Chemistry 151- General Chemistry

Exam 1

If you completed Exam 1 last week, your exam score is in the D2L gradebook and I have returned your graded Exam 1 by email.  I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the exam or to meet on WebEx to go over it with you.

The exam scores were lower than expected.  Many of you struggled especially with the last topic, stoichiometry (Chapter 3).  For that reason, the remaining Unit exam windows will be extended from Thursday – Saturday to Thursday – Monday.  For the next exam, this means that you will have from Oct 6-10 to complete the exam instead of Oct 6-8.  Hopefully the extra day will give you a little more time to prepare for the last topic before the exam.  I will update the Online Course Schedule completely to reflect these new exam deadlines this week.

If you scored less than 60 on the first exam (or especially if you scored in the 40s or below), I would strongly recommend that you follow up with me (by email, text, or during office hours) for help or with the Learning Commons tutors for help.  The material in Units 2-5 is more difficult than the material in the course so far, and you need to understand the material we have completed in Unit 1 to understand the material in the rest of the course.  The rest of the course builds on what we have done so far.  If you did poorly on the first exam, there is still time to turn it around and improve, but you will need to change your approach,  This may include attending tutoring sessions, looking at additional resources, asking me questions, studying the existing material more, or other approaches.  Please contact me or the learning commons tutors (Fall 2022 Chemistry Tutoring Schedule) – we want you to succeed and would be happy to help!

Finally, several of you did not take Exam 1.  I do not know if you forgot it, didn’t know about it, didn’t feel confident enough to take it, were ill, or had other reasons.   If you did not know about the exam, please contact me and we can discuss steps both you and I might be able to take to help you better keep up with the class.

Deadlines for this week (see the Online Course Schedule)

• The Ch 4 Mastering Chemistry Assignment is due by 11:59  pm Thursday, 9/22.
• The Ch 4 Topic Assignment is due by 11:59  pm Thursday, 9/22.  It is available on D2L now.  It will be found in D2L by clicking the Assessments tab then Assignments (same location as earlier Topic Assignments).

Deadlines for the rest of Unit 2 (see the Online Course Schedule)

• Ch 10 Mastering Chemistry : 9/29
• Ch 5 Mastering Chemistry : 10/6
• Ch 10 and 5 Topic Assignment : 10/6
• Unit 2 exam (on paper in testing centers, just like Unit 1 exam) : 10/6 – 10/10 (will not be available Sunday 10/9)

Please contact me with any questions.

 

Here are some updates and reminders for CHEM 151:

Unit 1 Exam

You have the rest of the day today (Friday9/9) and tomorrow (Sat 9/10) to complete yout Unit 1 exam at an LCC Testing Center (unless you previousl arranged for a non-LCC Testing Center.  The exam is NOT available online or on D2L.

The testing centers are closed Sunday, so I will pick your completed exams up Monday and grade them Monday and Tuesday.  I will post grades on D2L once graded and then return exams to students by email later in the week next week.

Below is some exam information (The same as I sent out last week)

Exam Information

The exam is a proctored, pen/pencil and paper exam.  It is not offered online on D2L. 

Testing hours and locations are at this link

There is detailed information about the exams at this link.  Please read it carefully – it contains the answers to many frequently asked questions.  Let me know if you have additional questions after reading it.

For this exam, you will be provided a copy of the Periodic Table for Units 1-3.  You can see the Table in the Unit 1 Folder under content in D2L.

There are resources in the Unit 1 Folder under Content to help you prepare.  Please take a look at them.  One of those resources is a practice exam.  Please read more about the practice exam below:

Practice Exam

What the practice exam is:

This practice exam will be similar in length, number of questions, types of questions (multiple choice, short answer, numerical problems, etc) to your exam.  The practice exam will be useful as a general review and will help you see how prepared you are.  If the practice exam (without looking at your notes) is easy for you, the actual exam probably will be.  If it is difficult, the actual exam probably will be.

What the practice exam is NOT:

The actual exam will NOT be the same as the practice exam with only a few numbers changed.  Do NOT think that if you only study and memorize the questions on the practice exam that you will be ready for the exam because the questions will be the same. 

Topic Assignment Chapters 2 and 3 and readiness assignment

For the readiness assignments, if you completed it you got full credit, whether the chemistry questions were correct, incorrect, or not done..  I am commenting on them and uploading the assignments with comments to D2L.  I am not correcting the chemistry questions, but I’m hopeful that if you didn’t know how to do them when you submitted it you do after working through the first unit.

I will be grading the Ch 2 and 3 topic assignments (and uploading the graded copies to D2L) over the next couple of days.

Unit 2 is next

After a well earned short break from Chemistry after the exam, please get started on Unit 2. Due date for unit 2 are on the Course schedule.

Have a good weekend and let me know if you have questions.

 

I’m getting out next week’s reminders a little earlier than usual due to the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend.  Here are some updates and reminders for the rest of Unit 1:

1. The Mastering Chemistry Chapter 2 Assignment (covering Atoms, Molecules, and Ions)  is due TONIGHT at 11:59 pm.
2. The next Topic Assignment, covering Atoms, Molecules, and Ions(Chap 2) and Stoichiometry (Chap 3) is available on D2L now and due Thursday 9/8. It will be found in D2L by clicking the Assessments tab then Assignments (same location as Readiness and Ch 1 Topic Assignments).
3. The Mastering Chemistry Chapter 3 Assignment (covering Stoichiometry)  is due Thursday 9/8.
4. The Unit 1 Exam will be offered Thursday 9/8 through Saturday 9/10.  More detailed information about the exam is below.
5. Remember, you can see all deadlines on the Course Schedule.

Exam Information

The exam is a proctored, pen/pencil and paper exam.  It is not offered online on D2L. 

Testing hours and locations are at this link

There is detailed information about the exams at this link.  Please read it carefully – it contains the answers to many frequently asked questions.  Let me know if you have additional questions after reading it.

For this exam, you will be provided a copy of the Periodic Table for Units 1-3.  You can see the Table in the Unit 1 Folder under content in D2L.

There are resources in the Unit 1 Folder under Content to help you prepare.  Please take a look at them.  One of those resources is a practice exam.  Please read more about the practice exam below:

Practice Exam

What the practice exam is:

This practice exam will be similar in length, number of questions, types of questions (multiple choice, short answer, numerical problems, etc) to your exam.  The practice exam will be useful as a general review and will help you see how prepared you are.  If the practice exam (without looking at your notes) is easy for you, the actual exam probably will be.  If it is difficult, the actual exam probably will be.

What the practice exam is NOT:

The actual exam will NOT be the same as the practice exam with only a few numbers changed.  Do NOT think that if you only study and memorize the questions on the practice exam that you will be ready for the exam because the questions will be the same. 

Tutoring Opportunities

LCC Tutoring is offering Exam 1 Prep help sessions free to all CHEM 151 students.  Information about the sessions is shown here .  Please let me know if you have questions about these sessions.  The general Fall 2022 Chemistry Tutoring Schedule is at this link.

Have a good weekend and let me know if you have questions!

I hope you have all gotten off to a good start in the course and in the semester! Thanks to all of you for turning in the assignments that have been due so far.  Here is some info regarding work you have turned in so far:

1. I have been reading the beginning of semester surveys for those of you who have turned them in.  A number of you have asked very good questions.  I had about 70 surveys to go through between all my online classes, so if I haven’t answered your survey question by email yet, I will this week.
2. I will be going through and grading the Readiness Assignments you turned in over the next few days.  It will take me a bit as I received over 80 of them this semester and I’m taking the time to review them carefully.  I’m not grading them for correctness — if you completed and submitted it, your score is 10/10, even if the technical questions are incorrect.  I will upload my responses to D2L.
3. I am also in the process of grading the first Topic Assignment.  The topic assignments will be graded for correctness — you can think of them as take home quizzes.  As I grade them, I will enter your grades in the D2L gradebook and upload your graded copies to D2L.
4. Mastering Chemistry grades for each individual Mastering Chemistry assignment will not be entered into the D2L gradebook.  Your total Mastering Chemistry grade will be entered into D2L at the end of the semester.

 

Here are some updates and reminders for the coming week:

1. This week’s topic is Atoms, Molecules, and Ions. It will have a Mastering Chemistry assignment (Ch 2) due Thursday 9/1.
2. The next topic assignment will cover the next two topics (Atoms, Molecules, and Ions and Stoichiometry)
3. Remember, you can see all deadlines on the Course Schedule.

Have a good week and let me know if you have questions!

I hope you all had a good weekend and have been able to access your course materials and get started!

Thanks to those of you who have responded to the course survey.  I am reading through them and will reply to the questions you asked by email over the next several days.

Please see below for some reminders and deadlines for the coming week

Reminders and Upcoming Deadlines

1. The introduction to Mastering Chemistry assignment is due Tuesday (8/23) at 11:59 pm.  If you need instructions on how to access it from D2L, see this link:How to access Mastering Chemistry Online Homework
2. The CHEM 151 Readiness Assignment is due Thursday 8/25.  It is available in D2L by clicking on assessments then assignments.
3. The Chapter 1 Mastering Chemistry Homework is also due 8/25.
4. The Chapter 1 and Formulas and Nomenclature Topic Assignment is also due 8/25
5. All assignments are due at 11:59 pm on their due date
6. The next topic is Matter and Measurement.  Reading the material at the link and the textbook reading will help you with both the homework and the topic assignment for Chapter 2.

I will typically send out reminders like this weekly, sometimes on Fridays and sometimes on Mondays, but please contact me by text, phone, email, or office hours if you have questions about accessing or completing the assignments, or questions about the concepts covered.

 

The final exam is today, Friday, December 10 . It is two hours, available at 8 am and due by 11:59 pm.  Remember to complete it and submit your work to the submission folder.

Also, you have the opportunity to complete the student course evaluation through the link when you access D2L or this link. These evaluations are useful — I actually look at them and use thoughts and feedback on what worked well and what didn’t to help make the course better for students.  This is especially helpful for online courses!

So far, 25 of you have completed evaluations — thank you!  Our goal is to have at least 80% of the students who have actively completed the course to complete and submit them — that means we need 17 more for a total of 42.  If we reach the goal of 42 (and 80%), each of you will be awarded 5 bonus points.  So please take a few minutes to fill out the evaluation before you wrap up the semester (the deadline is Monday, Dec 13) to help reach that goal and make the course better!

 

As I write this (Tuesday evening) you have either completing or are taking the Unit 5 exam at this point.  I will grade them as soon as possible, however I do teach a three hour face-to-face class on campus on Wednesday morning and have three medical appointments Thursday (some for me, some I have to take family members to), so I will likely still be grading them on Friday.

The Final exam is Friday, December 10 . It is two hours, available at 8 am and due by 11:59 pm

The exam is comprehensive, covering the entire course.  It will be similar to the unit exams in pretty much every way except it is twice as long (40 questions total, 30 4 point questions, 10 8 point questions for which work must be submitted).  You will have 2 hours, so make sure you arrange for that in your scheduling.

Specific reminders for the exam are below. Before that, a couple more items.

“What should I study?”

Students often ask me what are good things to study to prepare for the final.  That is a difficult question as it depends on how you learn.  A big part of success in college is figuring out what study approaches work for you!  That said, many students have told me that looking over their old exams, the practice quizzes, and the practice exams has been very helpful to them — them going back and studying the items they do not understand-can’t answer.  So if you are unsure that might be a good thing to do.

“What happens next/when will I see grades/etc”

I will start grading the 10 8 point questions Saturday. I will be grading much of the weekend.  As I grade them, I will put your exam grade in the comments when I return your 8 point questions in the submissions folder.  Once they are all graded (it will be Monday or Tuesday because in addition to grading these, I will be grading materials and answering questions and helping my CHEM 262 students in preparation for their Monday finals.), I will release the final grade to D2L and put the final course grade in the D2L gradebook as well.  Before I do that, you should be able to calculate your course grade by putting in your final exam score and looking at the grading scale in the syllabus.  I know many of you are anxious about/and to know your grades – that said, please see the next paragraph 🙂

About emailing me

For the next week as we wind up the semester, I’ll get a lot of email.  And I’m totally good with that – I enjoy working with and hearing from each of you and assisting you as you learn!  And I take questions about the course seriously.  But as I have four sections of students and get a lot of email volume at the end of the semester I prioritize them as I can’t get back to everyone quickly and complete grading.  So I will not answer emails in the order received, rather I will answer them in this order:

1. Questions about chemistry course material that students need to understand concepts and prepare for finals come first.  They will move to the front of the line immediately.
2. Questions calling my attention to any errors I made in grading (or possible errors) come next.
3. I won’t look at emails asking me to round up grades or if any other work can be done to improve your grade until I’ve answered all the emails above and completed all of my grading for all my courses.  This allows me to get grades back to everyone as soon as possible! Also, in most cases, the answer will be no.
4. I will ignore emails asking when items will be graded or final grades will be posted. The college deadline is Wed 12/15 by 8am but I hope to beat that.  I know you want to know your grades, and I want to complete them too!  Rest assured I’m doing it as quickly as I can, while taking breaks to answer student questions.  Again, this allows me to get grades back to all of you as quickly as possible!

As always, contact me if you have questions about the class or have any last minute questions about the material before beginning the exam.

Reminders for the exam are:

1. You can take it on D2L at anytime between 8am and 11:59 pm on Friday , Dec 10, 2021 – must be completed online by 11:59 pm on Friday, Dec 10, 2021.  Once you start you will only have 120 minutes (timer cannot be paused) so make sure you have two hours when you will not be interrupted.
2. You are allowed 120 minutes and only 1 submission 
3. You are not allowed to open it multiple times.
4. Choose a time to take it when you will not be interrupted, as the clock begins ticking as soon as you open it.
5. Please keep track of the time counting down on your screen.  You will be flagged with 5 minutes left and the computer will not allow you save any more answers once the timer runs out.
6. You are allowed to work backwards.  Some of you might consider starting with the 8-pt questions so that you have enough time and then finish with the multiple choice questions
7. There are 30 Multiple Choice Questions (4 pts each) and ten 8-pt questions
8. You will also be asked to submit your work for the 8 point questions in a separate folder in the assignments tab (similar to the way you submit quizzes).
9. For the 8 pt questions, you must submit to me your work detailed on a sheet of paper in order to receive full credit (You will type the final answer in the box of the exam to be graded, but I need to see the accompanying work so that I can reward appropriate points).
10. You can simply take a picture with your phone, as long as I am able to view your work clearly.
11. The picture needs to be uploaded immediately after submitting your exam into a drop box that you will find on D2L(Assessments tab, Assignments, Final Exam Submissions).
12. You must upload your work to the 8-pt questions for credit.  Even if you have the correct answer, you will not receive full credit if I cannot follow your work (or you are missing units, sig figs, do not show the equation you are using).  Be thorough.  I do not need to see your work for the multiple choice questions.
13. Submissions must be made to the Submissions folder.  Do not email your work to me.
14. Submissions must be made within 10 minutes of completing your exam.  Note that I am able to see what time you complete your exam and what time you upload your submission
15. Be sure that your answer on paper matches the answer that you type into the computer.  Be sure to include units and be conscious of sig figs
16. You will be able to use your own periodic table for the exam and obviously will have access to other supporting materials.  Be careful, as that can become a “crutch.”  I worry that you might end up spending too much time flipping through subsequent materials and whittle away the time on the clock if you are not well-prepared.

Hi everyone!

I’m working on finishing grading Exam 4 now and grades will show up over the next two days.  Sorry for the delay and thank you for your patience and understanding!

Here are some reminders and updates for the next few days:

Reminders for items due Monday 12/6

1. The Chapter 11 and 13 Topic Assignment is posted on D2L in assessments/assignments  This is the same location as all of them this semester.  It is due Monday 12/6.
2. Mastering Chemistry on Ch 13 will be due Monday 12/6.

The Unit 5 exam is Monday, Dec 6 or Tuesday, Dec 7.  Reminders for the exam are:

Hi everyone!

Here are some reminders and updates for the next two days:

1. Exam covers Chapters 11 (Liquids, Solids, and Intermolecular Forces), and 13 (Properties of Solutions)
2. You can take it on D2L at anytime between 8am Monday 12/6, 2021 and 11:59 pm on Tuesday, 12/7 – must be completed online by 11:59 pm on Tuesday, Dec 7, 2021.  Once you start you will only have 60 minutes (timer cannot be paused) so make sure you have an hour when you will not be interrupted.
3. It is located on D2L under the Assessments tab under Quizzes.  Click on assessments, then click on Quizzes from the pull down menu.
4. You are allowed 60 minutes and only 1 submission 
5. You are not allowed to open it multiple times.
6. Choose a time to take it when you will not be interrupted, as the clock begins ticking as soon as you open it.
7. Please keep track of the time counting down on your screen.  You will be flagged with 5 minutes left and the computer will not allow you save any more answers once the 60-minute timer runs out.
8. You are allowed to work backwards.  Some of you might consider starting with the 8-pt questions so that you have enough time and then finish with the multiple choice questions.  If you get stuck on a question, don’t waste too much time before moving on.  You can always come back to it.
9. For the 8 pt questions, you must submit to me your work detailed on a sheet of paper in order to receive full credit (You will type the final answer in the box of the exam to be graded, but I need to see the accompanying work so that I can reward appropriate points).  Please see the next section for Instructions for this.

Submitting work for the 8 point questions (Questions 16-20).  I do not need to see your work for the multiple choice questions (1-15)

1. The way you will submit the work for the 8 point questions is in a separate folder in the assignments tab (similar to the way you submitted the Readiness and Topic Assignments)
2. You will type the final answer for questions 16-20 in the box of the exam to be graded, but I need to see the accompanying work so that I can reward appropriate points and partial credit.  This submitted work is how I will do this.
3. To submit it, you can simply take a picture with your phone, as long as I am able to view your work clearly.
4. Please use this procedure if possible: How to Scan Documents with Apple and Android Mobile Devices for generating files to submit, rather than sending me a different file for every picture.  Once you learn it, it is less work for you and for me than uploading a separate file for each page of work!
5. Do NOT submit Word (.docx) files.
6. The submission to be uploaded immediately after submitting your exam into a drop box that you will find on D2L(Assessments tab, Assignments, Exam 5 Submissions).
7. You must upload your work to the 8-pt questions for credit.  Even if you have the correct answer, you will not receive full credit if I cannot follow your work (or you are missing units, sig figs, do not show the equation you are using).  Be thorough.
8. Submissions must be made to the Submissions folder.  Do not email your work to me.
9. Submissions must be made within 10 minutes of completing your exam.  Note that I am able to see what time you complete your exam and what time you upload your submission
10. Be sure that your answer on paper matches the answer that you type into the computer.  Be sure to include units and be conscious of sig figs.

Practice and study resources for the Exam

1. Unit 5 Exam and Exam Preparation Help SessionThere will be Review/Help Sessions provided by the Learning Commons at various dates and times.  Click on the link to see when they are and how to access them.  They are free of charge.
2. Many students find the Chapter Practice Quizzes available in the course D2L site (click on content then Unit 5) to be helpful study aids
3. There is a Unit 5 Practice Exam available in the same Unit 3 folder on D2L.  See the section titles “Practice Exam CHEM 151” in the Unit 5 – additional study resources page on this website for tips on how to best use the practice exam.
4. See the list of resources in Unit 5 – additional study resources

Have a good weekend and feel free to reach out with questions or if you have difficulties as you finish up your Unit 5 assignments and prepare for the exam.

Hi everyone!

Here are some course updates and reminders for the following 2 weeks:

Unit 4 Exam and Chapter 15/16 Topic Assignment

I’ve started grading exams and topic assignments and will work on them over Thanksgiving weekend (after taking the holiday off tomorrow).  For the exam, I will post your grade in the feedback section of the Problems 16-20 submission folder under assignments as I complete and post the grading on your written work for these problems.  Grades will not go into the D2L gradebook for the Unit 4 exam until I’ve graded everyone’s work on problems 16-20.

Unit 5

Unit 5 is another short unit with just two topics: Intermolecular Forces, Liquids, and Solids (Chapter 11) and Properties of Solutions (Chapter 13).  There is a Mastering Chemistry assignment for each topic.  They will be due on the following dates:

• Chapter 11: Monday 11/19
• Chapter 13: Monday 12/6

The topic assignment for Chapters 11 and 13 will be due Monday 12/6 and there will be a two day window for exam 4 (Monday 12/6 or Tuesday 12/7)

These dates are all on the Course Schedule.  As always, contact me with any questions or help with the course material.

Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday weekend!