Chem 143

Week 1 How and when to attend class

Attendance for the first week is required. There are 2 parts to the required attendance:

1. Complete the syllabus quiz on the first day of week 1, if you are officially enrolled. If you are on the waitlist, you will be able to access it after you add the course and your deadline will be extended - do make sure to complete it within 24 hours.

2. Attend both your lecture class and lab sessions in person. Contact me immediately if you will not be able to attend - you will be dropped if you don't attend and don't contact me.

Attendance in Chemistry 133 is also required for week 1 if you are enrolled in that course. Chemistry 133 is not required, and additional information is available for that course.

How this course works

This is a full semester length course. Each "course week" starts on Monday and ends on Sunday. All assignments, other than exams and labs, have flexible due dates. This means that the assignment has a specific due date in Canvas, but if you need a little extra time to complete it, that's okay! You do want to complete assignments as close to the due date as possible, so you are ready for exams and so you have enough time to really learn and apply the concepts for both this course and the future courses that rely on this one.

This course includes some flexibility. You do have some choices of how you can engage with the materials:

1. Read

   • All course readings are in Canvas, and are provided for free! The only cost is if you decide to buy a physical copy of the textbook or if you decide to buy the ingredients to perform any of the optional experiments over the semester.

2. Participate/Watch

   • Required - Watch mini-lectures on the course topics for the week before attending the weekly class sessions (in weekly video pages in Canvas, or see the YouTube links below) - this is also great for review

   • Attend the weekly class sessions - you will be expected to participate - we will mostly practice chemistry while together, with little to no lecture

3. Do

   • Required Canvas homework based on the readings. These all include multiple attempts, and are auto-graded, so you can try them out until you really understand the content!

   • Additional required practice - printouts/worksheets so you can practice writing out the chemistry. Print outs will be available in Canvas or by handout in class.

   • Additional optional practice - available for many different topics throughout the course.

   • Lab experiments - most labs are wet labs performed in the lab classroom. Most labs include a pre-lab quiz. Make sure to read the lab instructions, take the quiz, then attend lab and complete the lab experiments. The pre-lab is designed to help you focus on the concepts most important to completing the lab correctly and safely. There is a lab in week 1.

   • Exams - There are 4 units in the class, and one exam for each unit. See the course calendar for exam dates.

How to Contact me

There are three very quick ways to contact me:

1. Send me an email at bunagt@yosemite.edu, and include the course you are emailing me about in the subject line or message.

2. Contact me through the Course Team (in Microsoft Teams) - you can find the information to join once the course is available

3. If you are officially enrolled, send me a message from within Canvas - you can do this from the Inbox or the Help (? icon) in Canvas. Both are available on a computer or a mobile device.

You can also contact me through the "Questions for my instructor" discussion in Canvas, once you have access to the course site. There are 2 advantages to using this discussion for general questions:

1. See if others have asked the same question

2. Other students may also share the answer they found to the question

How quickly can you expect a response?

I generally respond to emails within 24 hours on weekdays or up to 48 hours on the weekend. Generally, I respond to emails very quickly, but do remember, I have to sleep, too! I typically do not read emails during lecture times or office hours, since I am focused on students in the room. If you have a question during office hours, you can get an instant response by stopping into office hours (either the in person or virtual hours).

Due Dates for Week 1

Read/Watch

• Syllabus

• Chapter 1 and 2 of the textbook

• Math review

• Lab safety reading and video

• Week 1 videos (note - these are a grand total of 31 minutes total, each very short) - video links are included in the next section below

Complete

Note - assignments can be submitted early, and it is recommended to complete them as early as you can, to give yourself some flexibility

• For Lab

  • Attend the lab session you are registered for this week, or contact me as soon as possible if you cannot attend. We will do a lab in week 1.

• For Lecture

  • Turn in Week 1 in class assignment by uploading to Canvas as soon as possible after completing in lecture

  • Come to lecture and participate on your Lecture day 

• Monday/Tuesday (depending on which day of the week is the first day of the course) 

  • Complete the syllabus quiz to stay enrolled in the course. You just need to attempt the syllabus quiz at least once, you do not need a perfect score.

• Tuesday

  • Submit math pre-assessment, so you know what topics to review.

• By end of day Sunday

  • Submit Chapter 1 homework

  • Complete "About Me" survey

• See the "Schedule" page for additional week content

Materials you will need for week 1

All course materials can be found in Canvas. Here's what you can access outside of Canvas:

• Full course textbook - available from LibreText - select PDF or Downloads to download the entire book. The Downloads link can also allow you to order an optional print copy of the book, or you are welcome to print the pages you would like from the book.

• Course Handout packet - I will hand out materials in class, as needed, or provide them in Canvas for printing

• Computer - You will need regular access to a computer that meets Canvas technical requirements to be able to complete assignments. There are many other resources for online coursework. That site also has information about low-cost internet options. 

• Microsoft 365 Suite - This is available for free to all students! Make sure to download Microsoft Excel to your computer, at minimum, since you will need it later in the course.

• Scientific Calculator - Non-programmable,TI 30XA or TI 30XIIS recommended. Graphing calculators are not recommended. If you do not have a scientific calculator the library may have one to borrow. You do need an actual calculator for exams, and it is best to practice with it. If you need a calculator to use while you wait to get your real one, you can use an online calculator for homework, such as the Desmos Scientific Calculator.

• A way to take digital pictures or video (phone, laptop, digital camera, etc.) and scan papers (a scanner or a phone app that allows scanning). Please, make sure to have a way to convert materials to PDF, so they are readable. I will help with this in the lab classroom.

Optional (all materials below are free)

• Canvas Student app for your phone or tablet. Available for Android or iOS. Most materials in the course can be viewed on a mobile device.

• Scanning App (a couple options are below)

  • Adobe Scan app to create PDFs from images and/or a scanner. 

  • Google Drive on your phone, you can also use that to scan to PDF. How to Scan to PDF with Google Drive.

• YouTube videos I made for each course unit. If you find any issues with the videos, contact me so I can fix it right away - don't just press the downvote! I'd be happy to add/replace videos to help you!

  • Unit 1

  • Unit 2

  • Unit 3

  • Unit 4

• A really great playlist of math review topics for chemistry:

  • The Math You'll Use in Chemistry, by Melissa Maribel

Before Lab:

Safety Video

Please note that the link above is to the Unit 1 YouTube Playlist. If you allow it to continue playing, you will see each of the videos below in order, then the videos for the rest of Unit 1.

Chapter 1 - This link goes to the Chapter 1 Reading in Canvas. You may also access the readings directly in the Full course textbook.

• Describe the steps of the scientific method

Chapter 2 - This link goes to the Chapter 2 Reading in Canvas. You may also access the readings directly in the Full course textbook.

• Perform calculations:

  • Using scientific notation - see review materials in Math Topic Review

  • Using proper significant figures

    • What are significant figures?

    • Exact vs. Measured numbers and significant figures

    • Rounding Rules

    • Significant figures in multiplying/dividing

    • Significant figures in adding/subtracting

    • Mixed calculations

• Everyone (yes, that includes you!) can learn chemistry, and I am here to help you to find the ways that work best for you.

• Chemistry is the central science, and it is important to everyone and everything. It has been studied by people from all walks of life, and it is incredibly important for people from diverse backgrounds, with diverse abilities, and with diverse goals to study and participate in chemistry. I treasure the unique view each student brings to the course, and sharing these views makes the course better for everyone.

• Learning chemistry requires action and interaction. Supported practice, interaction with the text, other students, and the instructor, and experimentation are all essential. These all will help you find your unique voice in chemistry.

• Our classroom is a learning community, where I encourage students to make the connections and the social/emotional support that makes completing challenging courses so rewarding.

• Mistakes are a part of the learning process, perhaps the most important part! Flexible due dates, choice in assignments, and other features are part of my courses to help you feel comfortable making and learning from your mistakes.

• Keep a positive attitude! 

• Practice, Practice, Practice! The problem-solving skills you will learn in this class will lay the foundation for your future career goals. The homework is set to allow repeated practice.

• Always ask questions! I love questions, and you are definitely not bothering me. If you get stuck on practice, don't just dive right into doing it again, ask.

• Read the chapter. Really!

• Take careful notes when you read, watch videos, and perform labs. Do the problems - don't just read them.

• Contact me for help or when you just need a little cheering up. I really do enjoy helping you understand chemistry.

• Look over your homework and other assignments and learn from your mistakes. This is really helpful for your homework, since it can give you low stakes practice before your exams.

• Form a study group with others in the class. Work together on homework but do your own work. Homework will prepare you for the exams, so make sure you understand how to do it on your own!

The course objectives below are what you should be able to do by the end of the course. These are broken down into specific things you should be able to do each week in the course. These weekly objectives are in the "Overview" for each week of the course in Canvas, and all of the required assignments, homework, labs, and exams are focused on these objectives.

You can think of the weekly objectives as the weekly list of skills you should have once you've mastered that week's content. You never need to guess what you need to know for a particular week or exam, since the specific skills are listed for you.

These weekly skills build to the course goals below:

Upon satisfactory completion of this course, the student should be prepared to:

1. Solve abstract and complex chemical problems using general chemistry principles and theories.

2. Describe key events in the development of chemistry and recognize that science is an evolving body of knowledge

3. Identify and use chemical laboratory equipment and instrumentation.

In addition to the specific course learning outcomes listed above, as a result of satisfactory completion of this course, the student should be prepared to:

1. Demonstrate proficiency in Natural Science by describing how scientific discoveries and theories affect human activities.

2. Demonstrate proficiency in Natural Science by explaining how the scientific method is used to solve problems.

The waitlist for this course can be quite long, and unfortunately, some students won't be able to enroll in the course because it is full. I know this is stressful and frustrating, so I hope I can make it as stress-free as possible. As such, I promise you the following:

• If you are on the waitlist, I will tell you by the end of week 2 whether you are in the course or not. I will send an email to your student email address making your status clear.

• There may not be physical room for you to attend class in week 1 or 2. If that is the case, you will have the option to complete your attendance another way so I know you are still interested in the class. Keep an eye on your student email for details on how to attend in week 1 and 2. If you do not see a message from me before week 1 starts, please email me for information. 

• If a spot opens, and you are next on the list, I will authorize you to add to the course. You should receive an email from the college to your student email address with information on how to add at that point. Make sure to regularly check all folders for messages, since add windows are short.

• You will not be penalized if you get added to the course late - no points will be deducted. You will be able to submit any assignments that were due before you added - Canvas will mark them as "Late" but it will not affect your grade in the course or anything else.

• Keep in mind - the lecture hall has far more seats than the lab rooms. That means that just because there's room in the lecture hall, there may not be room in the lab. Labs can only hold 24 students each safely, and I will not go over that limit.

You are encouraged to attend the entire first two weeks of the course, so you don't get behind. Links to the first 2 weeks of lecture videos are on this page (See Week 1 videos above and Week 2 videos below). If you are unable to attend the first two weeks, make sure to contact me, so I know you are still interested and active in the course. 

Videos for each week are organized by objective. Videos are short, to allow you to focus on one concept at a time, though since this is an introduction to some complicated calculations, these videos are up to 10 minutes each. Some topics will also have other practice materials or multimedia you may want to use, and links to these tools will be in Canvas. The total view time for all material on this page is about 80 minutes. I do suggest breaking it up, versus watching it all at once, and make sure to take good notes to refer to later, so you don't have to rewatch them too many times.

Chapter 2, continued

• Using dimensional analysis

  • What is dimensional analysis? 

  • Links to an external site.

  • To convert between units in the metric system (these all will use dimensional analysis, so make sure you understand dimensional analysis first)

    • Major units in the metric system

    • Metric prefixes, equivalencies, and conversion factors

    • One step metric conversions (examples: g--> mg, kg-->g, m-->nm)

    • Two step metric conversions (examples: kg-->mg, cm-->nm, mL-->dL)

    • Conversions of compound units (examples: kg/h-->mg/s, mm/min-->km/day)

      • A more complicated example

  • To convert between non-metrics units of measurement, if given conversion factors

  • To convert between units of temperature (Celsius, Kelvin, Fahrenheit)

  • Complete calculations involving density

    • Calculating Density

      • 1. 1. 1. 1. • if you know or can find the mass and volume

    • Using Density as a conversion factor

      • 1. 1. 1. 1. • if you know two of the three variables in the density equation

Chapter 3: Matter and Change

• Classify matter as an element, compound, or type of mixture

• Distinguish physical and chemical properties and changes (includes physical states of matter)