This is the second semester of a two-semester course sequence in freshman chemistry for science majors. Although you have already been told most of the following points, I think that they are important enough to be re-emphasized.
A serious student will read the textbook and work problems at the end of each chapter – spending at least ten hours per week on these. Problem solving is a very important part of learning in any science course. If a student intends to pass this course, (s)he will spend a lot of time solving problems at the end of each chapter. The serious student will work all of these with the goal of trying to understand the intent of each problem. We will work problems in class after each chapter if time permits. The student should be prepared to work problems on the board. Participation by working problems on the board will be noted and can help you when final grades are to be given. Wh`en the student finds that (s)he cannot work certain problems or understand certain concepts, the student is urged to contact me during office hours or if that is not possible to call and schedule an appointment to meet with me. I feel that the instructor's duty is to assist the student in the learning process, and thus the student will be required to have shown that (s)he has tried to understand the concepts first before coming to me for assistance. The student is not expected to have wasted hours on a problem, however, before coming to me for assistance. You should purchase a spiral bound notebook and work all problems in it. Then when you come to me (or to the tutors) for help, we can see where you are having problems. There are large demands upon my time from duties other than teaching this course. If you need help, please try to restrict your requests for help to my office hours, but definitely do not ask for help on Tuesdays and Thursdays since I need to reserve these days for my other duties (preparation for classes, writing exams and quizzes, research, writing papers, etc.).
The most successful students will make use of many learning aids. This person will discuss difficulties with fellow students, will read the text and other books, will work problems at the end of the chapter and be active in class- asking and answering questions. The student must take responsibility for the learning process and work at finding every possible way to learn the concepts. The lecture is nothing more than a learning aid and does not control how much you learn – you do. Instead, it is the instructor's duty to clarify concepts that students do not understand and to provide a fair way to evaluate the student's progress. The course is outlined in the lecture syllabus. Anything in those chapters may be on the tests.
Copies of old examinations have been posted on my WEB site. You should refer to my web site frequently for this or other late breaking news. The address is: http://osf1.gmu.edu/~jschreif.

To provide the student with a little more guidance, quizzes (Fairfax only) and homework assignments must be completed. Homework assignments can be accessed using a link on the General Chemistry web at http://chemistry.gmu.edu/genchem.html (drop down box at bottom of the page).

You must bring a photo ID with you and show it to the testing center personnel. Then, you will start the program, enter your social security number to take the quiz; it is windows based and thus it is helpful to have some knowledge of how to find things using "point and click" procedures. You are allowed to use a periodic table (provided by us), your calculator and scratch paper. You are not allowed to ask anybody for help and should not use your book. You are not allowed to copy the problem and take it with you. Try not to focus excessively on the mechanics of individual problems as much as on the problem solving strategy.
You will enter your social security number to take the quiz; it is Windows based and thus it is helpful to have some knowledge of how to find things using "point and click" procedures. You are allowed to use a periodic table (provided by us), your calculator, the table of constants (provided) and scratch paper. You are not allowed to ask anybody for help and should not use your book. You are not allowed to copy the problem and take it with you, but may copy it, give it to the tutor for help and leave it there. Copies of quiz problems should not leave the room.
If you don’t do as well as you would like the first time, you may take the quiz over again for a total of 4 tries; don’t procrastinate so that there will time to try it again. Each quiz will probably be quite different each time you take it so that you must do more than memorize how to work a specific problem; you must learn concepts for a given chapter to do well. A CD-ROM containing a practice quiz program can be purchased from the bookstore. Examinations will be taken on computers in the same room as the quizzes. You will be allowed two tries and your highest score will be counted. The dates listed below for the examinations are tentative and will probably change so that a suitable amount of material can be included. You can take the examination anytime after I announce that it is available, but must finish it by the stated deadline. Deadlines will be announced in class (and possibly through email)and posted on the General Chemistry Web site. I will have a class email list. If you are not on it after my first email to the class, send me a request with the email address and I will add your address to the list. No excuses for missing examinations or quizzes because you "did not know when it was" will be allowed.

Testing and Tutoring Center (TTC) Examinations will be taken on a computer in Testing and Tutoring Center (S&T I, room 2); it will be the student’s responsibility to take them when (s)he feels ready.  Deadlines for taking them will be announced in class and on the WEB.  Tentative dates are listed below. You will be given approximately 80 minutes for an examination in which one would normally be given 50 minutes. After finishing the examination, you can take it again as long as it is before the deadline, but after a required study time.

You must bring a photo ID with you and show it to the testing center personnel.  Then, you will start the program, enter your "G" number without the "G" to take the examination. You are allowed to use your calculator (non programmable) and scratch paper (provided by us). You are not allowed to ask anybody for help and should not use your book. You must deposit all personal effects including cell phones in the storage area of the room. You are not allowed to copy the problem and take it with you. Try not to focus excessively on the mechanics of individual problems as much as on the problem solving strategy.

If you don’t do as well as you would like the first time, you may take the examination once more before the deadline; don’t procrastinate so that there will be time to try it again. Probably each time you take the examination, it be quite different so that you must do more than memorize how to work a specific problem; you must learn concepts for a given chapter to do well

In-class quizzes will be given very often - in fact you should assume there will be some sort of in-class quiz every period. Students must purchase the i>clickers (personal response devices) from the bookstore and bring it to every class to record the individual answers to the quizzes. The i>clicker automatically records your answers to each quiz. If you do not have an i>clicker, you will not be able to complete the quiz and will receive a zero for that quiz.

Once you obtain your i>clicker you need to register it. On the back of your i>clicker find your unique registration number (at the bottom). This registration number must be assigned to your name on the class roll sheet. If this is not completed, you will not get credit for your answers. To register, go to the following URL: www.iclicker.com/registration. Complete the registration form. Enter your G# for student ID (including the G). Grading for quizzes will be done as follows: 3 points for each correct answer, and 2 points participation will be given for each answer -whether it is correct or incorrect. No points will be given if a question is not answered. Because the i>clicker is also a measure of lecture attendance, there will be no make ups and written answers will not be accepted. Quizzes will contain material covered in class as well as from the assigned reading for that day. It will be very important for you to read the assigned material for that class period.

Final Examination: The final examination is cumulative and will be a nationally standardized examination produced by the American Chemical Society(ACS). ACS study guides can be purchased from the bookstore or from the Chem club - ask the secretaries in S&T I room 343.

Copies of old examinations are posted on the WEB at my WEB page. You should refer to it frequently for this or other late breaking news. The address is: http://osf1.gmu.edu/~jschreif. You should go to the GenChem site to find out tutoring center schedule, lecture and laboratory syllabi.

Laboratory grade: Students, who have not taken this course before must be enrolled in a laboratory section and earn a laboratory grade. Students, who have taken the class before, may be allowed to use their previously earned lab grade - as long as it is at least an 80%. These students, will need to fill out a lab waiver and leave a copy with the Chemistry admin in S&T I room 343 as well as with me. A special waiver form is also taken to the registrar so that the lecture can be taken without a lab.

Successful Studying Strategy

A student, who really wants successfully complete this course should design a well-thought out studying strategy.  This should include reading the chapters, studying worked problems, and working other problems at the end of the chapter prior to finishing the homework, quizzes or exams.  More specifically try the following:

1. Spend about a half-hour skimming the contents of the chapter to familiarize yourself with very general concepts.   

2. Read the chapter through completely, but do not spend much time working problems.

3. Study how the worked problems are solved.

4. Work problems at the end of the chapter until you can solve most of the ones you encounter.  Make sure you focus on concepts.  You should go back to the section from which the problem is derived and look at worked problems to help learn how to solve these.

5. Work the homework problems.

6. Ask for help from the tutors at the tutoring center, which is next door to the testing center. Hours for the tutoring center will be available through the genchem web page.

7. Practice quiz CD is available in the bookstore and has been found useful as a preparation for the quizzes; it is nearly idential to the actual quiz program used for a grade.

GRADING

A student, who finds it necessary to miss an examination, must notify me as soon as possible before or immediately after the examination and bring in documented proof of the problem. Otherwise the student will receive a zero for the missed examination. Calculators are allowed for examinations, but small computers are not. Use of a large calculator or small computer will be considered an honor code violation.  In the event that there is a bomb scare, class will not necessarily be cancelled. Instead, all of the class should assemble outside the front entrance to the building until I have dismissed it. Otherwise the student will receive a zero for missed work. Students, who have more than one final examination scheduled at the same time, should bring proof of the conflict before it can be rescheduled. The final grade will be determined as indicated below: The grading scale for the homework and examinations will be curved.

Lecture Syllabus Spring, 2011

Midterm Examinations(tentative): Mar. 2, Apr. 6, May 2