Chemistry 103: Introduction to
Environmental
Chemistry
Syllabus
Dr. Jonathan Gutow
Fall 2003
Course
Objectives:
The overall objective of this course is
to help you become scientifically literate. As
citizens of a democracy we are often called upon to make
decisions that involve scientific issues.
Our modern technological society is the result of scientific
research
and its application. Since we are
so dependent upon the scientific enterprise, it is a wise policy to be
aware of
how it works, what it can and cannot do, how it impinges upon our
lives, and
when you have to defer to an expert opinion. In
this course the emphasis is on how the scientific
discipline of chemistry can help us understand contemporary
environmental
issues, and what it tells us about possible solutions to environmental
problems
the world is facing.
Prerequisites: being registered for the class.
Course Overview:
Lectures: 3:00 - 4:30 MW (HS-109). Each 90 minute period will be devoted
to several concepts, with the material corresponding to the textbook
chapters
listed in the schedule on the last page.
Bring your calculator so that you will be able to do practice
exercises. Skimming the chapter
before it is discussed in class will make it easier to take notes.
Quizzes and Exams:
There will be some in-class quizzes and four 90 minute
exams. Although the exams are not
cumulative you will need to know
material from the earlier chapters to understand things covered on the
later
exams.
Homework: You
should do the homework since it will prepare you for the
tests and quizzes. Homework is not graded.
Answer keys will be provided to allow you to study for the
quizzes and exams.
Reading/Studying:
Devotion of time each day to chemistry homework is the most
efficient way to study for the class.
College students are very busy; try this method to save time! Reading assignments will be included on
the homework sheet distributed for each chapter. Skim
the text before the first lecture on the material.
Look at the introduction, the subtitles
for sections, the pictures and their captions, and the chapter summary
listed
at the end. After each
lecture review your notes and read the appropriate textbook sections.
Labs: Meet in HS-403 or HS-404. You will attend one of the six sections
listed under the heading Laboratory.
Laboratory experiments are chosen to illustrate concepts being
discussed in
lecture and to be FUN. To prepare
for lab you should read the experiment before attending lab. Don't forget to bring your lab book,
pen, goggles and calculator to lab.
Instructors:
|
Name |
Office |
Phone |
e-mail |
|
Dr. J. Gutow* |
HS-412 |
424-1326 |
|
|
Dr. N. Matsunno |
HS-409 |
424-7099 |
All administrative questions, scheduling,
exam
regrades, etc. should be directed
to Dr. Gutow.
Office Hours: Instructor office hours will be posted
on the web and announced at the
beginning of the class. Additional
meeting times may be arranged by making an appointment.
Required Materials
Text: Chemistry in Context:
Applying
Chemistry to Society, 4th
Edition. Please
try to read each chapter before we
begin discussing it in class. This
will familiarize you with the vocabulary and concepts being discussed
so that
you can take notes more efficiently.
Lab Manual: Chemistry
in Context Lab Manual, 4th
Edition.
Other: Safety goggles (available at the
bookstore) and a calculator capable of
handling scientific notation, square roots, powers and logs. Pen for use in
lab.
No pencil may be used in lab.
Subscription to e-mail discussion list: All students are required to sign up
for the class e-mail discussion group by
September 19, 2003. Instructions for subscribing in
RESOURCES SECTION.
Grading
|
Exams: |
4 @ 100 points each |
400 (54.3 %) |
|
|
Quizzes: |
4 @ 10 points each (worst score replaced
with average of others) |
40 (5.4 %) |
|
|
Laboratory: |
4 points for doing experiment each week 1 point for filled in lab data sheet for
each experiment 5 points for answering questions for each
experiment |
120 (16.3 %) |
|
|
E-mail discussion |
136 points for signing up by deadline submissions to list earn extra credit--see
below |
136 (18.5 %) |
|
|
Web Project |
40 points |
40 (5.4 %) |
|
|
Total: |
|
736(100.0 %) |
|
The total points necessary to receive a
particular
grade are listed below. The
instructor reserves the right to change the point total downward.
A: 640 AB: 602 B: 564
BC: 524 C:
484 CD: 444
D: 428
Extra
Credit: All students are
required to sign up for the class e-mail discussion group by September 19, 2003. Two (2) points of extra credit, towards
a maximum
of 24 points extra credit, will be given for each question related to
the
course or answer to a question which is submitted.
To get
credit your submission must come from the account you signed up
for the
list from. If you make a submission from another account, you will have
to turn
in a hard copy with your student ID number on it to receive credit.
Earth Charter Summit Activities. Up to
seven (7) points of extra credit will be available for attending an
activity,
talk or visiting an exhibit and turning in a one-half to one page essay
describing what you learned. The essay will be graded for clarity and
grammar.
Activities start Saturday, October 11, 2003 and stop on Saturday,
October 17,
2003. Any extra credit essays are due by Friday, October 24, 2003.
Exams/Quizzes: There will be 10
minute quizzes at the end of class on some Wednesdays as noted in the
schedule
at the end of this syllabus. The
quizzes will be on the chapter that is being discussed.
Your worst quiz score will be replaced
with the average of your other quizzes.
Do not skip quizzes early in the semester in case you get sick
later and
miss a quiz.
There
will be four 90 minute exams in class. Although the exams are not
cumulative
you will need to know material
from the earlier chapters to understand things covered on the later
exams.
|
Exam 1 (chapters 1-2) |
Wednesday, September 24 |
|
Exam 2 (chapters 3-4) |
Monday, October 20 |
|
Exam 3 (chapters 5-6) |
Wednesday, November 12 |
|
Exam 4 (chapter 8 and Lower Fox) |
Wednesday, December 10 |
Laboratory: The labs are worth 4 points per week of
laboratory work plus 1 points
for data sheets and 5 points for the questions turned in.
Data sheets are due at the end of the
laboratory period (make photocopies if you need them).
If the questions cannot be answered
during the laboratory period, they must be handed in by the lecture
following
completion of the lab. Up to four
(4) points may also be deducted from any weekÕs laboratory score
for not
wearing safety goggles, wearing inappropriate attire, unsafe behavior
or not
attending lab (-4 pts). Two unexcused absences from lab
will result
in a failing grade for the course. To have an
absence excused you must
bring a written excuse to your instructor. There
will be no make up labs, unless you can make it to
another laboratory section. There
will be no labs the week classes begin and labs will not start until
the
Thursday of the second week!
Lab sections, meeting times and
instructor are
listed below.
Section 1 :
Monday, 10:20 A - 12:30 P, HS-403, Dr. Gutow
Section 2: Tuesday, 9:40 A - 11:50 A,
HS-404, Dr.
Gutow/Dr. Matsunno
Section 3: Tuesday, 3:00 P - 5:10 P, HS
404, Dr.
Matsunno
Section 4: Wednesday, 8:00 A - 10:10 A, HS
404, Dr.
Matsunno
Section 5: Wednesday, 10:20 A - 12:30 P ,
Dr. Gutow
Section 6: Thursday, 9:40 A - 11:50 A, Dr.
Gutow
Web Project: Choose a single issue from the list below
and go to the class web site
to find the two assigned web sites associated with the topic. Write a short essay about the issue
consisting of three paragraphs:
1) summarizing the point of view of the web site on one side of
the
issue; 2) summarizing the point of view of the web site on the other
side of
the issue; 3) explaining which side you agree with and why. The third paragraph should include a
critical analysis of the quality of the information in the web sites. You need to answer the question,
"Is the content of the web sites verified or verifiable factual
information or just hearsay?"
You must back up your answer to this question with references
and an
analysis of the quality of the information source or sources. Send the essay by e-mail to Dr. Gutow
any time before November 24, 2003.
(The submission will be scored out of 40 points (each complete
summary
paragraph-10, a well reasoned point of view paragraph-10,
grammar/spelling-10).
The essay must be submitted as text based e-mail.
You may word process it, but then you must copy and paste it
into your mail program. Special
characters such as curly quotes,
superscripts and subscripts are not supported by text e-mail. You may want to make sure to save the
document as text only in your word processor before you copy to the
mail
program.
|
Choose from one of these issues |
|
|
Air Pollution, Ozone Depletion, Global
Warming, Energy Conservation, Alternative Energy Sources, Water
Pollution, Acid Rain |
|
Reading/Studying Suggestions:
Devotion of time each day to chemistry homework is the most
efficient
way to study for the class.
College students are very busy; try this method to save time!
Reading
assignments will be included on the homework sheet distributed for each
chapter. Skim the text before the
first lecture on the material.
Look at the introduction, the subtitles for sections, the
pictures and
their captions, and the chapter summary listed at the end.
After each lecture review
your notes and read the appropriate textbook sections.
Work through the in-chapter examples
and exercises as you go along. If
anything is confusing ask the professor about it. Try
the questions at the end of the chapter and see which
ones you know how to do. A suggested
minimum list of which to try will be provided as "Homework". You can check your work since answers
are in the back of the book for many of the problems and answers will
be
provided for all assigned problems.
Mark any that you have trouble with so you can do more examples
of that
type of problem.
Homework:
You should do the
homework
since it will prepare you for the tests and quizzes.
Homework is not
graded.
Answer keys will be provided to allow you to study for the
quizzes and
exams. Answers to some of the
in-text exercises may be found in appendix 5. Complete answer keys will
be
available a few days after the problems are assigned.
Answer keys will be posted on the Chemistry 103 web site,
accessible through links on your instructors home page (https://cms.gutow.uwosh.edu/gutow).
Course Policies:
Absences: The reason for any
excused absences
must be reported to your instructor (before the absence, if possible),
and substantiated
in writing by the appropriate person (i.e. doctor, parent, etc.). Assignments and tests missed because of
an excused absence will not count against your record, but you will be
held
responsible for material covered during your absence.
Grading Errors: To be considered
for possible
regrading any mistakes must be
brought to the attention of your instructor within one week of the time
the
exam, quiz or project is returned to you.
Final Grade Check:
You are responsible for checking that your final score is
correct. Save all papers, exams
and quizzes until the final course grade has been determined.
Chem
103 Web site: Contains lots of useful
information: copies of this syllabus, help with the web project, links
to
interesting and useful sites related to this course, information on
tutors,
homework assignments and answer keys.
This site is constantly being revised so your suggestions of
things to
include would be appreciated.
Most of the site is publicly accessible, however if you try to
access
homework information and answer keys you will be asked for a username
and
password. The username is
"chem10303". The
password will be provided the first day of class.
E-mail Discussion Group: This is a moderated discussion.
All submissions must be sent to Dr.
Gutow (gutow@uwosh.edu). Questions
of general interest will be posted (without the name of the person
submitting
it, if requested). You are encouraged to send in your answers to
questions. The
instructors will attempt to answer any questions that are not answered
by your
fellow students within 48 hours. To subscribe send e-mail to: gutow@uwosh.edu with the "Subject:"
line containing exactly "subscribe 103" without the quotations. In the body include your full name and
your student ID#. You should
check your e-mail daily to get the maximum benefit from this discussion
group. The instructor will also
send announcements and reminders to this discussion group.
Chapter Summary : at the end of
each chapter
lists specific issues, concepts and skills that you should learn
The Chemistry in Context online
learning center: also provides useful
web links and
study resources. Its web address is "http://www.mhhe.com/acs4".
To access most of the site you will have to follow the
registration
instructions provided in the front of your textbook.
Tentative
Class Schedule:
|
Week Starting |
Lectures |
Laboratory* Mon. , Tues. & Wed. |
Laboratory* Thurs. |
Exam/Quiz/Projects |
|
(9/3) Wed. |
Chp 1: The Air We Breathe |
No Labs this week |
No Labs this week |
Start choosing web project topic. |
|
(9/8) |
Chp 1 |
No Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday Labs. |
Check-in and #1-Gases in a Breath. DS Questions #1-4. Get Rain Bottles |
Quiz 1 |
|
(9/15) |
Chp 2: Ozone Layer |
Check-in and #1-Gases in a Breath. DS Questions #1-4. Get Rain Bottles |
#6-Spectrophotometry.
Bring Samples. DS Questions
#3, 6, 7 |
Quiz 2 Web project topic should be chosen. |
|
(9/22) |
Chp 2/Review (9/22) |
#6-Spectrophotometry.
Bring Samples. DS Questions
#3, 6, 7 |
#7-Molecular Models. DS Questions #1, 3, 5 |
Exam 1 (Chps 1-2) Wed. 9/24 |
|
(9/29) |
Chp 3: Global Warming |
#7-Molecular Models. DS Questions #1, 3, 5 |
#9-Chemical Moles. DS Questions #2, 3, 5 |
Sept. 30 is Last Add/Drop day. |
|
(10/6) |
Chp 3/Chp 4: Energy and Society |
#9-Chemical Moles. DS Questions #2, 3, 5 |
#10-Hot Stuff. Turn
in group procedure and results |
Quiz 3 |
|
(10/13) |
Chp 4/ Review |
#10-Hot Stuff. Turn
in group procedure and results |
#11-Energy Content of Fuels. Bring soda cans. DS Questions #1, 2, 6 |
should have begun checking quality of info
included on web sites. |
|
(10/20) |
Chp 5: Drinking Water (10/22) |
#11-Energy Content of Fuels. Bring soda cans. DS Questions #1, 2, 6 |
#14-Water Hardness. Bring
samples.
DS Questions #2, 3, 5, 6 |
Exam 2 (Chps 3-4) Mon. 10/20 |
|
(10/27) |
Chp 5/Chp 6: Acid Rain |
#14-Water Hardness. Bring
samples.
DS Questions #2, 3, 5, 6 |
#20-Solubilities. Turn
in group procedure and results. |
Some of web project essay
should be written. |
|
(11/3) |
Chp 6 |
#20-Solubilities. Turn
in group procedure and results. |
#17-Effects of Acids. DS Questions #1, 2, 5 #19-pH of Rain Bring 3 Samples DS questions #1, 2, 4 |
Quiz 4 |
|
(11/10) |
Chp 8/Review (11/10) |
#17-Effects of Acids. DS Questions #1, 2, 5 #19-pH of Rain Bring 3 Samples DS questions #1, 2, 4 |
#22-Electrochemistry. DS Questions #1-3,
5, 9 |
Exam 3 (Chps 5 - 6) Wed. 11/12 |
|
(11/17) |
Chp 8: Alternate Energy sources |
#22-Electrochemistry. DS Questions #1-3,
5, 9 |
Alternate Energy-Handout |
|
|
(11/24) |
Chp 8 |
Alternate Energy-Handout |
No Thursday Lab
-THANKS GIVING
BREAK |
Web project Due 11/24/03 at latest by
e-mail to Dr. Gutow |
|
(12/1) |
Lower Fox River |
Organics in Water and
Sediment-Handout/check-out if time |
Organics in Water and
Sediment-Handout/check-out if time |
|
|
(12/8) |
Lower Fox/Review (12/8) |
Check-out if necessary |
Check-out if necessary |
Exam 4 (Chp 8&Lower Fox) Wed. 12/10 |
*DS = Data sheet due.