Tarleton State University
Department of Chemistry, Geosciences, and Environmental Sciences
Chem 1054-010 College Chemistry I Fall 2006
This course is an overview of the general principles and concepts used in the field of Chemistry. Chemistry 1054 is the first half of a yearlong College Chemistry course. Chemistry 1084 is the second half of the course. The topics that will be covered in Chemistry 1054 include:
1. An introduction to the basic classifications of matter, the types of changes that matter undergoes, the scientific method, units of measurement, and the treatment of significant figures.
2. An introduction to the Periodic Table, chemical symbols, and chemical nomenclature.
3. The representation of a chemical reaction by a chemical equation. Performing numerical calculations involving chemical equations.
4. A description of solutions and the way that solutes dissolve in water solvent.
5. The physical laws that govern the properties of gases.
6. The relationship between heat and chemical reactions.
7. The basic building blocks of matter and theories that describe how these building blocks are structured.
8. A description of the different types of bonds that hold atoms together.
9. A description of the different types of forces that hold compounds together.
10. A general description of the liquid and solid phases of matter.
Required Material
· Textbook: Chemistry: The Central Science 10th Ed. Brown,
· A CourseCompass Student access packet should be bound with the textbook. It consists of a card with printed instructions for the online enrollment process as well as an access code. If a student wishes, they may purchase access to this program with a credit card online. The CourseCompass program has course-related material as well as access to the PhGradeAssist program for online homework.
· Lab book: A locally produced lab book that is available in the book store. This lab book has just been revised. Be sure to obtain this year's version.
· A scientific non-programmable calculator (see Departmental calculator policy section later in this syllabus )
Course Procedure and Requirements
You will be expected to attend and participate in all classes and labs. There will be homework assignments given for each chapter from an online homework grading program called PhGradeAssist. It is part of a larger package called Course Compass. Access to the grading program is through the website on the Course Compass site. I will show how to access the PhGradeAssist program during the 1st class. I will also distribute a handout with instructions during the 1st class. These homework assignments consist of multiple choice and numeric problems. You will be given a due date and time for each assignment. You may take the assignment as many times as you wish. You will be given the best grade earned on any of the assignments taken. In addition, there are suggested homework problems for each chapter that are given in the course schedule at the end of this syllabus. The suggested homework problems consist of the exercises found at the end of each of the chapters of your textbook. At the current time, I have only given suggested homework problems for the 1st three chapters. I will give out the rest of the suggested homework problems later. It is essential that you do the homework problems in order to perform well in this course. The suggested homework problems will not be collected or graded so you are on the honor system. The answers to the suggested homework problems can be found on my web site at the URL of /www.tarleton.edu/~alow. Follow the links for Chemistry 1054 and then for the course syllabus. The links to the homework problems can be found in the course schedule of the course syllabus on the web site. You may print out copies of these answers from any computer connected to the internet. However, please remember that just printing out the answers and seeing how I solved the problem is not as valuable as you actually trying to solve the problems on your own and then checking with my answers.
You should study for this course on a daily basis (between 30-45 minutes per day, 5 days per week) rather than waiting for a couple of days before an exam to study. There is quite a lot of material covered in College Chemistry. If you wait a number of class periods before studying you will find that there is an awful lot of material to learn in a very short time. In general, cramming for the exams the night before will not result in a good grade in this course. If you encounter difficulties in this course, please seek assistance immediately. Sources of assistance include:
1. The textbook: Reading your textbook may give you a different way of viewing the material in class. This may assist you in understanding the material. The book also has many worked out example problems that may assist you. Since the lecture material is presented in the same order as the textbook, it may also help you to glance ahead in the textbook before lecture so you may have some idea of what I will be talking about in class. Reading a scientific textbook is not performed in the same way as you would read a novel! You should be actively trying to interpret what is being said in the text by perhaps taking notes from the text while you read or highlighting the important material.
2. Your professor: Dr. Arthur A. Low. Office number 417 in the
3. My website: My website has an URL of /www.tarleton.edu/~alow. You can also get there by going to the general Tarleton website of /www.tarleton.edu and looking up the list of faculty web pages in the directory. The website will not only have the answers to the assigned homework on it, it will also contain keys for past exams on it.
4. Supplemental Instruction: Supplemental instruction is a series of help sessions held by an undergraduate student, usually a chemistry major. I probably will not know if there will be a S.I. leader until the first class session. If there is an SI leader, please take advantage of the help sessions. Not only will it reduce the amount of your study time, it will also result in a better grade.
5. You might want to form a study group with other students in class.
Evaluation of Grades
Your grade is computed based on your performance in the lecture, the lab, and on the final exam. Your course grade is a weighted average of these three grades with the lecture grade counting 50%, the lab grade counting 25%, and the final exam grade counting 25%. A simpler way to calculate your course grade is to take two times your lecture grade, add your final exam and lab grade to that, then divide the sum by four. In order to pass this course, you must receive passing grades (above a 60) in both the lecture and lab portions of this course, separately. The lecture portion can include the final exam if needed to obtain a grade above a 60 in the lecture. Course grades correspond to letter grades as follows: 90 and above-A; 80's-B; 70's-C; 60's-D; below 60-F.
Instead of giving quizzes in class, I will be making homework assignments for you to do online using the program PhGradeAssist via CourseCompass (using the OneKey program). The procedure for registering will be gone over during the 1st class. PhGradeAssist gives and grades quizzes over the internet. There will be at least one online quiz due for each chapter covered. The first quiz is entitled "Chapter 1 Assignment.” The due date and time will be given to you in lecture and posted on the bulletin board opposite my office. I will go through the introductory material for this program during the first lecture. Each assignment will be graded out of 100 points and will consist generally of 10 multiple choice questions and 5 numerical problems. It is important that you take these assignments!! They count for one-third of your lecture grade.
There will be 4 class exams scheduled during the semester. The exams are scheduled as follows: Friday, September 22; Wednesday, October 11; Wednesday, November 1; and Wednesday, November 29. Class exams consist of two parts: the first part consists of 10 multiple choice questions worth 4 points each for a total of 40 points; the second part consists of 5 problems with two 15 point problems and three 10 point problems worth a total of 60 points. The total possible score on an exam is 100 points. Exam grades are generally curved. The curved grade is what is used to calculate your lecture grade.
Your lecture grade is an average of your exam grades and your homework assignment average taken twice. For example, if your four curved exam grades are 75, 81, 84, and 67; and your homework assignment is 82, your lecture grade would be calculated as follows:
Your lecture grade is equal to 78.5. Suppose your lab grade is 85 and your final exam grade is 79. Then your course grade can be calculated as follows:
You would have a course grade of 80.25 and a grade of a B.
The final exam is a comprehensive departmental exam that will be given on Saturday, December 9 from 8 AM until 10:30 AM. It will be a multiple choice exam, graded by SCANTRON.
Departmental Calculator Policy
Programmable or graphing calculators will not be permitted for use on any class quizzes or exams. You may only use a simple scientific calculator (with trigonometric functions and exponential notation). Violation of this policy will be treated as an act of academic dishonesty.
Makeup Policy
Makeups for exams will be given during the week after the scheduled exam. Permission to take a makeup exam is up to the discretion of the professor. It is your responsibility to contact me, preferably in person, to arrange a time to take the makeup exam. Do not just leave a message on my voicemail or send me an email and expect me to get it. No makeups for exams will be allowed more than one week after the scheduled exam except in the case of a verifiable emergency. The makeup exam will cover the same material as the in-class exam but will consist of different questions.
Tentative Course Schedule
Day/Date |
Lecture Topic |
Suggested Homework Problems |
Monday, Aug. 28 |
Chapter 1 Introduction: Matter and |
10, 18, 24, 30,, 34, 36, 38, 40, |
Wednesday, Aug. 30 |
Measurement |
42, 46, 48, 61, 68, 70 |
Friday, Sept. 1 |
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Wednesday, Sept. 6 |
Chapter 2 Atoms, Molecules, and |
8, 10, 16, 20, 22, 24, 30, 36, 42, |
Friday, Sept. 8 |
Ions |
44, 48, 50, 54, 56, 60, 64, 66, |
Monday, Sept. 11 |
|
68 |
Wednesday, Sept. 13 |
Chapter 3 Stoichiometry: |
10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 26, 34, 36, |
Friday, Sept. 15 |
Calculations with Chemical |
38, 40, 44, 46, 48, 50, 58, 60, |
Monday, Sept. 18 |
Formulas and Equations |
62, 64, 72, 76, 78, 80 |
Wednesday, Sept. 20 |
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Friday, Sept. 22 |
Exam 1 |
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Monday, Sept. 25 |
Chapter 4 Aqueous Reactions and |
16, 24, 38, 40, 50, 52, 56, 62, 68, |
Wednesday, Sept. 27 |
Solution Stoichiometry |
70, 80, 84 |
Friday, Sept. 29 |
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Monday, Oct. 2 |
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Wednesday, Oct. 4 |
Chapter 5 Thermochemistry |
26, 38, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, |
Friday, Oct. 6 |
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72 |
Monday, Oct. 9 |
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Wednesday, Oct. 11 |
Exam 2 |
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Friday, Oct. 13 |
Chapter 6 Electronic Structure of |
16, 22, 36, 42, 50, 52, 64, 68. 72 |
Monday, Oct. 16 |
Atoms |
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Wednesday, Oct. 18 |
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Friday, Oct. 20 |
Chapter 7 Periodic Properties of the |
10, 14, 24, 26, 30, 36, 42, 44, 64, 70, 78 |
Monday, Oct. 23 |
Elements |
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Wednesday, Oct. 25 |
Chapter 8 Basic Concepts of |
18, 24, 38, 40, 46, 50, 62, 66 |
Friday, Oct. 27 |
Chemical Bonding |
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Monday, Oct. 30 |
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Wednesday, Nov. 1 |
Exam 3 |
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Friday, Nov. 3 |
Chapter 9 Molecular Geometry and |
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Monday, Nov. 6 |
Bonding Theories |
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Wednesday, Nov. 8 |
Chapter 10 Gases |
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Friday, Nov. 10 |
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Monday, Nov. 13 |
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Wednesday, Nov. 15 |
Chapter 11 Intermolecular Forces, |
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Friday, Nov. 17 |
Liquids, and Solids |
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Monday, Nov. 20 |
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Wednesday, Nov. 22 |
Chapter 12 Modern Materials |
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Monday, Nov. 27 |
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Wednesday, Nov. 29 |
Exam 4 |
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Wednesday, Dec. 1 |
Chapter 13 Solutions |
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Monday, Dec. 4 |
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Wednesday, Dec. 6 |
Review for Final Exam |
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Final Exam: Saturday, December 9 from 8-10:30 AM