Marist College

Division of Science

  Faculty of Chemistry

 

CHEM 132L111+112  General Chemistry II (An introduction to Physical Chemistry)      Spring, 2004

Lecture: W 9:30 to 10:45 & F 11:00 to 12:15

Recitation: M 11:00 to 12:15

Instructor:  Johnny Galbraith (Neil Fitzgerald)* Office:  DN231A

E-Mail: john.galbraith@marist.edu (Neil.Fitzgerald@Marist.edu)         Telephone: x 2264

URL: http://www.academic.marist.edu/~jfp7 (http://www.academic.marist.edu/~jfjp)                       

Office Hours: TBA                                                                                      

*Dr.  Fitzgearld is teaching the other section of lecture.  You can ask him questions as well.

 

Goals and Objectives of this Course

General Chemistry II picks up where General Chemistry I left off.  Therefore you will be expected to use not only the knowledge you gained in General Chemistry I but also the problem solving skills you acquired during that class.  While this may seem daunting at first, it is quite rewarding to realize that complicated chemical phenomena are built from a few simple ideas.  With this realization comes the ability to figure out difficult questions from first principles rather than memorization.  These principles will be emphasized through hands-on experience in the Laboratory.  In the end you will have a true understanding and appreciation for chemical principles rather than a head full of facts.  Although this course serves as a base from which chemistry majors can pursue more in depth studies, the problem solving abilities and analytical view of your surroundings stressed in General Chemistry II are essential for any field of science; any field of life for that matter.  Thus, it is my belief that everyone should be required to take a Chemistry course.  However, I may be slightly biased.

 

In summery, the main objectives of this course are:

 

·                     Knowledge of chemical principles:  The student will have a working knowledge of chemical principals such as chemical thermodynamics, reaction rates and mechanisms, equilibrium (acid/base, solubility, redox), and electrochemistry. Time permiting, we will get into radiochemistry.  Assessed by Online Web-based Learning assignments, quizzes, laboratory assignments and exams.

·                     Application of chemical principals.: An important part of chemistry is experimentation.  A theory is only good if it can be verified by experiment.  The lecture and laboratory are linked so that you will have the chance to test in the laboratory what you learn in lecture.  The student will learn the methods of chemical experimentation and the treatment of data.  Assessed by laboratory exercises and observation.

 

·                     Problem solving abilities.  You began to learn some problem solving techniques in General Chemistry I.  General Chemistry II is more mathematically based so you will develop new skills as well as furthering your abilities from Gen. Chem. I.  The general idea is that you use the conceptual problem solving skills from Gen. Chem. I to figure out how to solve the problem and then use the new mathematical techniques to get the actual answer.  Assessed by recitation participation (see below) and  exams (Problems section see below)

 

·                     Abstract thought.  This could fall under the heading “advanced problem solving techniques”.  Chemistry text books give you certain types of problems and very rigid, fail-safe, step by step methods to solve those problems.  In the real world, you have a problem and a bunch of data and have to figure it out on your own.  The chemistry text gives you the tools to figure out chemistry, but you have to learn how to use those tools to solve specialized problems.  Assessed by recitation participation (see below) and  exams.

·                     Communication skills:  Discoveries are useless unless they can be communicated to the rest of the world.  Students will learn the techniques of oral and written scientific communication.  Assessed by lecture participation and laboratory written assignments.

 

Text: Kotz and Treichel, Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity , 5th Edition, (required)

Solutions Manual: Banks, Student Solutions Manual, 5th Edition, (recommended)

CD-ROM: Kotz and Vining, Interactive General Chemistry V2.5 with ActivChemistry and Workbook, Saunders, 1999 (recommended)

Online Web-based Learning PIN number (required).

Websites

The site to accompany the textbook is;. http://www.brookscole.com/chemistry_d/  (click on Course then General Chemistry.)

Online Web-base Learning (OWL) site: http://owl.thomsonlearning.com.

Information for the course can also be found on my website: http://www.academic.marist.edu/~jfp7 (click on ‘courses’.)

 

Office hours:

Official office will be determined after the first week of classes once I have a better idea of my schedule and the schedules of my students for the upcoming semester.  Check my web page (address above) to find out exact times.  Part of my office hours will be spent in the School of Science Computer room (DN 101A) so that I will be available for help with OWL and other computer programs.  During official office hours I will make a point to be around.  However, you should feel free to stop by whenever.  Alternatively, you can call or e-mail or talk to me before or after class and we can set up a specific time and place to meet.

 

Weekly Plan:

Lecture: M,W

This course covers a large amount of material.  In lecture I will expand on the text and discuss subjects that I think may have been confusing in the text.  However, what I think may have been confusing and what actually is confusing to you could be completely different.  Read the text before I talk about it and if something is confusing, ask me about it.  If you do not ask, I can only assume that you had no trouble understanding the text.  YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING IN THE TEXT UNLESS I SPECIFICALLY SAY SO.  The only way I can know if you don’t understand something is if you ask.

 

Recitation: F

The Friday sessions will be dedicated to discussing the upcoming laboratory and problems.  This is your time to ask me questions.  Take advantage of it!  In order to help you along the way, each week I will suggest a group of representative problems from the end of the current chapter.  Do these problems. 

 

Laboratory: T  9:30-12:15 (111) T 2:00-4:45 (112)

Experimental procedures and prelab assignments will be posted online.  However, you will not be able to bring these procedures into the laboratory.  You should read the experimental procedure and copy as much of it into your lab notebook as you need in order to effectively and safely do the experiment.  Your prelab assignment should also go into your notebook and will be checked before you are allowed to start the experiment.  In general the background material needed in the lab will be discussed in lecture.  However, experiment specific issues will be covered in Friday’s recitation.

 

Attendance:

Attending lectures and recitations is your responsibility.  The lectures will supplement and expand on the text and you will be held accountable for all material presented in the lecture.  Therefore, thinking you can get by with only reading the text and not attending lectures is unwise.  This course will move quickly making all lectures relevant and difficult to make-up.  If you do miss a lecture it is up to you learn the material you missed.  .  Laboratories are required.  This is because laboratory cannot be made up on your own.  The only acceptable excuses for missing a laboratory are severe illness, a death in the family or official college business.  You must provide written documentation for any laboratory absence. 

 

Grading

Examinations:  There will be four exams throughout the semester.  You will be able to drop your lowest score of the four.  THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS.  If you miss an exam, for whatever reason, that is your drop.  If you miss two exams you are out of luck.  This will only change only under extreme circumstances.  Excused absences require written documentation.  Please note that exam IV will be given along with the final exam (see below).

                OWL:  You all became familiar with the on-line web-based learning system last semester.  This time there are only 4 OWL assignments spread throughout the semester.  However, after Gen. Chem. I you know how beneficial OWL can be as a study tool and you are strongly encouraged to do more than the 4 that are assigned. 


Class Participation: Recitation period is dedicated to problems.  During this time you will do the problem for the class.  Don’t be shy, getting the right answer does not count here so much as the attempt.  As described above, each week I will suggest a number of representative problems for recitation.  In addition there will be one problem which one randomly chosen student will work at the board.  The rest of you will help this person along.  Your class participation grade will be directly related to your performance at the board and helping the person at the board.

Final Exam: The Final exam will be given on Wednesday May 12 at 8:00 am.  The final exam period is 2 hours long.  One hour will consist of Exam IV covering the material from the end of the semester.  The same rules apply as to the other three exams (lowest one dropped, no make-ups).  The second hour will consist of a comprehensive Final.  The final cannot be dropped.

 

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is required.  The basic idea is that trying to pass off someone else’s work as your own is not allowed.  This includes the obvious ones like looking at someone else’s exam, and not so obvious ones like downloading information from web pages and handing in identical homework assignments.  For a more detailed description of what is meant by “academic dishonesty” see the student handbook.  Remember that you have all signed the “academic and scientific dishonesty”  document last semester and we have that on file and therefore you have read and understand the behavior that constitutes scientific dishonesty and the penalty for it.

 

Grading Policy

Your grade will be calculated by the following formula:

                Prelab Assignments                                                                                        5

                Lab Performance and Notebook Evaluation                                             5

                Lab Assignments                                                                                        5

                Journal Articles (excluding final project)                                                  5

                Final project (Journal article, practical and lab performance)                10

                Lab Exam                                                                                                      5

                On-line Web-based Learning (OWL) Assignments                        10

                Class Participation                                                                                        5

                Hourly Exams                                                                                                    30 (10% each, one dropped)

                Final exam                                                                                                       20

Your grade will be determined by calculating the percentage of points you have earned out of all available points, and comparing your percentage to the standard grading scale (A= >90.00%, B=80.00-89.99%, etc.) with appropriate adjustments made for + and - grades.

 

                             


COURSE OUTLINE

 

 

Week

Lab

Lecture (Mon)

Lecture (Wed)

Recitation

(Fri)

 

1

 

xx

1/21 Ch. 6

1/23

 

2

E1:Heats of reaction

1/26 Ch. 6

1/28 Ch. 6

 

1/30

OWL

 

3

E2: Heats of reaction II

-Heat of Combustion

2/2 Ch. 19

2/4 Ch. 19

2/6

 

 

4

E3: Kinetics of H2O2/I2 PI

Due: E1 JA

2/9 Ch. 19

2/11 Exam I (Ch. 6,19)

2/13

 

5

E3: Kinetics of H2O2/I2 PII

Due: E2 asmt

2/16 Ch. 15

2/18 Ch. 15

2/20

 

 

6

E4: Reversible rxns PI

Due: E3 asmt.

2/23 Ch. 15

2/25 Ch. 16

OWL

2/27

 

 

7

E4: Reversible rxns PII

 

3/1 Ch. 16

3/3 Ch. 16

3/5

 

8

E5: Acidity of Cola

Due: E4 JA

3/8  Exam II (15, 16)

3/10 Ch. 17

3/12

Spring Break

 

 

9

E6: Buffers

Due: E5 asmt.

3/22Ch. 17

3/24 Ch. 17

3/26

OWL

 

10

E7: Making a buffer

Due: E6 asmt.

3/29 Ch. 17,18

3/31 Ch. 18

OWL

4/2

 

 

11

E8: Qual. Analysis

E7: asmt

4/5 Ch. 18

4/7 Ch. 18

 

4/9

break

 

12

No lab.

4/12

break

4/14 Exam III

(Ch. 17, 18)

4/16

 

 

13

Final Project

4/19 Ch. 20

 

4/21 Ch. 20

4/23

 

 

14

Final Project

4/26 Ch. 20

4/28 Ch. 23

OWL

4/30

 

 

15

Final Exam, Practical, Check out

Due: Final JA

5/3 Ch. 23

5/5 Ch. 23

 

Review

 

The Final Exam will be held at 8am  on May 12.

 

***This schedule is subject to change***