chapman@sou.edu
chapman@sou.edu
Class attendance and participation are expected, although roll will not be taken. Grades will be based upon the total number of points obtained. There will be two midterm exams worth 100 points each, and a comprehensive final exam worth 200 points. Weekly homework problems will be counted at one point per problem. Homework sets are due at 5:00 p.m. on the Mondays listed on the homework schedule. Late assignments will not be accepted without prior arrangements.
Homework sets may be written by hand (you don't have to use a computer.) Please write legibly, and number each problem so that you will receive proper credit. You are encouraged to work in groups as large as four on the homework, but you are asked to be sure that all members of a group participate in and learn from the homework. If you do homework as a part of a group, you may turn in one assignment with all the members' names.
Please hold on to your homework after it is graded and returned to you! Very rarely an assignment is graded but not recorded, and in case of a dispute about whether or not an assignment was recorded, I will only accept the original assignment with either my or my grader's marks on it. Check in with me occasionally and we'll take a look and see if you're up to date on the homework.
Solutions for the assigned homework problems are linked to the lecture and homework schedule page. Unless you have made arrangements with me in advance, late homework assignments will not be accepted. Worked-out answers to the weekly homework are available to you at all times - please use this resource properly! Use the web answers to get help on a problem at those times when you can't stop by my office for help (e.g., late at night/over weekends etc) or send an email (and by the way: please use your SOU student email account to email me questions. If you use hotmail/yahoo etc your mail may very well get blocked by the spam filter on the faculty email system.)
A very poor strategy - and one that will almost certainly lead to an unhappy result - is to wait until the night before the homework is due, hit the web, copy the answers, and turn in the homework set. I leave the responsibility of learning from the homework up to you. The assigned problems are very valuable as practice to check your understanding of concepts and mathematical skills, and as diagnostic tools to find areas in which you need help. As was done last term, we will work many of the homework problems as class examples. Therefore, your clas notes are a very valuable study tool when you are doing your homework.
For each class session, there will be a set of lecture notes, assigned reading, and a problem assignment. Before coming to class, you should do the reading assignment and look over the lecture notes and problems. This will insure that class time is beneficial to you. Applicable homework problems shoud be attempted the day the material is discussed in class, and certainly no later than the next day. This allows you to get help on material which troubles you while it is still fresh in your mind.
Please note that the final exam in the third term of the General Chemistry sequence (Ch 201/2/3) is comprehensive over the entire year of the course. The strategy of learning material the weekend before a midterm exam is clearly not the best policy for this course - make every effort to learn and retain the material for the long term. The material covered in Ch 201 lays the foundation for Ch 202 in the winter term. Also note that the Ch 202 final will contain material (20%) from Ch 201!
The most common reasons for lack of success in Ch 202 relate directly to (1) study skills and (2) level of math preparation. Doing homework the night before it is due (and a week after the material was covered in lecture) will almost guarantee that you learn very little, and this will be reflected in your exam scores. Try to work a few problems each day, immediately after that material is covered in lecture. We will spend a great deal of time working problems in class (including homework problems!) - if you'll try the homework problems the night of/day after a lecture, and if you'll come in for help when you are stuck, you'll do well in the course. In other words, stay on top of the reading and the homework and attend class! As for the level of math preparation required, a working knowledge of College Algebra (Math 111) is assumed.
Please note that a grade of C- or better is required in Ch 202 if you are planning to take Ch 203 during the spring term.
A note about cheating or other forms of academic dishonesty:
Don't.
A student caught cheating on an examination (i.e., using hidden notes, a preprogrammed calculator, or looking at another student's paper) will be given a zero on that examination. A zero midterm score given as a result of cheating will not be replaced by the final exam. Students suspected of cheating will be referred to the Dean of Students' office for appropriate action.
There will be a weekly help session (Ch 196) in Sc 275 each Friday from 2:00-2:50. The purpose of Ch 196 is to provide students with more help in problem-solving in a smaller classroom environment. Ch 196 is a one-credit, pass/no pass course, and attendance is strongly recommended.
The grading scheme is flexible, but the approximate grade cutoffs will be as follows:
| Grade | Final per cent score |
|---|---|
| A | 92 |
| A- | 90 |
| B+ | 88 |
| B | 82 |
| B- | 80 |
| C+ | 78 |
| C | 72 |
| C- | 70 |
| D+ | 68 |
| D | 62 |
| D- | 60 |
SOU academic support statement
If you are in need of academic support because of a documented disability (whether it is psychiatric, learning, mobility, health related, or sensory), you may be eligible for academic accommodations through disability services for students. Contact Disability Services for Students; Director, DSS; 552-6213; or schedule an appointment in person at the ACCESS Center, Stevenson Union, Lower Level.