Author: admin

I hope your study of Chemical Kinetics is progressing well!  Let me know if you have questions, difficulties, or concerns.

Here are some reminders and updates in the course for this week:

Chemical Kinetics Supplementary Homework

The Chemical Kinetics Supplementary D2L homework is available now.  Since I was late posting it – the deadline will be extended from what is was originally in the course schedule.  It will be due Wed 2/24 at 11:59 pm.

Quiz 3

Quiz 3 is available on this website.  It will be given and collected similarly to Quiz 1 and Quiz 2.  It is available on this website in the menu under Quiz 3 or at this link: Quiz 3.  Since I was late posting it – the deadline will be extended from what is was originally in the course schedule.  It will be due Wed 2/24 at 11:59 pm.

Here are some reminders and updates in the course for this week:

Unit 1 Exam

Today is the last day of availability of the Unit 1 exam, which covers the topics of

• Acid Base Review
• Common Ion and Buffer Solutions
• Acid-Base Titrations
• Solubility Equilibria

The exam  must be completed by Monday Feb 8 at 11:59 pm.  You can access it on D2L by clicking  Assessments then Quizzes. (D2L calls anything it grades automatically a “quiz” – including graded homework or exams).

It will be timed with a 2 hour limit.  You must complete it in one 2 hour sitting, so arrange to take it when you have 2 hours and will not be interrupted.

If you took CHEM 151 online at LCC, you likely remember having to submit your work for the 8 point questions in a submissions folder in D2L after taking the exam.  The 152 exams are set up differently and you will not be required to do this.  If you don’t know what I am talking about, don’t worry about it!

There are resources for study and review (including review questions and a practice exam) in addition to the lecture notes and text.   Click here for a list of additional study and review resources for Unit 1.

After I have a chance to review your answers on the numerical questions, exam grades will be available in the D2L gradebook. To see your answers and the correct answers in D2L, you can click on Course Progress, Class Progress, Quizzes, Exam 1, Details, then choose Attempt 1.  You should be able to do this by tomorow evening or Wednesday morning.

Quizzes

I’ve partially graded the Quiz 2 and still have some of the second round of Quiz 1’s to grade, and am continuing that today.  They will be returned to you via email as they are graded.

Unit 2

Unit 2 is next.  You will likely find it quite different than Unit 1 in that it does not depend as strongly as Unit 1 did on remembering acid base chemistry from CHEM 151 – rather it will be more like new material for everyone.  There will be supplemental HW which I am finalizing today and tomorrow and will make available as soon as I finalize it.

Let me know if you have questions, difficulties, or concerns.

Here are some reminders and updates in the course for the week of Jan 31 – Feb 6:

Quiz 1 (available here)

If you missed it, please read my previous post about this quiz now.

Thanks to all of you who have turned it in (both by the original deadline and today). This quiz can be turned in until Sunday, Jan 31 at 11:59 pm.

In my email replies to some of you I indicated that I had sent an email link and D2L announcement link to the reminder posting with directions for the quiz – in searching for those I failed to find them, which means they didn’t go out!  No wonder a lot of you weren’t aware!  For some reason, they failed to most – most likely I failed to hit send or post after writing them.  I apologize for the confusion that caused.  At this point, hopefully it is clear to you where the quizzes are posted – if not feel free to  ask.  The remaining quizzes (2-6) will, like quiz 1, be accessible on the course website buy clicking on the menu under each unit – either the pull down menu at the top or the menu on the right side.

Quiz 2

It is available on the website in the menu right after Quiz 1. The setup and submission will be similar to quiz 1. It will be due Feb 4 (note date change from original Feb 3.).

Supplemental D2L graded HW – Acid Base Review and Titrations

I will ensure your final grades for these two homework assignments are checked and available by the end of day Monday

Supplemental D2L graded HW – Solubility Equilibria

The last topic in Unit 1 is Solubility Equilibria.  I am working on finalizing the supplemental HW questions on that now and they will be finalized and posted today or tomorrow at the latest.  Since they have been delayed, the new deadline will be Thurs 2/4.  You can begin studying this material, and doing the ungraded homework for practice now (if you haven’t already).

Unit 1 Exam

The Unit 1 exam will cover the topics of

• Acid Base Review
• Common Ion and Buffer Solutions
• Acid-Base Titrations
• Solubility Equilibria

The exam will be available Friday Feb 5 at 8 am and must be completed by Monday Feb 8 at 11:59 pm.  You can access it on D2L by clicking  Assessments then Quizzes. (D2L calls anything it grades automatically a “quiz” – including graded homework or exams).

Even though you have a four day window in which to take it (which hopefully will give you some flexibility), it will be timed with a 2 hour limit.  You must complete it in one 2 hour sitting, so arrange to take it when you have 2 hours and will not be interrupted.

If you took CHEM 151 online at LCC, you likely remember having to submit your work for the 8 point questions in a submissions folder in D2L after taking the exam.  The 152 exams are set up differently and you will not be required to do this.  If you don’t know what I am talking about, don’t worry about it!

There are resources for study and review (including review questions and a practice exam) in addition to the lecture notes and text.   Click here for a list of additional study and review resources for Unit 1.

Let me know if you have questions, and I hope you have a good weekend.

 

There was some confusion on Quiz 1 – this is understandable for a few reasons:

1. It is an online course and it is difficult to navigate online courses early in the semester, especially when different teachers organize their courses differently (even when they do so for good reasons that make sense for their courses)
2. D2L has a column called “quizzes” that has not been used in this class for quizzes, but has been for supplemental homework problems

But quiz 1 was not posted in D2L, mainly because I wanted you to have a pencil and paper quiz that I could grade for partial credit and write comments on, rather than having D2L grade.  The quiz was posted under Unit 1 in the menu of this course website.  Or at this link.  This was explained in a reminder posted last Friday here:

https://fe2.openlcc.net/chem152/2021/01/22/end-of-week-2-reminders/.

If you missed this reminder or didn’t ask me about the quiz you likely missed it.  If you did, know that you weren’t alone — a number of your classmates did too (and several of you emailed me about it today).  Again, I totally get that it is difficult to navigate online courses early in the semester, especially with all online courses and Covid.

For these reasons, I will accept  Quiz 1 through the end of this week.  Please follow the instructions at the link to complete it.  If you decide not to, please remember that you do get to drop 2 quizzes this semester.

Quiz 2 is also available.  It is also under Unit 1 in the menu of this course website.  It is due 2/3/21.  It will not be on D2L.

I will continue to post weekly updates and reminders at this link late every week (usually on Friday) and will send emails and D2L announcements letting you know they have been posted and with links to them.

Thanks for your efforts and questions as we have been getting started this semester – I understand it can be tough getting oriented in an online class and appreciate your efforts and work as we get this semester going.

For some of you, the problem preventing you from accessing the third attempt for the acid base supplemental homework is recurring.  If you are one of those affected, the second attempt will remain due Sunday 1/24.  The third attempt will be available Monday 1/25 and due Tuesday 1/26.  I apologize for the inconvenience and am hopeful the error doesn’t recur on future assignments.

Here are some reminders and updates in the course for the end of week 2 and the beginning of week 3 (Jan 25-31)

My Office Hours for the semester

Thanks to all of you who responded to the office hours survey I sent out the first week of class.  Based on your responses, my regular weekly office hours for the semester will be:

1. Mondays 12-1pm
2. Wednesdays 9-10 am
3. Wednesdays 7-8 pm
4. Fridays 8-9 am

Link to office hours (when in session): https://lccedu.webex.com/meet/farrisb

I know these hours will not work for some of you and I apologize.  The availability of students at times was quite different from student to student, and with about 100 students this semester it was impossible to select hours that worked for everyone.  If you need to meet with me virtually and you are one of the unlucky students for which these times don’t work (or just need to meet outside of these hours), just contact me and we will set something up.

Assignments and topics for next week (see the Course Schedule)

Supplemental HW questions on D2L due Sunday, 1/24

• 1st assignment – acid base review – due Sunday 1/24 if you are able to access 3rd attempts.  If you cannot, let me know, and if the problem persists the deadline for third attempts can be moved to Tuesday 1/26
• 2nd assignment (Common ion and Buffer) – due Sunday 1/24.  I have heard of no issues with students being unable to access 2nd or third attempts.  If you have this problem, let me know.  At this point, assuming the issue doesn’t recur, the assignment will be due Sunday, 1/24

Quiz 1 – Acid-Base Review, Common Ion and Buffer due Sunday 1/24.  This quiz is NOT on D2L – it is available under Unit 1 in the menu of this course website.  Or at this link.  Follow the directions and submit it by 11:59 pm Sunday 1/24.

Begin the next topic – Acid-Base titrations.  Supplemental HW questions for this topic will be available by Monday 1/25 and due 1/28.

More on the supplemental HW questions: Thank you for your questions and help as I have been introducing these, which are new to the course.   I realize that it is difficult to reattempt questions that are short answer or of other types that D2L can’t grade automatically and use the feedback for future attempts, so we will, on the remaining assignments, use multiple choice or other question types that allow you instant feedback on the first 2 attempts whenever possible.  Feel free to reach out still if you have questions on them!

I will not be available via text message Sunday morning or afternoon, but will Sunday evening – so feel free to leave messages on Sunday but don’t worry if I don’t get to them until Sunday evening.

Have a good weekend and feel free to reach out with questions or if you have difficulties.

 

 

The graded supplemental homework for the Acid-Base review due this evening (Sun Jan 17) is now due at 11:59 pm Tuesday Jan 19 as D2L has not allowed several students to submit second attempts.  Since tomorrow is a college holiday for Martin Luther King Day the deadline will be Tuesday.

Please begin work on the next topic, Common Ion Effect and Buffer Solutions.

Welcome to the second semester of general chemistry, CHEM 152. My name is Bruce Farris. I am your instructor for the course and I look forward to working with you this semester!

This is the course website on LCC’s Open learning Lab. It will be main place where you work on the course this semester.  There is also a course D2L site which you will use to take exams, complete some other graded assignments, and check your grades.  It will be available beginning Monday, Jan 11 at 8am.  Here are links and information to hopefully answer questions about the course and instructions for how to get started:

• More information about me (your course instructor) is listed here
• The best ways to get in touch with me are listed here: https://fe2.openlcc.net/brucefarris/contact-information-for-bruce-farris/
• Most of the course materials are located on this LCC Open Learning Lab course website.  To start the course, begin at this link: Welcome to CHEM 152! (Start here). This link is also located in the menu at the top of this page.  You can do that now if you like, but there is no requirement or expectation for you to start before the semester starts tomorrow.
• Here is a link to the tentative Course Schedule
• The course syllabus is located at the CONCOURSE link on the D2L home page for the course (click “General Chemistry Lecture II” at the top of this screen, then click “Concourse” . The syllabus outlines the course policies and student expectations. Please contact me with any questions.  For your convenience, here is a link to the course syllabus that does not require logging onto D2L.

As you familiarize yourself with the course (both the Open Learning Lab course website and D2L), please contact me with any questions.

If you need technical help with D2L, please contact the LCC Help Desk at (517) 483-5221 or visit the Help Desk website. To learn more about navigating D2L and the tools within D2L, please visit the eLearning Student Resource Site.

Finally, I’d appreciate it if you could take 5 minutes by Wednesday, Jan 13 to complete this short survey: link to survey That will let me know that you have read this welcome message and wish to complete the course this semester! If there is anything in the survey you prefer not to answer, just leave it blank.

If you have any questions about the course, feel free to contact me. I hope you enjoy this class and encourage you to contact me frequently  by phone, text, or by email.

Again, I look forward to working with you this semester!

Final Part 2 grades are available.  The exam average was 78.0.

Final Part 1 is Monday, Dec 14.  It is set up similarly to Final part 2 and covers Units 1 and 2.  Please contact me if you have questions about the exam itself or any chemistry questions about the material on the exam.

Some other announcements/frequently asked questions about the semester wrap up

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

Today, Saturday 12/12, I am grading materials for my CHEM 262 class so you should expect no quiz grades today.  Tomorrow and Monday I will be grading materials for my CHEM 151 classes and this class, so quiz grades will appear gradually then.  I will post grades for your Final Part 1 (taken Monday) sometime on Tuesday.

After posting those grades, 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.

If you have questions for me, please contact me — please read below so you know what to expect

For the next few days 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 12/16 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.