Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus

CHM 1045C –33500                                  CHM 2045C – 60060                     Summer 2021

General Chemistry I                                 Chemistry Fundamentals I         Version 1

With Qualitative Analysis         

Professor                                                                                                            Office Hours (email, Zoom, phone)                         

Dr. Chuck Davis                                                                                                 Office Hours: To Be Decided in Week One            

Email preferred: cdavis176@valenciacollege.edu                                           Zoom Link in Administrative Module in Canvas

Class Meetings and Office Hours                                                                             

All required assignments will be completed asynchronously, but students are highly encouraged to make use of the live office hours.  These will be excellent opportunities for real time help with concepts or examples. Office hours will not be held on school holidays. Of course, students are encouraged to send questions by email at any time.  Although the majority of class instruction will be available as digital recordings, students are also expected to be familiar with the assigned textbook material.  

CHM 1045C         General Chemistry with Qualitative Analysis I                    Credit Hours: 4                  Contact Hours: 6

A study of the basic principles of chemistry including chemical reactivity, atomic structure, chemical bonding, molecular geometry, periodicity, stoichiometry, and kinetic-molecular treatment of gases. Laboratory exercises will focus on the application of concepts discussed in the lectures using a lab simulator.

Prerequisites

CHM 1025C or one year of high school chemistry with a minimum grade of C; and MAC 1105 (College Algebra) or honor's high school algebra II with a minimum grade of C.  Alternately, UCF students who have earned passing scores on the Chemistry Placement exam are eligible. 

Resource Requirements:             

Chemistry: A Molecular Approach, 5th Ed with Modified Mastering Chemistry Access Code.  May be purchased through the online bookstore or directly from the publisher through the course shell. Detailed options and instructions included in the Administrative Module in Canvas.

McGraw Hill LearnSmart Lab access code – May be purchased through the online bookstore or directly from the publisher through the course shell. Detailed options and instructions included in the Administrative Module in Canvas.

Scientific Calculator – Any non-internet connected model with basic scientific functions such as scientific notation.  Graphing not required.  Calculator memory may be cleared before all assessment activities.

Course Structure - The online learning format can be very effective when approached with the right perspective and focus.  The asynchronous nature allows greater flexibility for the busy student, but it also requires a strong work ethic and self-motivation.  I will be providing my own recorded video lectures along with links to other resources and worked examples.  It is critical that students make maximum use of this material as well as the course textbook to be prepared for the assessments.  Without those tools, students may feel lost and underprepared.  We will strongly emphasize the ability to take the basic concepts presented and to apply those to real-world situations.   This course will not focus on regurgitating simple facts or mimicking basic equations. The successful student will incorporate the information and present it on a larger application scale.  In some assignments, group work will be used to encourage greater interaction between students.

Because the online format does require that students stay current on class content, late assignments will not be accepted.  Missed assignments due to illness or technical difficulties will generally be scored as zero, but the majority of class assignments have built in drop opportunities to offset this. Special accommodations may be made for special circumstances.  Please notify the professor of any such cases.

                Our academic week will run from Wednesdays through Tuesdays.  No assignments will be due on weekends or school holidays.  Students are directed to follow the course progress through the modules and not through other Canvas links such as assignments, quizzes, or the calendar.

Course Technology

 This course will actively use the Canvas interface as a tool for online learning.  Students will need access and familiarity with a laptop or desktop computer with webcam access.  They will also need a reliable internet connection.  Many assignments will rely on the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications.   Please be sure to download the latest versions from the link in the course shell.  The HonorLock proctoring system will be used for most of the quiz and exam assessments. 

Exams

      We will have five exams, each covering material from 2-3 chapters.  These will be a combination of multiple choice, problem solving, and essay questions.  These will be completed individually, without external resources, using the HonorLock monitoring system.

Final Exam

       The final exam will be cumulative and will be completed on August 2, 2021.  We will use the Honorlock Monitoring system for this exam. The score will account for 15% of the final course grade and may be used to replace one of the five exams if the score is higher.  

Lab Assignments

      Since laboratory exploration is an inherent portion of this course, we will be performing most of our lab experiments in an online simulated environment through the McGraw-Hill LearnSmart system.  In addition, the professor may also implement a few virtual labs outside of the simulator. Unless indicated otherwise, all lab work will be completed individually.  There will be approximately 8 of these assignments with the top 6 scores accounting for 15% of the final course grade. 

Weekly Activities

     Each week, there will be an assignment designed to help students master course content and to extend course content beyond the lectures and textbook.  These may vary by week, but they may include activities such as podcasts, chapter summaries, and content presentation.  Some of this work will be completed in groups and some individually.  There will be approximately 12 of these assignments with the top 10 scores accounting for 15% of the final course grade. 

Reflection Surveys

      As part of an educational research project, the professor will provide a weekly survey form where students give input on their mastery of the material, study techniques, and also give them opportunities to suggest improvements.  The goal of these is to help the students and the professor find the most effective learning techniques.   The scores on this assignments are based only on completion, and not the student's self-reported mastery or efforts.  There will be approximately 11 of these assignments with the top 9 scores accounting for 5% of the final course grade. 

Chapter Homework Assignments

     Homework will be completed on the Pearson Modified Mastering Chemistry platform.  Students are certainly permitted to discuss the work with their classmates as a learning tool, but all submitted work should reflect the individual student's mastery of the material. Although homework completion is an expected component of the course, it will not be included in the course grades.

Chapter Worksheets

      For each chapter, the professor will provide a worksheet designed to help students prepare for the exams. The worksheets are a mandatory part of the course but they will not be included in the final course grade.

IMPORTANT DATES

     Course Starts                                     May 10

     Drop/Refund Date                           May 17

      Memorial Day Holiday                    May 31

     Independence Day Holiday             July 2                                    

     Withdrawal (W) Deadline               July 2

     Last Day of Instruction                  July 30

     Final Exam                                      August 2

Note:  Although this course contains both Valencia and UCF students, we will follow the Valencia academic calendar. 

Attendance and Remedial Work Policy

                Success on the college level requires active student engagement.  Attendance and engagement will be measured using the student’s participation in online assignments. Although, the college may withdraw a student if they are inactive during the first few days of the term, the professor does not initiate the withdrawal of students from the course at any time.  As stated previously, the nature of online learning requires a strong emphasis on time management.  Therefore, late assignments will generally not be accepted and will be scored as zeros.  In extreme cases, such as severe illness, hospitalization, military duty, or specific documentable situations, special accommodations may be made individually.  Be sure to notify your professor if any of these situations apply.

Grading Scale                   

Final course grades will be calculated based on overall percentages.

A = 90-100  Student performs consistently at the highest level and has a thorough mastery of virtually all the material.  Student is consistently able to apply concepts and skills to new, non-routine and highly complex problems.

B = 80-89  Student performs consistently at a high level and has substantial mastery of a majority of the material.  Student is able, most of the time, to apply concepts and skills to the solution of new, non-routine and highly complex problems.

C = 70-79  Student performs competently most of the time and has a satisfactory mastery of essential material.  Student is able, some of the time, to apply concepts and skills to the solution of new, non-routine and highly complex problems. 

D = 60-69  Student performs at a minimally competent level and has marginal mastery of the minimum essential material.  Student, with clear instructions, can be expected to carry out well-defined tasks at a routine level.

F = 0-59  Student does not perform at a minimally competent level and does not have marginal mastery of the essential material.

In the case of a grade grievance, the first step is to discuss the score(s) in questions with your professor.  If further action is required, please feel free to contact the appropriate representative for your school: Dr. Eugene Jones, Executive Dean of the Valencia Downtown Campus, ejones102@valenciacollege.edu,  or Ross Wolf, Vice Provost of UCF Downtown, ross.wolf@ucf.edu. 

Classroom Environment

     Valencia College prides itself on its reputation as a learning institution.  Towards that goal, all student and faculty behavior, both in-person and online, should promote a respectful, professional, comfortable, and safe learning environment. We will be engaging in some discussions that may be very passionate for some students.   Although I will encourage you to share your opinions, along with the supporting science, we must respect the opinions of others.  Aggressive or inappropriate content will be addressed under the Valencia Code of Student Conduct and may result in lowered scores.

Academic Integrity

     The primary goal of our educational process is to empower students with the knowledge and skills to be successful.  The activities and assessments in this course will emphasize student learning and application.  With that said, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge that the online environment poses new risks for academic dishonesty.  We will use a wide variety of technological tools to monitor student ethics in the course.  If the professor feels that a student has violated that criteria, the student will be notified and will have the opportunity to respond.  Based on that interaction, the professor may choose to charge the student with an academic integrity violation.  If the professor concludes there was a violation, the student will receive a non-droppable score of zero on that individual assignment.  If there is a second violation of the academic code during the term, the student will receive a failing course grade.  The professor maintains the right to also formally charge the student under the colleges’ Student Conduct Codes which can result in much more punitive results.  

     The following excerpt from the Valencia Student Handbook and Student Code of Conduct will be followed strictly in this course.

Academic Dishonesty (College Policy 6HX28:08-11)

     “All forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited at Valencia College. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, furnishing false information, forgery, alteration or misuse of documents, misconduct during a test situation, and misuse of identification with intent to defraud or deceive.

     All work submitted by students is expected to be the result of the students’ individual thoughts, research and self-expression. Whenever a student uses ideas, wording or organization from another source, the source shall be appropriately acknowledged.”

     Anyone observing an act of academic dishonesty should report the matter to the professor, or any academic Dean.  A few specific examples of violations of Academic Integrity include:

1.      Plagiarism, or the use of another source’s words and/or ideas without acknowledgement All assignments done outside of class (including but not limited to projects, homework, labs, or quizzes), which involve sources other than the stated textbook, will require proper bibliographic documentation. If you have any questions about proper documentation procedures, ask your instructor.
2.      Completing any exam or quiz with the aid of outside sources, unless specifically designated by the instructor.
3.      Access to disallowed materials or information during an individual graded assignment.
4.      Copying of homework solutions, lab calculations, or lab reports from another student.
5.      Furnishing false information to gain an unfair advantage on graded assignments.

Honorlock Monitoring System

                As part of our commitment to maintaining the academic integrity, we will continue our implementation of the Honorlock Monitoring system for all exams.  This system requires that students complete exams and quizzes on a desktop or laptop computer equipped with a single monitor and a webcam.  The webcam must be mobile enough to complete a room scan. The computer also must have reliable access to an internet connection. Most tablets do not meet the technology requirement.  These assessments may not be completed on a cell phone This software requires that students install the Honorlock add-in into the Google Chrome browser.  The add-in allows for webcam, screen and audio recording during the monitored assignments.  It also monitors the network traffic during those sessions.  Currently, this software is the most widely used techniques for monitoring online proctoring.  If you are uncomfortable with the use of this software, please contact your academic advisor as soon as possible to find out about possible transfer options.  Use of this system is a required and integral part of this course.

Academic Support Services:

     Students who require special accommodations must ensure the instructor receives proper documentation from the Office for Students with Disabilities at least one week prior to needed accommodations. 

Course Schedule and Policies are subject to change at the professor’s discretion.  Students will be notified of changes through email and Canvas announcements.

     This document has laid out an extensive list of critical course expectations.  However, always keep in mind that our overlying goal is develop academic thought, professional culture, and student learning.  This course should be a fun adventure that furthers a lifetime of learning.

Chuck. Davis, Ph.D.                                                                                                        

Professor of Chemistry