CHEM 121/122 CHEMISTRY IN CONTEXT MCTP Physical Science Fall 1994 MWF 9:00 - 10:50 am Thomas C. O'Haver 405-1831 Office Biochemistry 1506 384-0193 Home to2@umail.umd.edu Text American Chemical Society, "Chemistry in Context", 1st edition. Lab Manual None required for this course. Activities Classroom and laboratory activities are the key to our course. Most of the ideas that we will deal with will be first encountered in the guise of laboratory activities. You will be asked to describe and predict the behavior of physical systems in advance of carrying out laboratory activities. You will work in groups. Your group will be the negotiators of our final understanding of each concept that we choose to deal with. Written Assignments Regular assignments will be given with due dates specified with each assignment There will be more than 10 written assignments but only the 10 best will count. There will be no late written work. Written work must be turned at the beginning of the class in which it is due. Portfolio We are going to try a new idea this semester. You will over the semester develop a Portfolio which will contain work chosen in support of a Theme containing work from current classes, from personal experience and from external resources. Your choice will negotiate early in the semester. Examples would be: Things That are Conserved, Aspects of Energy, Things that are Mathematically Neat, Things that are Of Value in Biology or physics, Change, Interactions, etc. Your major task toward the end of the semester will be to justify your selections and tie them together with a brief essay. Examinations There will be two hourly examinations and one final exam. Each hourly will be worth 100 points, the final examination 200 points. Dates: Exam I. 9/30/94 Fri Exam II. 11/11/94 Fri Final Exam 12/15/94 Thr 1:30 - 3:30 The examinations will not be multiple choice but will require you to start from scratch. They will be conceptual in nature and problem solutions will often require conceptual explanations. Each examination will contain a laboratory experience which will account for 25 of the 100 points. You will be allowed to bring to each exam one 8" x 11" sheet containing any information you predict will be valuable to you. Grading The quality of your work will be associated with points acquired on each course activity. Your semester grade will be based on: Lab Activities Reports 200pts 25% Written assignments 100pts 13% Portfolio 100pts 13% Hourly Exams ( 2 @ 100pts/xm) 200pts 25% Final Exam 200pts 25% Total Points 800pts The final grade will not be set until the end of the semester after are all work is completed. All exams, all lab activities reports, and the portfolio must be completed to achieve a passing grade in the course. Help Dr. O'Haver and your TA will have regular office hours and Dr. O'Haver will be available before and after class. It is quite appropriate to seek help as you pursue your various assignments, and we encourage you to work with other students both in and out of the laboratory. This does not, however, mean that identical reports are in order. You will be expected to respond in your own special style, even when the conclusions were reached through group activities. Calculators You are expected to bring scientific calculators to class, to exams, and to the laboratory. Responsibilities We share mutual responsibilities, the professor's and the TA's being to adopt procedures that will optimize your personal understanding of the science concepts that we choose to address, and yours being to determine when you have evolved a personal understanding of each concept. Memorization and utilizing rote problem solving algorithms will not be sufficient. In many instances you will be asked to qualify the answers you have obtained in terms of conceptual understanding. We will utilize qualitative understanding in support of problem solving. Office Hours Dr. O'Haver's office hours will be: Before Class 8:30 - 9:00 After Class in Office Chem 1506 till 11:00 Other times by appointment. CHEM 121/122 SKILLS DISCUSSION Fall 1994 There are a number of skills that will be developed in the class and laboratory, for which you have a personal responsibility. Observation We will be able to demonstrate with apparatus most of the concepts or ideas that we will be dealing with in this introductory physical science course. The first skill you will need to develop is that of describing in your words what you observe. This will sometimes mean utilizing diagrams in support of your words, and using words that are already a natural part of your vocabulary. As our work progresses, you will begin making the transition to words that arise from within the science community, a community within which you are now a full participant. Scholarly Response On examinations and frequently in your written work, the first stage of a scholarly response will be your personal skill in describing in your own words what you have observed, followed by words and explanations that may have been provided by your labmates, the professor, the TA or the text or lab guide. Evidence The best evidence you can offer is the term "I saw it", not "the book said so," or "Dr. O'Haver said." This ability becomes your personal responsibility, and our task is to optimize your chance to do this skillfully. Explanation Explanations for things observed, offered by you, your labmates, the text, by the professor, by your TA and from other sources must always be greeted with some skepticism, whereas the observations that we make will be repeatable no matter how many times the observations are carried out. We must, however, recognize that although we may all be "observing the same event", we may not all "see" the same thing. When explanations for what we observe involve second hand information or inferences from the observations, however correct they may turn out to be, we will occasionally use the term "rumor has it," to indicate that we may not yet have full understanding of a concept.