General Chemistry-1

Class Head: Dr. D.G. Morris

CLASS HANDBOOK

GENERAL CHEMISTRY-1 CLASS HANDBOOK 1997-98



FOREWORD

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Chemistry Department.



The General Chemistry-1 course has been specifically designed to be useful and interesting to all students, no matter how strong their previous knowledge of chemistry, and to show how chemistry relates to and illuminates other areas of science.

The course starts by assuming very little previous knowledge of chemistry and by providing background material for those who need it. It aims to take advantage of what you already know of the behaviour of materials, to build on that, to look for generalisations and rationalisations, and to construct theories, terminologies and symbolism where necessary.

It requires you to exercise some skills in maths, logic and communication.

It requires you, to attend, to work, to organise yourself, to read, to discuss, and to practise throughout the three terms.

There will be regular practice-problem sessions, and tests to let you monitor your progress. The class exams and the labwork all contribute to your eventual grading. We will give you guidance and examples of what you must be able to do, we will give help and advice, we will invite your views on how the course is going, but your ultimate success will depend on your efforts.

I hope you find the course enjoyable and rewarding and, if you do very well, you might come into Chemistry Level 2 in a year's time.



Professor J.M. Winfield

Head of Department of Chemistry







CONTENTS



Aims

Enrolment, Photos and Cost of Manuals, Text Books

Teaching & Learning, Prelects and Tests

Credits, Examinations

Absence from Classes

Grade Point Averages

Laboratory Work

Problem Workshops

Plagiarism, Copying & Cheating

Tutors, Staff-Student Committee

Timetable, Lecture Content


AIMS

To provide a broad chemistry course:

appropriate to the interests, aptitudes, background and future intentions of its entrants;
building on experience;
illustrating interactions of chemistry with other science and everyday life;
presenting facts, applications, theories and calculations;
developing understanding through group work and discussion and developing communication skills;
developing general concepts, abstract ideas, numerical skills, physical and mathematical models and confidence in their use.


ENROLMENT

All students in the class must matriculate, complete a class enrolment form, provide a photograph and pay a fee for lab manuals, notebooks, and other materials provided.

RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS

All students MUST have a copy of

GENERAL CHEMISTRY (2nd Edition) by J B Russell

In addition, for students with little or no previous experience in chemistry, there are a couple of other books which may prove useful. Note that these are NOT replacements for the above recommended textbooks, but are optional extras.
Introductory Chemistry by Ebbing, Wentworth & Birk
Chemistry by Lewis & Evans


TEACHING AND LEARNING


LECTURES There are 83 lectures and workshops, given over 25 weeks. The class meets in two sections, one at 10am and one at 3 pm. All Lectures will be in Lecture Theatre 1, Zoology, unless notice is given otherwise

Lectures provide facts, theories, demonstrations, textbook references and background.
An detailed timetable is given later in the Handbook.
Guidance will be given on what you should be able to do at the end of each group of lectures.

PRELECTURE Occasionally before a block of lectures one of the lecture times
SESSIONS will be devoted to checking that certain skills or knowledge are in place. These may consist of a short test followed by practice material for those who need it.

WORKSHOP On these days the lecture time is used for problem-solving
SESSIONS workshops.

WEEKLY PROBLEMS
At the end of each week, your Lecturer will give you a number of problems from the Textbook (Russell) which you are expected to attempt. These will provide practice for the work just covered. Answers will be posted on the notice board the following week, and your tutor will be able to help you with any particular difficulties you have.
TESTS
In addition to the Lectures and Workshops there will be four Tests throughout the year. These will be short question and answer problems, of the multiple choice format. They will take place on Fridays during your normal Lecture time. PLEASE NOTE THAT ATTENDANCE AT THESE TESTS IS COMPULSORY, AND THEY WILL COUNT IN TOTAL AS 10% OF THE FINAL MARK.

LABORATORY Each student will attend one three-hour laboratory class per week starting in week 3. Lab times are M, W, Th 2 - 5 and Tu, Th, F 10 - 1. You will be assigned a day and told your bench. More details are given below

LEARNING Requires you to make the most of all these plus text books (see above), private study and practice, general reading and discussion

In lectures try to note down what is on the board and as much as you can of the key points of what is said. As soon as possible fill out your notes from memory, by collaborating with a friend and by looking up books to reconstruct the full story. Please also see the Section on Plagiarism.

We know that you will not always understand topics fully during the lecture. Later reading, digestion and discussion are needed.
Book references will be given in lectures. Look them up and incorporate diagrams, examples etc. from them into your notes.

Keep the lecture notes safe, in a binder with your name. Lecturers can not provide copies and it is expensive to photocopy other students' notes if you lose yours and they can never be as good as your own.


MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF CREDITS

Students may be awarded credits for the course only if they meet wthe following requirements:

· attend lectures
· perform satisfactorily in the mid-year class examination
· sit the four class tests
· have a good attendance reord in laboratories and problem sessions
· achieve a satisfactory standard in the laboratory work
· sit the end-of-course examination

Normally no grade or credits shall be awarded to a candidate who has not met these requirements.

EXAMINATIONS

The class examination (2 hours) will take place in week 13 (possibly on Saturday 31st January - times still to be fixed). The end of course examination (3 hours) will be at the end of May or beginning of June. Advice will be available on the format of the exam and papers from previous years will be purchased from the Alchemists Club (see page 9).

It is important that you do well in the Class examination as this forms 30% of your final assessment. A poor performance will put pressure on you to work significantly harder for the end of course exam. You do not get a second chance with the class exam. It is vitally important for you to plan your work from the start with this in mind. Extenuating circumstances (e.g. illness) at exam times must be reported to Dr. Morris at the time and supported by a medical certificate or other appropriate documentation.

Please note that all examinations should be written on the right hand pages of the exam book in ink. Please do not use red pens as this can cause confusion when the papers are marked. Only clean "GlaxoWellcome" periodic tables will be allowed in examinations and programmable calculators are not allowed.

DEGREE EXAMINATION

This consists of one three-hour written paper (= 50% of the total mark). The other 50% comprises 30% from the first Class Exam, 10% based on lab grades, and 10% based on the results of the Tests. Advice will be available on the format of the exam. Typical exam questions will be available so you know roughly what to expect. There is no exemption system.


ABSENCE FROM CLASSES


ABSENCE FROM CLASSES FOR MORE THAN FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS

should be explained by a doctor's medical certificate or similar document which MUST be submitted to the
Records Office, Main University Building
or to Science Faculty Office, Boyd Orr Building


ABSENCE FROM CLASSES FOR LESS THAN FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS

may be explained by a 'Self Certificate of Absence' submitted to
Science Faculty Office, Boyd Orr Building

IN ADDITION to these certificates you MUST also complete a chemistry department certificate of absence obtained from Dr. Morris's Office (Room C3-04b) and returned there



GRADE POINT AVERAGES: GUIDELINES


The grade awarded at the end of the course contributes towards you Grade Point Average. As a guide, the approximate mark/grade correlations used in the Chemistry Department are as follows.

Mark Grade Grade descriptor Grade points
70+ A excellent 16
60-69 B very good 14
50-59 C good 12
45-49 D satisfactory 10
40-45 E fair 8
35-39 F poor 6
0-34 G very poor 2

Total grade points = sum of credits x grade points
Grade point average (GPA) = Total grade points/ Total credits

The grade point average and credit level requirement for B.Sc. and M.Sci. are given in full in the University of Glasgow Calendar 1997-1998 and the Catalogue of Courses. Please consult your adviser of studies for full details. Some of the key points are listed below.

1. Your grade point average should be at 10 or above in each year of study.

2. Entry into level-3 courses requires a grade point average over the first two years of above 11 for B.Sc (Hons) and above 12 for M.Sci.

3. Entry to many level-3 courses is on a competitive basis with a preference given to those students with a high grade point average.

4. In addition some level-3 courses have a minimum grade requirement for entry.

It is therefore important that you make sure you work steadily throughout the year in every subject. Low grades may course problems with progress.


LABORATORY PRACTICAL WORK

The laboratory work (3 hours per week most weeks) is designed to give you practice in safely and accurately carrying out preparations, analyses or measurements, reporting and interpreting results.

It also offers a chance to see chemical reactions
operate instruments
think about experiment design
practise moles calculations
check your understanding
talk to demonstrators

Concepts, procedures and knowledge met in the lab may appear in written exams.

Your reports and oral answers will be marked and these marks and your attendance record contribute to the award of class tickets and count for 10% of the degree exam mark.
Attendance is compulsory. Absences should be explained as above.

LABS START IN WEEK 6

CHEMISTRY PROBLEM SESSIONS (+ TESTS OR REVISION AS ARRANGED)

These will be held at the normal lecture times and their purpose is to practise using the knowledge you have gained from lectures. The early sessions have the additional purpose of preparing you for the inorganic laboratory work.

You must sit as instructed, leaving VACANT ROWS to allow staff to circulate and reach everyone.

Equipment

You should buy an A4 ring binder to keep the problem and data sheets. Keep the file safe. You will want it for revision.

You will need a calculator giving scientific notation and logs to base 10 (log x) and logs to base e (ln x) and inverse functions. NOTE THAT FANCY PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATORS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN EXAMINATIONS

Procedure

The topics of the sessions will be announced in advance.
After a short introduction you will be asked to work through the problems collaborating with friends if you wish. Several tutors will be available. Raise your hand if you need help with the problems or related lecture material. Answers and explanations will be given as the session progresses but it's no use sitting waiting till they are written up - you won't have learned anything.

Sometimes supplementary problems will be provided for you to try at home.

Solutions

Complete solutions will be displayed on the General Chemistry Noticeboard near the Main Entrance. It is not intended that these solutions should be copied - they are there to help you make another attempt yourself. They will remain on display for several weeks until the space is needed for new ones.

Attendance is compulsory

Absence for good reason should be explained (see above).
If you were absent for good reason you can get copies of the sheets from Dr. Morris.

PLAGIARISM, COPYING AND CHEATING

"The University's degrees and other academic awards are given in recognition
of the candidate's personal achievement. Plagiarism is therefore considered
as an act of academic fraudulence and as an offence against University
discipline.

Plagiarism is defined as the submission or presentation of work, in any form, which is not one's own, without acknowledgement of the sources. (With regard to essays, reports and dissertations, a simple rule dictates when it is necessary to acknowledge sources. If a student obtains information or ideas from an outside source, that source must be acknowledged. Another rule to follow is that any direct quotation must be placed in quotation marks, and the source immediately cited."
(University of Glasgow Calendar, 1996-97, p.16)

Students are reminded that this regulation applies to all work contributing to assessment including lab reports and class tests. Except where specifically directed, as part of a group project for example, all assessed work MUST BE YOUR OWN. Copying of lab reports, for example, is plagiarism - students may share data, where appropriate - but the report must be your own. Please be aware that any evidence of cheating in Class Tests and Examinations or Degree Examinations is considered EXTREMELY SERIOUS, and may endanger your University career.

TUTORS

All students will be assigned a tutor who is a member of staff and who will guarantee to be available at a set time to discuss any problems you may have with chemistry topics and with the weekly problems. We will require all students to visit their tutors occasionally (details later) but regular visits and discussions will be the most helpful.

CLASS NOTICES

These are posted in the GENERAL CHEM-1 display case on the ground floor.

STAFF-STUDENT COMMITTEE AND OPINION SURVEYS

Several students from GENERAL CHEM-1 will join the committee which discusses courses and other departmental business once a term.

All students will have an opportunity sometime to comment on aspects of the course via questionnaires.

Difficulties are most quickly resolved by informing Dr. Morris.

ALCHEMISTS' CLUB

The chemistry students club organises lectures, sports etc. and sells reprints of old degree exam papers.

OFFICE NUMBERS

DR. D G MORRIS Class Head Room C3-04b- First Floor (Level 3)

Tutor ......................................... Room ..........