Chem 150 and 164

Week 1 of Chem 150 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 in Canvas by the end of the 3rd day of the class, or contact me for assistance.

2. Select your Final Topic by the end of the week. You may end up making changes to your topic as you work on it, but you will be most successful if you have your topic early.

3. Create your Forge account and join the class on The Forge - once you get into the class, you will have access to the link to The Forge. You are welcome to create your Forge account early - I recommend using one of the single sign on options. If you encounter any issues, I can help you set up your account during week 1 of the course. You must have internet access to use The Forge, so make sure to plan ahead and have backup plans in place.

How this course works

This course may be taught in a full semester or 7-week format. Each "course week" starts on Monday and ends on Sunday in either format. All assignments, other than the Final Project, have flexible due dates. This means that the assignment has a specific due date in Canvas, but if you need an extra day or two to complete it, that's okay! You do want to complete assignments as close to the due date as possible, particularly for the 7-week class, since those weeks go fast! Discussions need to be completed within the week assigned, so that other students may respond, and typically are only open for a couple days after the relevant week. Contact me if you need more than a day or two of extension on posting to a discussion.

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

   • Watch mini-lectures on the course topics for the week (in weekly video pages in Canvas) - this is also great for review

   • Attend office hours or contact me for help with specific topics

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

   • For Chemistry 164: Lab experiments - there are virtual, simulated, and real lab experiments throughout the course. Most labs include a pre-lab quiz. Make sure to read the lab instructions, take the quiz, then 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. If you are in Chemistry 164, you will need a lab kit, so talk to me about how to get this!

   • Final Projects - There are no exams in either 150 or 164. Instead, both classes include a final project. The Final Projects must be fully and completed drafted in The Forge, so it is vital you set up your Forge account in week 1.

     1. Chemistry 150 final project - writing a personally relevant case study for the textbook

     2. Chemistry 164 final project - running and writing up your own chemistry experiment

How to Contact me

There are two 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. 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. Once the course starts, you can also access the Teams space for the class, where you can send me text-style messages.

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.

Week 1 and 2 in Chemistry 150

Read/Watch

• Syllabus

• Chapter 1 and 2 of the textbook

• Overview of course assignments and projects

• Math review

Complete These in Week 1

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

• Monday, by the end of the day 

  • Complete the syllabus quiz to stay enrolled in the course. You just need to attempt the syllabus quiz, you do not need a perfect score. You can continue to retake it all week.

• Tuesday

  • Make your first post to the Introductory Discussion

  • Make sure to read about your final project!

• Wednesday

  • Make your account in The Forge by the end of the day, so you can use it for the topic selection

• Thursday

  • Final Project Topic Selection

• Sunday

  • 2 additional posts to the Introductory Discussion

  • Math Review Quiz

• Sunday

  • Final Project Sources - must be completed in The Forge, using the provided template

  • Matter Quiz

Materials you will need for week 1 and 2

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. The Chemistry 150 textbook is used for both 150 and 164.

• 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. 

• The Forge account

• Microsoft 365 Suite - This is available for free to all students! Highly recommended!

• Scientific Calculator - Non-programmable,TI 30XA or TI 30XIIS recommended. No graphing calculators. If you do not have a scientific calculator, there are some online, 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). 

• For Chemistry 164 - you will need to pick up the free lab kit from the college. More information will be provided the week before the class starts.

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 for this course. 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!

  • Chemistry 150 Videos - I will be adding more videos, by request

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

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

• 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 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.