Instructors:
Lecture: Prof. Jeff Byers, BH 551; Phone: x5207
Laboratory and Discussion: Dr. Ed Navarre BH 513; Phone x3486
Schedule:
Lectures : TTh 11:00-12:15 BIH 216
Prelab : Th 8:00-8:50 BIH 220
Labs: M, or W, 1:30-4:15, BIH 560
Office hours: Jeff Byers - officially scheduled, TTh 9 am-10 am
I'm almost always around M-F "normal working hours", feel free to
drop in any time except immediately prior to class - I need this time to think
about my lecture! Also available by appointment, occasional evening hours around
test times.
Ed Navarre (BH 513) See Lab Schedule
Chem 104 drop-in tutor to be announced!
Grading:
Mid-term exams: 15% each 30% total
Tues., Oct. 7, 7 pm and Tues, Nov 4 at 7 pm. Both in BiHall 438
Graded problems @1% each 10% total
quizzes @1% each 10% total
Laboratory 25% total
Final Exam 25% total
To be held 2 pm, Saturday, Dec. 13, BIH 216
Grading scale: 97-100% = A+, 93-96% = A, 90-92% = A-
77-89% = B+, 83-86% = B, 80-82% = B-
77-79% = C+, 73-77% = C, 70-72% = C-
60-69% = D
<59% = F
Grades rounded off to nearest integer (or, in chem. lingo-to 2 sig figs!)
Required Texts: "Chemistry, the Central Science" by Brown, Lemay,
and Curtis, 9th edition
Laboratory: Chemistry 104 Laboratory Manual, available at bookstore
Available, Recommended: Study guide for course text, a spare copy will be kept on reserve in the science center library
Other resources:
Important Organizational Messages will be sent via class email, rather than
announced in class. I do this to maximize time spend on chemistry!
Web Site: http://f03.middlebury.edu/CH104A contains all course handouts.
Server: Classes\Vol1\Fall03\CH104A contains all course handouts
Armstrong Library, Bicentennial Hall: Answers to all graded work "Answers"
folder, and old practice exams, answers included "Old Exams" folder.
"Rules of the Road"
Mid-term exams will be designed to take about 1-1/2 hour, but you will be
allowed up to 2 hours to complete them. Postponement of exams for individuals
will usually be allowed for the following reasons; serious personal illness,
death in the family, or direct time conflict with other academic requirements,
such as exams, required movies and performances, etc. If you need to reschedule
an exam due to conflict with your participation in intercollegiate athletics,
or some other comparably committed extracurricular, I will allow for you to
take the exam early. Please give me a week's notice so that we can schedule
an earlier time to take the test. I will never grant postponements if you have
other exams or papers due on the same day at a different time - so don't even
ask! I am letting you know when exams are far enough in advance that it will
be your responsibility to plan accordingly. The final exam will be cumulative
in nature, and designed to take 3 hours. Only a Dean's excuse will be acceptable
for postponement.
There will be two types of problem sets. A large number of problems will be
assigned from the text. I will not collect or grade these problems. The problems
which are "assigned" for each unit from the text comprise a "minimum
set" in which I've gone through and culled out those which I think are
either overly repetitive or dumb. A copy of the answer guide to the text is
on reserve in the Science Center Library - Use it conservatively. If you're
having a hard time, I recommend that you do more problems than assigned. On
each exam, 10% will be taken directly from previously assigned problems.
During every Thursday class, I will assign a problem, or small set of problems.
These will be due in class the following Thursday. These will be graded, and
will be designed to be particularly diagnostic for you to use in self assessment.
PROBLEM SETS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE END OF CLASS ON THURSDAY WITHOUT
ONE OF THE EXCUSES OUTLINED ABOVE. These problem sets will not be made available
on the web or the server - only in class. Please note that if you miss class
due to illness, you are still required to hand in the problem set, but it will
be accepted late (within reason) for full credit. It is your responsibility
to let me know if this is the case.
Brief quizzes, usually involving multiple choice or short answer questions will
be given at the end of every Tuesday lecture. These quizzes serve several purposes:
They will give you regular feedback on your progress, and force you to keep
up with the material on a regular basis, thus facilitating your studying for
the longer, more important exams. Finally, while I am not a big fan of multiple
choice tests, for most of the people in the class, the only way your knowledge
of chemistry will ever be assessed is through standardized tests such as MCAT's
and GRE's. Thus, this will provide at least a little idea of what these tests
are like. In fact, many of the questions I use come directly from standardized
exams. QUIZZES CANNOT BE MADE UP DUE TO ABSENCE. IF YOU MISS CLASS FOR SOME
REASON OTHER THAN THOSE OUTLINED ABOVE, YOU WILL RECEIVE A ZERO FOR THE MISSED
QUIZ. If you miss a Tuesday class due to illness it is your responsibility to
let me know so that a zero does not get averaged into your grade.
Class participation will not be factored into your grade. From time to time,
I am sure the temptation to miss class will exist. Anything less than 100% class
attendance (excepting the above reasons for missing exams) will be considered
poor attendance, and will be reported to commons deans as such if you are performing
at the D or F level at the mid-semester point, or semester's end. Part of the
reason why I have regularly scheduled brief assignments due in class is to help
you to resist the temptation! In my experience, those students who miss class
regularly are almost inevitably those who do poorly on examinations. If you
do your best to get yourself here, I'll do my best to make you glad you did.
I would rather have you come to class late (sneaking in the back of the room)
than not at all. While showing up for class late is better than not showing
up at all, stragglers tend to be disruptive. Show your fellow students proper
respect and be here on time! Please set your watch (and alarm clock) to the
clock on the classroom wall in BH 216.
Academic Honesty Policy
While I encourage you to work together on problem sets, graded or otherwise,
the work which you hand in must be your own. Collaborative work on take-home
assignments and laboratories is encouraged, but copying someone else's results
will be considered an honor code violation. Obviously, all examinations will
be taken independently, and honor code violations (which are surprisingly easy
to pick out when grading exams) will be dealt with severely.
HINT FOR A GOOD GRADE: Getting an A on problem sets and a B in lab is very straightforward.
Many students will thus get an excellent grade in this large chunk of the course,
making up for difficulties which are more commonly encountered on the exams.