Syllabus
Consider the Course Strategies page as an extension of the syllabus.
Instructor
Name: Dr. Whitnee Nettles
E-Mail: ch1213{at}chemistry(d0t)msstate(DoT)edu
Office: 1116 Hand Lab
Office Hours: T/W 10:00 – 11:00 AM or by appointment. There are no office hours on in-person exam days.
Need to contact me? Send me an email. Do not use the Canvas messaging system.
Minimize Email Abuse: Office hours are usually better suited for answering questions. Please prioritize office hours for questions rather than using email.
Lecture: CH 1213 – Chemistry I
Sections 01 – 12: TR 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Sections 13 – 24: TR 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Location: Old Main 1030/1050
Recitation
- Section 01 – Simrall 203 (M 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM)
- Section 02 – Carpenter 104 (W 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM)
- Section 03 – Carpenter 309 (R 3:15 PM – 4:05 PM)
- Section 04 – Carpenter 101 (M 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM)
- Section 05 – Carpenter 111 (W 6:00 PM – 6:50 PM)
- Section 06 – Carpenter 111 (R 4:15 PM – 5:10 PM)
- Section 07 – Carpenter 111 (M 5:00 PM – 5:50 PM)
- Section 08 – Carpenter 101 (W 5:00 PM – 5:50 PM)
- Section 09 – Carpenter 101 (R 5:20 PM – 6:10 PM)
- Section 10 – Carpenter 101 (M 5:00 PM – 5:50 PM)
- Section 11 – Carpenter 111 (W 5:00 PM – 5:50 PM)
- Section 12 – Carpenter 101 (M 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM)
- Section 13 – Carpenter 103 (M 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM)
- Section 14 – Simrall 203 (W 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM)
- Section 15 – Carpenter 103 (R 5:00 PM – 5:50 PM)
- Section 16 – Simrall 203 (M 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM)
- Section 17 – Carpenter 101 (W 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM)
- Section 18 – Carpenter 111 (R 6:00 PM – 6:50 PM)
- Section 19 – Carpenter 101 (M 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM)
- Section 20 – Carpenter 101 (W 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM)
- Section 21 – Carpenter 309 (M 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
- Section 22 – Carpenter 309 (M 5:00 PM – 5:50 PM)
- Section 23 – Carpenter 309 (W 5:00 PM – 5:50 PM)
- Section 24 – Carpenter 309 (W 1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
Exam Times
- Sections 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18
- Old Main 1030/1050: Tuesday 5:00 PM – 6:25 PM
- Sections 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21
- Old Main 1030/1050: Tuesday 6:30 – 7:55 PM
- Sections 22, 23
- Old Main 1220: Tuesday 6:30 – 7:55 PM
- Sections 24
- Old Main 2240: Tuesday 6:30 – 7:55 PM
Final Exam
- Sections 1 – 12 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM Tuesday, December 5, 2023 Old Main 1030/1050
- Sections 13 – 24 3:30 PM – 6:30 PM Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Old Main 1030/1050
- Final Exam: Exam date/time found at MSU Examination Calendar
Course Description
CH 1213 - (Prerequisites Math subscore 24 or grade of C or better in MA 1313) Three hours lecture. The principles of atomic and molecular structure, energetics, dynamics, and synthesis as related to chemical systems.
Course Objective
Chemistry I is an introductory course for science and engineering majors. The course covers concepts related to molecular structure and function, chemical reactions, solutions, and gases. An additional instructional hour (termed a recitation hour) is included with this course, which is an active group-based review of concepts with focused practice of problems to reinforce learning. Review your course schedule to determine your additional class time.
The laboratory course CH 1211 is designed to complement this CH 1213 lecture course although it is a separate course.
Learning Objectives
Students will utilize critical thinking skills to learn and use the following concepts:
- Fundamentals
- Measurements
- Atomic theory
- Periodic table
- Dimensional analysis
- Formulas, masses, the molecular
- Chemical equations
- Thermochemistry
- Laws of thermodynamics
- Hess’s Law
- Calorimetry
- Enthalpy
- Enthalpy of formation
- Structure and Bonding
- Light and spectroscopy
- Periodic trends
- Lewis structures
- Hybridization
- Orbitals and quantum numbers* Electronegativity
- VSEPR
- Molecular orbital theory
- States of Matter
- Gas laws
- Real gases
- Liquids and solids
Required Course Materials
- Textbook: Chemistry Atoms First 2e from OpenStax
- Coursebook: CH 1213 Chemistry I Coursebook (Barnes & Noble campus bookstore) for Homework
- Scientific calculator (non-graphing, non-programmable, non-internet capable)
- Your MSU ID for attendance reporting/scanning
- A printed copy of the periodic table (one is included in the Coursebook)
- Technology Requirements: technology that allows for an internet connection will be needed for class. (Examples: lap top, cell phone, etc.)
- Students must have the ability to print documents.
- Required online software will be available through the University.
- Campusknot Access
Important announcements & materials will be made available in Canvas. Canvas will also be used for assignment submissions and announcement of assignment due dates. Please make sure to check Canvas regularly (checking daily is recommended). You should also ensure your settings are set to notify you if an announcement is made.
Optional Course Materials
- Online Student Handbook
- Study guide: For ACS standardized final exam (obtained from SMACS student organization)
Lecture Schedule
Tentative chapter start date
Schedule for Summative Exams
Fall 2023 Academic calendar: https://www.registrar.msstate.edu/calendars/academic-calendar/c/?year[value][year]=2023&semester=fall
Note: Exam coverage is tentative and is dependent upon the progress made in lecture.
Grading Rubric
Grading Scale
Canvas
Canvas is the online hub for all announcements, grades, and assignments.
Important announcements & materials will be made available in Canvas. Canvas will also be used for assignment submissions and announcement of assignment due dates. Please make sure to check Canvas regularly (checking daily is recommended). You should also ensure your settings are set to notify you if an announcement is made.
Canvas Exams
Canvas Exams are formative assessments and will be offered periodically online via Canvas in an asynchronous manner. Canvas exams are recommended to be completed within 48-hours after they are posted.Each Canvas Exam will have the following instructions included at the top:
You must work this exam on your own. You may not receive any help from any person or person(s) (including contract cheating sites) except the professor and Chemistry I TAs. This content is protected by copyright and is not allowed to be reposted anywhere. Any violation of academic or copyright integrity will be reported to the Dean of Students’ office.
This exam is open-book. Enter your answers into Canvas.
There will be many Canvas Exams throughout the semester. Your overall score will be determined as a function of the points scored and the total number of points as follows:
\[\dfrac{\mathrm{earned~pts.}}{\mathrm{total~pts.}} \times 15 = \mathrm{Canvas~Exams~\\%}\]
Homework
Homework (HW) are summative assignments (called worksheets in your Chemistry I Coursebook) and are turned in as a single, scanned PDF file per assignment to Canvas. The total for the class is determined as a function of points scored and the total number of HW questions assigned as follows
\[\dfrac{\mathrm{earned~pts.}}{\mathrm{total~pts.}} \times 5 = \mathrm{HW\\%}\]
Any modifications to the HWs will be sent out via a Canvas announcement.
HW Due Dates
The tentative schedule is below for HW due dates. All HWs are due at 11:59 PM on the specified date.
HW Policies
- Show all of your work.
- Include units on all appropriate numbers (i.e. if the number is unitless, do not include a unit). If you write down a number at all and it has a unit, write out the unit. Failure to include units will result in no credit for the question.
- Be organized. Your reported work should be legible, logical, methodical, and reproducible. I should be able to follow your work step-by-step and reproduce exactly your reported answer.
- Do not report a number that does not match the work you have shown. If you do, grading will stop immediately and your entire assignment will be given a zero.
- Example: Writing “1 + 2 = 5” violates point 4 above.
- Fill out the cover page (i.e. self-evaluation sheet) for each assignment and include it as the first page in each HW submission. Misrepresenting the information you report on your cover page is not allowed. Be sure to write the number of points at the bottom-right corner of your sheet.
- Any work that looks suspiciously copied from unauthorized resources (e.g. contract cheating sites and services) may result in a zero for the assignment. The zero may be withdrawn if a reasonable explanation of the provided work can be given.
A violation of any of the HW policies may result in point deductions or a zero.
NOTE: Assigned HW grades are subject to change should any violation of the HW policies (above) be discovered after a grade was assigned.
See Common HW Issues for more guidance.
‘Close’ is good enough
Many HW questions come with the answer(s) provided. Often in chemistry, numerical values are dependent using measured quantities (thermophysical properties, measured values, etc.). Depending on the quantity chosen, the final answer can vary a bit from the reported answer. Complicating matters further, measured quantities can vary depending upon the experiment implemented to measure. Therefore, if your final answer is reasonably close to the correct answer, it will be considered correct. Keep in mind significant figures and rounding rules should always be appropriately employed.
Errata
In some instances, minor corrections or clarifications to HW questions may be needed (called errata). Errata will be posted here. Be sure to check this page occasionally for updates.
HW Submission Procedure
- Scan your worksheet as a single PDF file per assignment.
- Ensure the pages are in the correct order.
- Upload to Canvas
- Log into Canvas to make sure that Canvas has received your submission. Download your submission to ensure it was submitted properly.
NOTE: Every step of this procedure is mandatory. Step 4 is the most important, yet most ignored step. If your assignment is not submitted to Canvas by the due date/time, a zero will be administered.
Campusknot
Campusknot will be used for in class polling quizzes, these will be graded based on participation. To see the quiz poll question, you will need to be in class, as it will be projected on the screen. Internet access will be required – bring a device with internet access with you to every lecture meeting. Your overall score will be determined as a function of teh points scored and the total number of points as follows
\[\dfrac{\mathrm{earned~pts.}}{\mathrm{total~pts.}} \times 5 = \mathrm{Campusknot\\%}\]
Recitation
Recitation class meetings will occur weekly (see individual class schedules). The recitation class will be a smaller, peer discussion-based class led by a graduate teaching assistant. Recitation is NOT a homework period and full participation in the day’s activities is required. Each recitation meeting, you will be provided with a quiz to complete. In some cases, internet access will be required – bring a device with you to every recitation meeting. Recitation will cover the Canvas Exam materials that are currently open from lecture, as well as practice on those topics. You should bring questions about the content to recitation so that you have assistance where it is needed. After discussion, a quiz will be given on the topics covered during recitation (and on the Canvas Exams that are open). Your overall score will be determined as a function of the points scored and the total number of points as follows
\[\dfrac{\mathrm{earned~pts.}}{\mathrm{total~pts.}} \times 10 = \text{Recitation}~\\%\]
Recitation Schedule of Topics
- August 17 – 23
- Syllabus
- Basic Math
- August 24 – 30
- Dimensional Analysis
- SI Unit Conversions
- Density
- Significant Figures
- August 28
- Dimensional Analysis
- SI Unit Conversions
- Density
- Significant Figures
- Isotopes
- Average mass
- Conversions with g, moles, and atoms 1
- Conversions with g, moles, and atoms 2
- August 29 – August 30
- Dimensional Analysis
- SI Unit Conversions
- Density
- Significant Figures
- August 31 – September 1
- Isotopes
- Average mass
- Conversions with g, moles, and atoms 1
- Conversions with g, moles, and atoms 2
- September 4
- No Recitation
- September 5
- Isotopes
- Average mass
- Conversions with g, moles, and atoms 1
- Conversions with g, moles, and atoms 2
- September 6
- Isotopes
- Average mass
- Conversion with g, moles, and atoms 1
- Conversions with g, moles, and atoms 2
- Quantum numbers
- Electron configuration
- Energy – wavelength – frequency
- Rydberg
- September 7 – September 13
- Quantum numbers
- Electron configuration
- Energy – wavelength – frequency
- Rydberg
- September 14 – September 20
- Definitions
- Ionic & Covalent bonding
- Naming
- September 21 – September 27
- Hybridization
- Sigma & Pi bonds
- Lewis structures
- Geometries
- Formal charge
- September 28 – October 4
- Percent composition
- MO Theory
- October 5 – October 11
- Concentrations Quiz 1
- Concentrations Quiz 2
- October 18 – October 24
- Balancing reactions
- October 25 – October 31
- Solubility rules
- Acids & bases
- Oxidation numbers
- RedOx
- Net ionic equations
- November 1 – November 7
- Limiting reagents 1
- Limiting reagents 2
- Titrations
- November 8 – November 14
- Specific heat and specific heat capacity
- Coffee cup calorimetry
- Bomb calorimetry
- Change in internal energy
- November 15 – November 21
- Enthalpy
- Standard enthalpy of combustion
- Standard enthalpy of formation
- Hess’ Law
Final Exam
This course employs the ACS Final Exam for first semester General Chemistry and will be administered on the official final exam date and time for this course in Old Main 1030/1050. Your overall score will be determined as a function of the points scored and the total number of points as follows:
\[\dfrac{\mathrm{earned~pts.}}{\mathrm{total~pts.}} \times 20 = \mathrm{Final~Exam~\\%}\]
Final Class Grade
Your final grade will be determined by summing over the % contribution for each item in the grading rubric. Cross-reference the percentage with the Grading Scale to determine your final letter grade.
Note: Canvas does not know how to compute your class grade. Canvas only records individual assignment grades. It is your responsibility to compute your class grade.
Late Assignment Policy
Any assignment that is not turned in by the due date and time will receive a zero.
Assignments should be completed well in advance of the due date. I recommend completing Canvas Exams within 48 hours of being posted. I recommend starting Homework when the appropriate chapter is starting to be covered in lecture.
Attendance policy for face-to-face instruction
Attendance is mandatory.
This section is a face-to-face instructional class. Please refer to
Academic Operating Policy 12.09, regarding attendance expectations and accommodations.
If you need an absence marked as excused, you will need to submit your documentation through the Microsoft Form (go to this link). For a summative exam, once proper documentation is received you will be administered a make-up exam on the make-up exam date (December 2). Failure to take the make-up exam at the scheduled time will result in a zero.
Attendance Reporting
Students are required to scan their MSU ID (at the attendance scanner in the classroom) when arriving to the beginning of class. Scanners open 10 minutes before class starts. Those students who scanned in for class and leave class before class is dismissed are required to immediately self-report their exit via email so that the attendance record can properly reflect an absence for that day. Failure to do so is considered to be misrepresenting and falsely reporting class attendance.
Academic Integrity and Copyright
Short Version: Do not cheat or violate copyright.
Longer Version: Do not do anything that can be construed as cheating (academic misconduct) or violating copyright (student misconduct). All non-HWs must be done on your own and you are to follow all stated directions in those assignments. You are not allowed to receive help from any person or person(s) for Exams. You may not share any portion of a Canvas exams, take-home exam and summative exam with anyone other than the instructor of the course. Under no circumstances is posting ANY of my content to ANY website allowed as it violates copyright. Therefore, do not use websites like Chegg to avoid violating academic integrity AND copyright.
Any violation of academic integrity will be submitted to the Honor Code office with a recommended outcome of an ‘XF’.
Mandatory Reporter Status
As the instructor for this course, I have a mandatory duty to report to the university any information I receive about possible sexual misconduct. This includes information shared in class discussions or assignments, as well as information shared in conversations outside class. The purpose of reporting is to allow MSU to take steps to ensure a safe learning environment for all. The university also has confidential resources available, who can provide assistance to those who have experienced sexual misconduct without triggering a mandatory reporting duty. Additional resources are available at https://www.oci.msstate.edu/focus-areas/title-ix-sexual-misconduct/ and at https://www.students.msstate.edu/sexual-misconduct-sexual-assault/.
University Syllabus
The Mississippi State University Syllabus contains all policies and procedures that are applicable to every course on campus and online. The policies in the University Syllabus describe the official policies of the University and will take precedence over those found elsewhere. It is the student’s responsibility to read and be familiar with every policy. The University Syllabus may be accessed at any time on the Provost website under Faculty and Student Resources and at https://www.provost.msstate.edu/faculty-student-resources/university-syllabus .