Assignments and Grading

Evaluation: Letter grades will be awarded based on the following scale:

Letter Grade Percentage of Points Earned

A 90-100%

B 80-89%

C 70-79%

D 60-69%

F Below 60%

**Grade cutoffs will not be raised, but they may be lowered at the discretion of the instructor. Plus and minus grades will not be awarded.**

The grade assigned for this course will be determined by your performance on exams, a cumulative final, quizzes, homework, and in-class activities. Points will be weighted as follows:

4 Midterm Exams (lowest dropped) 45%

Final Exam (ACS Exam) 20%

Weekly Homework (Sunday) 10%

Lecture Prep Homework (Sunday/Tuesday) 10%

Weekly Wednesday Quizzes 10%

In-Class Activities/Groupwork 5%

Midterm Exams: Exam dates are listed on the schedule. You must be available during regularly-scheduled class hours to take the exams. The lowest midterm exam will be dropped. If there is an emergency and you must miss an exam, contact me immediately. Make up exams will only be considered with prior notification of the instructor. Documentation (e.g., doctor’s note) may be required for missed exams. Exams missed due to unexcused absences will receive a zero.

Final Exam: The final exam for this course is the American Chemical Society General Chemistry I standardized exam. It is multiple choice and will cover material learned throughout the course of the semester. The final exam will be given in lab during the last week of the semester. If you are taking lab on another campus, or not taking lab, you will need to make arrangements to take the exam in an open lab section.

Online Homework: Homework will be assigned through an online homework platform, MasteringChemistry. To access MasteringChemistry, click on the "MyLab and Mastering" link in our Canvas shell and follow the registration instructions. You will be prompted for an access code. This can be purchased from the Miramar Bookstore (bundled with the text) or online during course registration.

There are two types of homework assignments for this class: lecture prep assignments and weekly wrap-up assignments. The lecture prep assignments are due by 11:59PM the evening before class meets (Sunday and Tuesday). These are short assignments designed to get you thinking about the next day's topics. Weekly homework are longer (~60-90 minutes) and will cover the material learned the previous week. They are due every Sunday by 11:59PM.

For both assignments, late homework will be accepted with a penalty of 20% per day. After 5 days, late homework will receive no credit. Late homework credit/penalties are assigned automatically in MasteringChemistry; simply complete the homework as you normally would.

In-Class Quizzes: Brief quizzes will be given at the end of each Wednesday class period (starting in week 2). Quizzes will consist of 1-2 exam style questions and cover topics learned in class during the past week. There will be approximately 10 quizzes; the lowest 2 quiz scores will be dropped. However, students who complete ALL quizzes will receive a 1% bonus on their final class grade.

In-Class Activities/Groupwork: Many of the key concepts in this course involve working problems. In-class activities will be assigned periodically to give you hands-on practice with problem solving. Some activities will be paper-based, while others will be administered online. As these activities are designed to be completed in class (and monitor your attendance), they cannot be made up if missed.