cases of compelling, non-academic emergencies” by submitting a petition and supporting documentation to the Psychology office, which will then be forwarded to the dean of their major college.

Deadlines and other important dates during the semester can be found here:

http://www.sa.utah.edu/regist/calendar/datesDeadlines/deadlines.htm Links to an external site. 

Personal concerns such as stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, depression, and cross-cultural differences can interfere with a student’s ability to succeed and thrive at the University of Utah.  For helpful resources contact the Center for Student Wellness at www.wellness.utah.edu Links to an external site. or 801-581-7776.

I reserve the right to alter the syllabus or course schedule at anytime if need be. It is your responsibility to stay abreast of any changes in either the syllabus or schedule. Please check the web page regularly for announcements.