General Information and Grading System, Spring 2008

EXAMINATONS: There will be four (4) one-hour examinations, as indicated in the schedule and the final exam. The final exam will be comprehensive, i.e., cover the entire semester's work. Note: Graphing calculators will NOT be allowed to be used during examinations! Only calculators with single line displays can be used when taking an examination in this course. Cell phones must also be put away, in a purse, manpurse or pack.

NO MAKE-UP EXAMS: Only illness, court dates, and University sponsored events are acceptable excuses for missing an exam. Forgetting the exam is NOT an excuse. Family trips, vacations, weddings, work, etc. are NOT reasons for missing an exam! You must contact Dr. Gelder in advance if you can not take an exam for an excused absence! Not contacting Dr. Gelder in advanced of an exam that you know you can/will not take will result in a zero for that exam. For an excused, missed exam, in calculating your total points for the course, an excused missed one-hour exam will be replaced with your final exam percentage. Therefore, the final exam score counts twice, once for the final exam score and once for a missed hour exam. If you should miss TWO hour exams, you should see Dr. Gelder as soon as possible to discuss your situation. Make-up exams will NOT be scheduled. Feeling like you are not prepared to take the exam is NOT an excuse. Suck it up and take the exam!

BEFORE CLASS EXPLORATIONS: A BCE is a web-based activity that must be completed before class. BCEs will begin on Thursday, January 10, 2008 and continue every lecture day for the remainder of the semester. To count, a BCE must be completed before the next scheduled class begins. BCEs will typically be posted 24 hours before the beginning of the next class. A BCE consists of a series of questions that will cover a portion of the content of that day's class discussion. The questions will typically progress from easy to more difficult. The questions in the BCE will not be graded right or wrong. You will be judged as completing a BCE if you have made a reasonable effort to answer the questions on the BCE and you have taken a reasonable amount of time to answer those questions. I expect most BCEs will take 10 minutes or more to complete. Although I will not GRADE the BCEs I will assess them. BCEs are intended to help me better understand what you know about a particular topic we are going to discuss in lecture. Your responses will provide me with an idea of how many students understand the concept(s), how many students are having difficulty, which ideas are not clear, and what kind of misconceptions you have. If the majority of students have demonstrated understanding of a particular concept, that concept will not be covered in great detail in class. BCEs will help you prepare for class by providing you some questions that you want answered in class. I STRONGLY recommend that you print out the Expert Response Page and bring that page with you to class. You are welcome to use your book, or other resources when completing a BCE. Your personal web page will track how many BCEs you have completed and it will allow you to review any completed BCE at any time during the semester.

DURING CLASS INVENTIONS: A DCI is an activity that will be worked on, during class, in small groups. All DCIs are in the During Class Invention and Computer Laboratory Activities Workbook that you are required to purchase from the Student Union Bookstore, Cowboy Book, or the Book Trader. DCIs consist of a set of questions that will either help invent a concept to be discussed in class, or will apply the concept discussed in class. One or more DCIs will be completed during every class. Random DCIs will be turned in at the end of class. DCI's will normally not be graded, although there may be circumstances where they will be graded (see Homework below).

AFTER CLASS APPLICATIONS : An ACA is a web-based activity that must be completed following class. ACAs will begin on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 and continue most lecture days for the remainder of the semester. To count, an ACA must be completed approximately 36 - 40 hours after class ends. ACAs will typically be posted after class ends. An ACA consists of a series of questions that will cover the content of that day's class. The questions will typically progress from easy to more difficult. The questions in the ACA will not be graded right or wrong. You will be judged as completing an ACA if you have made a reasonable effort to answer the questions on the ACA and you have taken a reasonable amount of time to answer those questions. I expect most ACAs will take 10 minutes or more to complete. ACAs are intended to help me better understand what you understood about a particular topic after we discussed the concept in lecture. This will be accomplished by asking questions that will require you to apply the concept(s) discussed in class. If you can answer the questions on the ACA that would suggest you have a good understanding of the material. Your responses will provide me with an idea of how many students understand the concept(s), how many are having difficulty, which ideas are not clear, and what kind of misconceptions you have. ACAs will help you recognize what concepts you do not understand. That way you can better focus your studying and questions. I STRONGLY recommend that you print out the Expert Response Page and bring that page with you to class. Your personal web page will track how many ACAs you have completed and it will allow you to review any completed ACA at any time during the semester.

HOMEWORK: At least sixteen (16) problem sets will count towards your final grade. Problems Sets will be accessed from your Personal Page on the course web site. Each problem set will be unique, so be sure the problem set you work on has your name on it. Problem Sets with a different student's name will not be accepted, and you will be assigned a grade of zero! The majority of the problem sets will contain 10 problems. These will be due at the beginning of the class on the date indicated on the problem set, or announced in class. Late problem sets will NOT be accepted. If the problem set is not turned in when it is due it is late. Sets of BCEs/ACAs will make up a few of the Problem Sets. Your score on the Problem Sets based on your BCE/ACA work will be calculated based on the percentage of the BCEs/ACAs that you complete. For example, a Problem Set based on BCEs/ACAs could cover the BCEs/ACAs completed during the first 3.5 weeks of class (Exam I material). If you complete 90% of those BCEs/ACAs you will earn 12 points * 0.9. Sets of DCIs (During Class Inventions) will also constitute a Problem Set. DCIs are completed in class in small groups. Periodically DCIs will be turned in. Those turned in will make-up a set and be counted towards a PS. Typically four DCIs will constitute a set for a Problem Set. If you miss class and a DCI is collected you will not be able turn the DCI in at a later time. If in a set of DCIs you have missed one or more classes (where DCIs were collected) in that set of DCIs, you will receive a fraction of the total problem score of 12 points. The highest scores of sixteen (16) problem sets will contribute to your final grade in this course. Each problem set is worth 12 points. For the problem sets on your Personal Page (with 10 problems), only three representative problems will be graded. Each graded problem will be worth three points, unless otherwise noted. The remaining three points will be awarded, on an all or nothing basis, for completing the remaining problems in the problem set. Unannounced In-class problem sets may occur at anytime during the semester. If you are going to miss class and a problem set is due, you can mail (US mail) the Problem Set to Dr. Gelder. In such cases the postmark must be the same day (or earlier) as the date the PS is due. You can also FAX (405-744-6007) or e-mail (john.gelder@okstate.edu) your answers to Dr. Gelder. There are no make-ups for missed In-Class Problem Sets. Students may turn-in Problem Sets early (but not DCI's). Early Problem Sets must be handed to Dr. Gelder, unless other arrangements have been made.

LABORATORY: This semester there are thirteen (13) laboratory experiments. The two lowest laboratory experiment scores, will be dropped. Laboratory quizzes may be given during the semester. The quiz could be worth approximately 10% of the grade for the particular experiment. The majority of laboratory experiments will have a set of pre-laboratory questions that MUST be completed before arriving at your schedule laboratory class. Laboratory write-up and InClass Exercises must be turned in before leaving the laboratory, unless stated otherwise. Any late laboratory write-ups will be penalized 50% for the first day and 90% after the first day. Late InClass Exercises will not be accepted. If you are going to miss a laboratory, you need to make sure any laboratory write-up which may be due is turned in on time or it will be subject to the same point deduction as described above. Questions on examinations will cover material from laboratory.

LABORATORY MAKE-UP: There will be NO make-ups laboratory experiments or InClass Exercises. FOUR OR MORE LABS MISSED ANYTIME DURING THE SEMESTER WILL RESULT IN AN "F" GRADE FOR THE COURSE!

EYE PROTECTION: State law requires approved protection over the eyes at all times in a laboratory in which an experiment is in progress. A student found without goggles/safety glasses may cause the loss of lab points for every student in the laboratory section, and may be asked to leave the lab.

LABORATORY CHECKOUT: If you drop the course, check your locker equipment back to the storeroom within TWO WEEKS, otherwise check out of your locker by the last scheduled laboratory. Failure to do so will result in a $10.00 clearance fee PLUS charges for any breakage or dirty equipment that must be replaced during the cleaning procedure. Charges accumulated during the semester will also be added. The Bursar's office will receive an invoice of these charges.

GRAPHING CALCULATORS: If you have a graphing calculator you are encouraged to take advantage of its capability. Graphing calculators can greatly simplify many sophisticated mathematical relationships used in chemistry. You are encouraged to use your graphing calculator in lecture, laboratory, and on problem sets and laboratory write-ups. Note: Graphing calculators will NOT be allowed to be used during examinations! Only calculators with single line displays can be used when taking an examination in this course.

WEB (intro.chem.okstate.edu): We will take advantage of the Internet/WWW to handle many administrative details associated with CHEM 1515. Additionally many resources will be available from our class web site to aid you as you learn chemistry this semester. The strength of our class web site is it will have many features that will supplement our classroom discussions. What will you need to take advantage of the resources on our web site? To access some of the digital resources available this semester you must have a reasonably fast computer, some memory, a audio headset, and a fast internet connection (cable modem, DSL or T1 line). If your computer is not able to handle the video resources bring your audio headset and use campus computers (PS102). To access the video resources you will need the latest version of QuickTime. Additional animations will require the ShockWave Plug-in for your browser. You will also need Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view the answers to problem sets, in-class exercises and sample examinations. Check the plug-ins link on our web site to locate these resoures. All campus computers will have these accessories for your browser. Some animations/simulations may have other specific accessorizing that is required.

PODCAST: Subscribing to Video Podcasts for CHEM 1515

Do you have the lastest version of iTunes (version 7.5)? Are you downloading any podcasts? (NOTE: You do not need a video iPod or a Mac to subscribe to the video podcasts.)
1. If you do not have iTunes (which you need to subscribe to a podcast) on your computer checkout the Apple iTunes download web site <http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/>  and download the most current version of iTunes (there is a Windows XP version). All Apple wants is your e-mail address. Apple will let you know when you can get free music (every Tuesday), and free videos.
2. To access the General Chemistry Spring 2008 Podcast, open iTunes and select the Advance menu option.
3. Select the Subscribe to Podcast and type in the address http://introchem.chem.okstate.edu/rssSP08.xml into the dialog box and click OK.
4. This will subscribe you to the General Chemistry Spring 2008 Video Podcast.
5. NOTE: To see all of the video podcasts (every lecture plus extra cool stuff) you may need to click on the small triangle icon immediately to the left of the word General in the title of the podcast.
6. The first time you access the video podcasts, only the most recently added podcast will download. You will have to click on the small GET button to get any other podcasts.
7. To see what the contents of a particular podcast are before downloading double click on the description line where you can see the beginning of the description of the contents of the particular podcast.
8. To obtain future podcasts from CHEM 1515 re-open iTunes, select podcast from the left frame and click on the Update button in the upper right corner of the window.
9. Contact Dr. Gelder if you have any questions.
10. Now that you have iTunes checkout the iTunes music store. There are many very interesting podcasts (both video and audio) that you may find interesting, informative and useful.

JAVA RUNTIME PLUG-IN: This will be needed throughout the Spring Semester. Anyone running Windows XP Internet Explorer browser needs to check this information to access some software the class will be using this semester. Go to http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/~mra/CCLI2004/GLHeNeAr.htm and see what happens in the IE window. If the IE browser window shows a boxed section with a small ‘X’ icon in the upper left corner, this means the simulation can not load properly due to the missing Java Runtime Environment for IE. If there is any problem with the simulation window you will need the more current version of the Java RunTime Environment for Windows. To get the latest version for this hardware go to http://java.sun.com/downloads. On the right side of the window select JDK 5.0. When the page is open select Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 Update 10 for download. On the next page loaded you will have to accept the licensing agreement before you can begin the download of the JRE. Select J2SE RunTime Environment 5.0 Update 10 for Windows. This will download to your computer and automatically accessorize IE so it will open the simulations.

DROP POLICY: (See the OSU Class Schedule for more details.)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: OSU has implemented a new Academic Integrity policy to demonstrate a committment to students, staff and faculty that mature, honest behavior is expected of everyone, and that anyone charged with a violation of the Academic Integrity policy is treated fairly. The details of the Academic Integrity Policy can be found at http://academicintegrity.okstate.edu. Everyone should be aware of the types of violations and the levels of sanctions for such violations.

a. Level one sanction
Level one sanction: award a grade of "zero" or "F" for the assignment or examination for violations including but not limited to the following:
1. Copying a few sentences of material (1-5 sentences or a minor portion) from a written or Internet source without proper citation.
2. Cheating on a quiz or minor assignment.
3. Receiving unauthorized help on an assignment.
4. Working on an assignment with others when the instructor asked for individual work.
5. Using a false excuse to obtain an extension on a due date.
6. Signing an attendance roster for someone who is absent or asking someone else to sign the roster to avoid being counted absent.

Dr. Gelder's re-statement of the above in terms of his course.

Copying answer(s) to problem(s) on a problem set, question(s) on a laboratory experiment.

I encourage students to work together on problem sets...but you must NEVER copy answers. Work together to understand how to solve a problem, but write up the solution for your particular problem independent of other students. Word for word answers, or identical mathematical seetups and solutions will be interpreted as a violation of the Academic Integrity policy.

b. Level two sanction
Level two sanction: award a grade of "F!" for the course for violations including but not limited to the following:
1. Turning in a paper copied from another student.
2. Turning in a paper obtained in full or in part from a term paper “mill” or website.
3. Copying material almost word for word from a written source and turning it in as one’s own work.
4. Fabricating or falsifying a bibliography.
5. Getting questions or answers from someone who has taken an examination.
6. Obtaining an unauthorized copy of an examination in advance.
7. Using unauthorized notes during an examination.
8. Having another student take an examination.
9. Inappropriate use of technology (camera phones, text messaging, programmable calculator, etc.) during an examination.
10. Copying from another student during an examination with or without his/her knowledge.
11. Helping someone else cheat on an examination.
12. Stealing an examination or problem answer from the instructor.
13. Altering a grade or scoring on an examination or paper to obtain unearned credit.
14. In a course requiring computer work, copying another student’s program rather than writing one’s own.
15. Fabricating or falsifying laboratory or research data.
16. Inappropriately sharing or using work on an online assignment or examination.
17. Turning in work done by someone else.
18. Submitting substantial portions of the same assignment to more than one class without permission of the instructors.

There is a specific procedure for charging students for Level ONE and TWO violations consisting of notification, meeting(s) with an Academic Integrity facilitator, and a specific appeals process. All of this is available at the http://academicintegrity.okstate.edu web site.

ALL members of the academic community are expected to preserve and uphold Academic Integrity of this institution.

The expectation for all students in this course is that complete integrity will be demonstrated at all time. You should be aware that both 'taking' and 'giving' assistance during an examination constitutes a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy. Copying answers on problem sets constitutes a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy. Do not allow another student(s) to copy your answer(s)! Do not ask another student to copy their answers! If I believe students have copied answers I will give charge both students with violating of the Academic Integrity Policy. You are welcome to work together, but write up your answers independently. Students who are caught cheating on examinations will be charged with violating the Academic Integrity Policy.

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS: OSU is committed to serving the needs of students with disabilities. Federal Law protects individuals with disabilities and states that the University must provide appropriate academic accommodations. According to the OSRHE Task Force on the Americans with Disabilities Acts, it is the responsibility of each student with a disability to notify the University of his or her disability. If any member of this class has a disability and needs special accommodation of any nature whatsoever, the instructor will work with you and the Office of Student Disability Services, 326 Student Union, to provide reasonable accommodation to ensure fair opportunity to perform in the class. Please advise Dr. Gelder of any disability following the first week of scheduled classes.

ATTENDANCE: While attendance will not be taken during lecture it is strongly recommended students attend all lectures. Important information regarding examinations, homework and laboratory will be announced in class. In addition insightful, stimulating discussion of chemistry concepts will occur during the lecture period. Lecture is the student's opportunity to ask questions over the material. Students are encouraged to inform Dr. Gelder when attendance in lecture is not possible. Missing lecture could result in not turning in a During Class Invention activity. A missed During Class Invention activity that is not turned in will result in a loss of one fourth of a problem set grade. Attendance in laboratory is mandatory. Four missed laboratories will result in an "F" in the class, independent of student's performance on examinations and homework.

SCHEDULE: The lecture schedule is tentative. Depending on rate and extent of coverage the date of coverage for a particular topic may change. The order of topics will not be changed significantly. All tests will be given on the dates shown and all problem sets and laboratory reports will be due on those dates given in class or on your CHEM 1515 personal page.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: It is the student's responsibility to communicate to Dr. Gelder any potential problems that result in missing lecture, laboratory, problem sets or exams. Pay close attention to course withdrawal dates. Any extra credit opportunities will be available to all students. No individual student will receive any 'special' treatment for missed work. All course policies will be applied consistently to students. Requests for deviations from course policy should not be made. Contact Dr. Gelder if any extented, continuous periods of missing class occur.

Total Point Breakdown

Tentative Grade Distribution

POSTING SCORES: Exam, problem set and laboratory scores will be accessible through a Grades Database. The Grades Database is linked through each student's Personal Web Page. Students can communicate their Secret Identification number/name to Dr. Gelder by completing the SID#/N form on the Web. You are not required to have your scores posted, however, reviewing posted scores is an excellent way to know exactly what scores Dr. Gelder is using to determine your course grade. Along with your scores Dr. Gelder will also calculate your predicted course percentage (your final grade). This calculation is only a prediction and is usually based on the assumption that your future performance will be the same as your performance up to the time the percentage is calculated and posted. Sometimes Dr. Gelder can screw this calculation up (if he is not careful), although extreme care is taken so such a possiblity is unlikely. So be careful interpreting this prediction. It is strongly recommended that you keep all of your exams, homework and laboratory write-ups so that in the event of any recording error you can support any change.