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Malkiat
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CHEMISTRY 51- GENERAL
CHEMISTRY (accelerated), FALL, 2011
Course Description
and Syllabus
Dr. Malkiat S. Johal, Seaver North 110, extension
74253, malkiat.johal@pomona.edu
Lecture Schedule: Mon, Wed, Fri,
09:00 AM – 09.50 AM; Seaver North, Room 202
Laboratory Schedule: Mon or Wed, 1:15
PM – 5:00 PM, Seaver North, Laboratory 6
LINK TO HOMEWORKS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Chemistry 51 is an accelerated, one-semester
course in general chemistry intended for those who plan to major in one of the
physical sciences and who have satisfied the prerequisites of two or more years
of high school chemistry and a
passing grade on the placement examination.
The course covers atomic and molecular structure, molecular modeling, classes of chemical reactions, ionic equilibrium, chemical
thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, transition-metal chemistry, and materials
science. The laboratory emphasizes
quantitative analysis, the statistical analysis of data, and scientific applications
of the computer using Microsoft Excel and Wavefunction
Spartan. The following materials are
required:
·
Textbook:
“Chemical Principles” by Steven S. Zumdahl, 6th
Edition, Brook/Cole. ISBN: 978-1-111-42586-9.
·
Chemistry
51 Laboratory Manual, Pomona College, 2011 (available at the stockroom)
·
Chemistry
51 Laboratory Notebook (available at the stockroom)
·
Safety
Glasses and lab coat (available at the stockroom)
·
Calculator
(highly recommended)
Your grade in the course will be based on
the three mid-term examinations, the comprehensive final examination, and your
laboratory reports. Although attendance
at lectures is expected, attendance at laboratory and the scheduled
examinations is required. Make-up examinations are only given to those who are
on the official sick list unless prior arrangements are made with the
instructor. Those who are absent without a valid excuse will
receive a zero. Note that there is no laboratory meeting on 21 (Monday)
and 23 (Wednesday) November. Each mid-term is worth 15% (total 45%),
and the final is worth 30%. Laboratory work constitutes 25%. Exam questions will include problems and
short essays; correct use of English is expected. In preparing your laboratory reports, refer
to the section in the Laboratory Manual "Laboratory Grading Policies"
so that you will not lose points for failing to follow the course
guidelines. Pay close attention to the
use of units and significant digits.
Chemistry 51 is a problem-solving course and
success in the course depends on working on the homework assignments that are
made each period. Previous experience
has shown that those who fail to do the homework or who procrastinate until the
week before the examination do poorly on the examinations. Budget up to 3 hours of study out of class
for every hour spent in class. A group
effort on the homework is encouraged as long as all members of the group
participate in the activity. Your work
will be checked as soon as possible by the student graders so that both you and
the instructor will have an indication of your progress in the course. Every effort will be made to return the
corrected homework in class by the lecture period after it was submitted. The laboratory work begins on Monday, 5 September,
(or Wednesday 7 September) at 13:15. Our
first meeting will be in the student lounge, Seaver North. Please obtain your lab materials at the
stockroom on the first floor of Seaver North and if possible secure your
computer password and user ID from ITS before the first lab meeting. For reasons of safety, shoes are required in
lab; sandals are not an acceptable substitute.
Computing is an integral feature of the course. A portion of the first two lab sessions will
be dedicated to Microsoft Excel. Some
homework exercises will utilize Odyssey, a versatile modeling program produced by
the developers of Spartan.
An optional weekly discussion session is a
traditional component of General Chemistry at Pomona College. The time and location of the review session will
be established on the first day of class.
The review session is your opportunity to ask questions about obscure
material. Students at each session may
be divided into small groups that will work on problems that unify the course
material. The problems are designed to
develop your skill in solving chemical problems. Strategies in solving the problems will be
discussed.
Most handouts including laboratory protocols
are available on the instructor's Web pages.
The URL for the index page is http://pages.pomona.edu/~msj04747. Material relating to just Chemistry 51 will
be found on its own page. The Chemistry
Department also maintains MolData, a Web-based,
annotated bibliography of links to sources of reliable, useful chemical data on
the WWW. For a serious search of the
scientific literature, the instructor recommends Web of Science that is
accessed via Honnold Library's Web page
http://voxlibris.claremont.edu. Honnold provides Web access to an impressive number of
journals. You don't have to enter the
library to use the library.
Important
Information:
My office hours are Monday and Friday from 1:00pm to 3:00 pm, or by
appointment. Homeworks will be graded by TAs. Homeworks
are not awarded specific grades, but rather evaluated according to either a
satisfactory or an incomplete performance. The homework is a learning exercise
only and it will only be factored into the final grade in unusual circumstances
or if the student’s grade is borderline. The
evaluation of homework is based on the following system:
ü+ (or 3) - Most problems were completed satisfactorily, with only a few
minor errors/computational mistakes.
ü (or 2) - Most problems were attempted or a few
major mistakes were made on some of the problems.
ü - (or 1) – Some problems were attempted, but
the homework was mostly incomplete.