Chem 122 General Chemistry Spring Quarter 2007

Instructor: Spencer Anthony-Cahill, Ph.D.

Office CB440; Office hrs: Mon 12-1pm; Tue 9-10am and 12-1pm; Thu 9-10am

tel: 650-3152; email: sacahill@chem.wwu.edu

Course website: http://atom.chem.wwu.edu/sacahill/122

Lecture: MTRF 11:00 – 11:50 pm in SL140.

Labs: Wed 11am-1:50pm, or Thu 2-4:50pm in CB 210/220. The lab assignments are available online here. Prior to each lab you should print and read the lab procedures and complete the online pre-lab assignment. BEFORE you come to the first lab meeting (on 4/11 or 4/12) you will need to get a pair of safety goggles (the bookstore sells cheap goggles for about $4; you can get more comfortable, fancier goggles for $11). Safety regulations require that: (1) goggles be worn at all times in lab, (2) shorts, short skirts, sandals and open-toe shoes are not allowed in the labs. Students must pass a mandatory lab safety quiz by 1pm 4/12. The quiz is administered on the web at: http://argon.chem.wwu.edu/SafetyQ/GCQLink.htm . This site includes a link to a safety tutorial that you should review to prepare for the quiz. Students will have three opportunities to pass the quiz:

1st Try: Tuesday, April 3, 8:00 AM -- Friday, April 6, 5:00 PM (80% is passing)

2nd Try: Friday, April 6, 5:00 PM -- Tuesday, April 10, 5:00 PM (84% is passing)

3rd Try: Tuesday, April 10, 5:00 PM -- Thursday, April 12, 1:00 PM (88% is passing)

Exams/Grading: Grades are based on the total points you earn in the course. There are 529 points possible for the course. There will be two midterms @ 100 pts each. There will be a cumulative final exam @ 150 pts. Online homework (HW) assignments will account for another 83 pts. Lab assignments total 96 points. A student may make up a missed exam or lab under exceptional circumstances (i.e. excused absence) 15 points will be deducted for each unexcused absence from lab. The dates for the exams are Friday April 27 and Friday May 18. The course final is scheduled for Monday June 11 at 8am. For details on my grading policy/procedures see here.

Text: Ebbing and Gammon (E&G), “General Chemistry” 8^th Edition is required. I recommend that you prepare for lectures by reading the relevant material in E&G prior to the first lecture on the given topic (see attached lecture schedule). We will cover Chapters 5, 6, 11, 14, 15 and 12 in E&G. Some of the problems in the text will be recommended as supplementary homework assignments and a solutions manual with answers to problems is on reserve in Wilson Library. You will need a calculator that has exponent and log functions. Students can get help with the course material by attending my office hours. In addition, the Tutorial Center (OM 387) has Chem 122 tutors on staff.

Course content: Chemistry is often referred to as “the Central Science” (at least by chemists) because the concepts and tools of chemistry find application in many fields. To make sense of the chemical information available to you and use that information wisely in your study of science and in your daily life you will need to develop the following skills: (1) the ability to understand chemical terms and concepts; (2) quantitative problem solving in chemistry; (3) the ability to find, understand, and use chemical information in the form of procedures, explanations, and tables of data. This course builds on the introductory material presented in Chem 121 (i.e., stoichiometric relationships and calculations, chemical bonding and the composition/shape/polarity of molecules) and will develop the following concepts: properties of gases, liquids, solids and solutions, thermochemistry, rates of chemical reactions (kinetics), and chemical equilibrium.