Course Description

• Credit Hours:  1
• Classroom Contact Hours per week:  3

The course is the laboratory to accompany CHEM 1312 lecture. Emphasis is placed on techniques, properties and reactions, and reinforcing principles offered in the lecture portion of the course.

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Prerequisites:  (1) CHEM 1311+ 1111 with a grade of C or better and (2) MATH 1314 or MATH 1414 (College Algebra) or equivalent academic preparation with a grade of C or higher.

Corequisite:  CHEM 1312

Course Rationale

This course covers the fundamental facts, laws, principles, theories and concepts of chemistry necessary for further work in science or science-related subjects.

Required Textbook and Materials

There is no required textbook for this class.  All information and handouts for the lab activities will be available in Blackboard at least one week before the scheduled date for discussion of the experiment (tentative class schedule appears at the end of this document).

Eye Protection:  ACC does not provide safety goggles or safety glasses for the lab. The student must purchase goggles or safety glasses prior to performing the first experiment. ANSI-approved goggles are stamped with Z87.  Tinted safety glasses or safety goggles are not acceptable.  NO EYE PROTECTION means NO LAB WORK – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Required Technology:  You will need to have internet access to watch class videos and archived recordings, and to submit lab assignments and quizzes.

Adobe Acrobat Reader:  To be able to view the .pdf documents that are posted in Blackboard, you will need software that allows you to open and view .pdf files.  You can download Acrobat Reader here:  get.adobe.com/reader/

Any “Scanner” App:  To turn in some assignments or portions thereof, you will need to scan in your work and submit it through Blackboard as a single .pdf file.  Of course, it is possible to use a scanner attached to a computer to scan in work, but all you really need is a smartphone.  There are numerous free apps available for iOS and Android phones that will allow to take photos with your phone camera, convert the images to .pdf format, and combine multiple photos into one .pdf file.  Some examples include Adobe Scan, Microsoft Lens, pdfElement, CamScanner, etc.  It does not matter which app you choose, but it should be capable of allowing multiple photos to be combined into a single .pdf file for Blackboard submission.  Submission of a multiple page document as multiple files will not be acceptable.  Submission in other file formats (.docx, .png, .jpg, etc.) will not be acceptable.

Calculator:  You will need a scientific calculator for class activities and quizzes.  A good calculator option for this class is the TI-30XIIS, which is relatively inexpensive, and which has all functions that you will need.

Student Technology Support

Austin Community College provides free, secure drive-up WiFi to students and employees in the parking lots of all campus locations. WiFi can be accessed seven days a week, 7 am to 11 pm. Additional details are available at https://www.austincc.edu/sts.

Students who do not have the necessary technology to complete their ACC courses can request to borrow devices from Student Technology Services. Available devices include iPads, webcams, headsets, calculators, etc. Students must be registered for a credit course, Adult Education, or Continuing Education course to be eligible. For more information, including how to request a device, visit http://www.austincc.edu/sts.

Student Technology Services offers phone, live-chat, and email-based technical support for students and can provide support on topics such as password resets, accessing or using Blackboard, access to technology, etc. To view hours of operation and ways to request support, visit http://www.austincc.edu/sts.

Instructional Methodology

This course consists of an in-person laboratory section only.

Grading System

The letter grade that you earn in this class will be based entirely on the number of points that you earn, out of 570 points possible.

A ≥ 513 pts; B = 456-512 pts; C = 399-455 pts; D = 342-398 pts; F < 342 pts

Based on class performance and the instructor’s discretion, the lower end of each letter grade boundary may be adjusted downward at the end of the term.

The total points earned will be calculated as follows:

Best 11 out of 12 experiment scores @ 50 points each:                550 points possible

Lab safety assignment:                                                                    20 points possible

Total points possible:                                                                      570

Preparation before lab: 

• Prelab discussion videos are posted in the folder for each experiment.  In these videos, Dr. B explains the theory that you need to understand to complete the experiment and works through sample calculations that are like the calculations you will perform with your data.  You should watch these videos before you attend lab to perform the experiment.
• Read the information that is posted in Blackboard for each experiment.  Be sure to print copies of the “Experiment xx Handout” and the “Experiment xx Report Sheet” and bring them to lab with you on the day we are scheduled to perform the experiment.
• You must also complete an online prelab assignment before conducting the experiment.  This assignment is worth 5 points toward the experiment grade and will be administered in Blackboard.  The deadline for electronic submission of the prelab assignment is 7:45am on the day the experiment will be performed.  Since the purpose of the prelab assignment is to ensure that you have prepared for the experiment before lab, it will not be possible for you to submit your answers late.  I recommend that you begin working on the prelab assignment as early as possible to ensure that you have enough time to complete it, and to allow time to visit office hours if you have questions.

During lab: 

• You must bring printed copies of the “Experiment xx Handout” and the “Experiment xx Report Sheet” with you to lab.  If you do not have the handout, you will not have the procedure that you will need to follow in the laboratory.  The only acceptable place to record data and observations is on the “Experiment sx Report Sheet”. If you arrive at lab without printed copies of these documents, you will need to go print them before you will be allowed to start working on the experiment.
• To be allowed to work in the lab, you must have suitable eye protection, you must wear closed-toed shoes (your foot must be completely covered, so no sandals, clogs, or flip-flops), and you must wear appropriate clothing (no shorts, bare midriffs, or sleeveless shirts).  Students who arrive at lab without appropriate eye protection, shoes, or clothing WILL NOT be allowed to perform that day’s experiment.  If you are excluded from lab for this reason, you will receive a grade of 0 for the in-lab and post-lab portions of the experiment.  For various reasons, we DO NOT lend goggles/safety glasses to students.
• Students who arrive at lab after the safety demo/discussion will not be allowed to perform that day’s experiment and will be excused from the lab with no opportunity for makeup.
• While performing the experiment, you will record data and observations on the report sheet.  In the lab, your focus should be on collecting data for the entire experiment.  Wait until data has been collected for all parts of the experiment before you start working on the required calculations.  Although you are welcome to begin working on calculations after you have collected all data, once you have finished collecting data for an experiment you are welcome to leave for the day.

After lab: 

• Once you have finished collecting data for an experiment, you will complete the “Experiment xx Report Sheet” by performing any necessary calculations, preparing any needed graphs, and answering all questions.  All pages of the completed report sheet plus supporting information (work for calculations, graphs, etc.) should be combined into a single .pdf file, which you will upload for grading via Blackboard.  Submission of multiple files or other file formats is not acceptable – your work will not be graded if you do not follow the submission instructions correctly. The report sheet contributes 35 points toward your experiment grade.  To receive full credit for a report sheet, you need to complete all calculations, answer all questions, and correctly follow all submission instructions as outlined in Blackboard.  You must show all work for any calculations.
• Submission of the completed report sheet via Blackboard will activate the link to take the postlab quiz for the experiment.  The quiz, which you will submit through Blackboard, is worth 10 points. You will not be able to access the quiz until after you submit your report sheet for grading.  The quizzes will be open-book/open-note, but you should not collaborate with other people as you take them.  You will have 30 minutes to complete a quiz after you start it.  This clock continues to run even if you exit the browser window, turn off your computer, etc.  For some quantitative questions, you may earn partial credit if you upload a .pdf file where you show your work.  There will be an opportunity to upload this file within the quiz; to be eligible for consideration, the file upload must be completed within the 30-minute time limit to complete the quiz.
• The submission deadline for the report sheet and quiz will be 11:59pm on Wednesday if the experiment was completed on Monday, 11:59pm on Friday if the experiment was completed on Wednesday, or 11:59pm on Monday if the experiment was completed on Friday.  The tentative class schedule, which includes due dates, appears on the last page of the syllabus.

The lowest experiment score will be automatically dropped at the end of the semester, so you may miss one experiment for any reason, without it having a negative impact on your grade.  If you miss more than one experiment, it will have a negative impact on your grade, because make-up labs are not possible in this class.

Lab Safety Assignment:  The “Lab Safety” assignment is worth 20 points.  We will discuss safety in the chemistry laboratory and the specific safety policies for the laboratory at the Rio Grande campus during the lab meeting on Wednesday, July 3.  You will also be expected to watch some videos that relate to lab safety on your own, outside of class.  You should be able to complete the safety assignment based on this discussion and the posted information.  The submission deadline for the safety assignment is 11:59pm on Friday, July 5.

Once submitted items have been graded, scores will be available in the “My Grades” area of Blackboard. You will also be able to retrieve your graded work via “My Grades”.  Due to ACC policies concerning the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), instructors cannot discuss grades with students on the phone or through email.  If you have questions or concerns about your grades in this class, please contact me to schedule an individual conference.

Course Objectives

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B6R1-NYTVNffSUNBZ1BNMGJHX1k?ogsrc=32

Student Learning Outcomes

1.     Understand and demonstrate safe laboratory practices.

2.     Read NFPA, HMIS labels and understand the hazard of chemicals used.

3.     Transfer sample to balance for weighing and tare the balance.

4.     Measure temperature with a thermometer.

5.     Correctly read a meniscus and accurately measure a liquid volume.

6.     Light and use Bunsen burners.

7.     Correctly use a hot plate.

8.     Observe and interpret chemical reactions: color change, temperature change, precipitate formation, and gas evolution.

9.     Use laboratory generated data to reach sound conclusions about chemical phenomena.

10.  Meaningfully connect laboratory activities to models and concepts learned in class.

11.  Use a buret to perform a standard titration and observe color change to define the end point of the titration.

12.  Use centrifuge and decanting techniques to separate solids from liquids.

13.  Use a coffee cup calorimeter to measure heat flow.

14.  Record experimental procedures and results clearly and effectively in a laboratory notebook.

15.  Perform a gravity and vacuum filtration to separate liquids from solids.

16.  Use capillary tubes to transfer liquid samples used in paper chromatography.

17.  Measure volume of the liquid using a graduated pipet.

18.  Use a Vortex mixer for mixing liquids.

19.  Use a spectrophotometer to measure absorbance of a solution.

20.  Calibrate a pH meter with buffers and measure pH with the meter.

21.  Use a Mel-Temp to determine melting points.

22.  Set up a voltaic cell and use a voltmeter to measure voltage.

23.  Perform neutralization reactions on collected reaction mixtures for safe disposal.

24.  Graph experimental results and calculate slope of a line from raw data.

25.  Develop laboratory skills to a high level including attention to detail and high-quality, reproducible results.

The expected learning outcomes will be assessed through the use of lab report sheets, quizzes, and the final exam.

General Education Learning Outcomes

• Critical Thinking

Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information

• Interpersonal Skills

Interacting collaboratively to achieve common goals

• Quantitative and Empirical Reasoning

Applying mathematical, logical and scientific principles and methods

• Technology Skills

Using appropriate technology to retrieve, manage, analyze, and present information

• Written, Oral and Visual Communication

Communicating effectively, adapting to purpose, structure, audience, and medium

Students will be expected to read the experiments which will be provided as handouts on the Blackboard web site.  Please refer to the “Course Schedule” section below for specific information about the experiments that will be discussed in this class.

Blackboard Course Website:  This course will be taught using Blackboard, a Web-based course management system in which a password-protected site is created for each course.  Blackboard will be used to distribute course materials, to communicate online, to submit lab assignments and quizzes for grading, and to post grades and return graded work.

You will be responsible for checking the Blackboard course site regularly for class work and announcements. As with all computer systems, there are occasional scheduled downtimes as well as unanticipated disruptions. Notification of these disruptions will be posted on the Blackboard login page. Scheduled downtimes are not an excuse for late work. 

Blackboard is available at:  acconline.austincc.edu

A list of supported browsers and operating systems is available here:  help.blackboard.com/Learn/Student/Getting_Started/Browser_Support

If you need help with Blackboard, you might find it here:  help.blackboard.com/Learn/Student

Office Hours: “Walk-in” office hours are held according to the schedule posted on the first page of this document. No appointment is necessary.  Office hours are the best venue to ask questions about the course content, so I encourage anyone who has questions to attend.

Students from all of my classes may potentially visit office hours, so if you have questions about FERPA protected matters (your grades, SAS accommodations, etc.), let me know, and we can work out a mutually convenient time to set up an individual conference.

Individual conferences and virtual appointments outside of scheduled office hours are also possible.  Please contact me by email to schedule one if you need to, and I will provide instructions.  Since I have numerous other responsibilities outside of my teaching (department chair, class prep, grading, etc.) I ask that you provide at least 48 hours’ notice if you would like to schedule an individual conference so that we may work out a mutually convenient time. 

Attendance/Class Participation: Regular and punctual laboratory attendance is expected of all students. If attendance or compliance with other course policies is unsatisfactory, the instructor may withdraw students from the class. 

Students who do not complete the mandatory safety training during the lab meeting on Wednesday, July 3, and who do not contact me to arrange for makeup safety training before 5:00pm on Wednesday, July 3, are subject to withdrawal from the course. 

To receive credit for each activity students must perform the required lab work independently, in lab, during their scheduled lab meeting time. Unless otherwise instructed, you will perform your own experiments.  There are no makeup opportunities in this class. Your lowest experiment score will be dropped. This means that you can miss one experiment, for any reason, without the absence having a negative impact on your CHEM 1112 grade.  Missing more than one experiment for any reason will have a negative impact on your grade. 

Students who arrive at lab after the safety demo/discussion will not be allowed to start lab work and will be dismissed from that day’s lab activity without the opportunity for makeup.

If you miss a lab, you may miss information related to the next period’s experiment.  You are responsible from getting this information from the instructor, another student, or Blackboard before the next lab meeting.  If there is something going on in your life that will require you to miss two or more class meetings, please let me know so that we can discuss the situation. 

If classes are canceled due to weather or another emergency, the student is responsible for communicating with their professor during the closure and for completing any assignments or other activities designated by their professor.

Communication:  Email is the preferred method of communication outside of class.  On weekdays I check email periodically throughout the day, so I will respond to email messages that require a response within 24 hours if received on Monday through Friday.  I may or may not check email during the weekend or on holidays when the College is closed, so email received on those days is unlikely to receive a response until the next business day.  If you send email, please be sure that the course name and section (CHEM 1112 Section 012) is included in the subject field.

Please do not use the “Messages” tool in Blackboard to communicate with me.  Messages in Blackboard are often not delivered in a timely fashion, so I may not even know that you sent me a message.  If you call my office phone, you are likely to be sent to voicemail, and I am unlikely to respond to voicemail messages as quickly as I respond to email.

Withdrawal Policy:  It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that his or her name is removed from the roster should he or she decide to withdraw from the class. The instructor does, however, reserve the right to drop a student if the student does not have the proper prerequisites/corequisite for the class.  If a student decides to withdraw, he or she should also verify that the withdrawal is submitted before the Final Withdrawal Date (Monday, July 29, 2024). The student is also strongly encouraged to retain their copy of the withdrawal form for their records.

Students who enroll for the third or subsequent time in a course taken since Fall 2002 may be charged a higher tuition rate for that course.

Students are responsible for understanding the impact that withdrawal from a course may have on their financial aid, veterans’ benefits, and international student status.  Per state law, students enrolling for the first time in Fall 2007 or later at any public Texas college or university may not withdraw (receive a “W”) from more than six courses during their undergraduate college education. Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to withdraw from a course without having it count toward this limit. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor when making decisions about course selection, course loads, and course withdrawals.

Reinstatement into a course after withdrawing is only possible if the student was withdrawn through college error.

The lecture and the lab are required in each chemistry course.  If a student drops/withdraws from one section of the course, they must also drop/withdraw from the corequisite.  The only exception to this policy is if you have already received credit for the corequisite course.  If you have already received credit for the CHEM 1312 lecture, you must provide proof to me by Friday, July 5to be eligible to remain enrolled in CHEM 1112 without concurrent enrollment in CHEM 1312.

Once again, if you wish to drop or withdraw from the course, you must do so yourself; the instructor will not be responsible.  The last day to drop the course (so it does not appear on your transcript) is Friday, July 5, 2024.  The last day to withdraw from the course (appears on transcript with grade of W) is Monday, July 29, 2024.

Missed or Late Work:  If you miss one experiment, the zero earned on that experiment will automatically be dropped, since the highest 11 (out of 12) experiment scores will be counted.  If you miss two or more experiments, only one of the missed experiment scores will be dropped.   Students who miss two or more experiments may be required to attend a meeting with me to discuss options for continuing with the class.

The lab safety assignment is mandatory, meaning the points earned will be counted toward your final course grade.  The score on this assignment cannot be “dropped”.  If you do not complete this assignment, the earned grade(s) of 0 will have a negative impact on your final course grade.

All assignments must be submitted by the posted deadlines.  Late work is only accepted with the prior approval of the instructorand is subject to a 10%-point penalty per calendar day.  Late work will not be accepted for grading if graded assignments have already been returned to the class, or if it is submitted more than one week after the posted deadline.

Statement on Academic Integrity:  Austin Community College values academic integrity in the educational process.  Acts of academic dishonesty/misconduct undermine the learning process, present a disadvantage to students who earn credit honestly, and subvert the academic mission of the institution. The potential consequences of fraudulent credentials raise additional concerns for individuals and communities beyond campus who rely on institutions of higher learning to certify students' academic achievements and expect to benefit from the claimed knowledge and skills of their graduates. Students must follow all instructions given by faculty or designated college representatives when taking examinations, placement assessments, tests, quizzes, and evaluations.  Actions constituting scholastic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, collusion, falsifying documents, or the inappropriate use of the college’s information technology resources.  Further information is available at:  https://www.austincc.edu/about-acc/academic-integrity-and-disciplinary-process

Consider the following guidelines when accessing information for this class.

Lab Report Sheets:  From the student handbook: “Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their own thought, research or self-expression.”  “When students borrow ideas, wording or organization from another source, they shall reference that information in an appropriate manner.”

Plagiarism or falsification of data in lab report sheets will result in a zero for that experiment, which will automatically be factored into the final course grade (in other words, the experiment cannot count as your “dropped” experiment).  The offense will also be reported to the Dean of Student Affairs.

Quizzes:  Although quizzes are open book/open note, you may not collaborate with other people in any way when taking the quizzes in this class.  If I discover that students are sharing quiz information, I will assign a quiz grade of 0 to both the giver and the receiver of the illicit information.  Both offenders will also be reported to the Dean of Student Affairs.

Timely Return of Graded Material:  I will make every effort to return graded work to you within two weeks of the submission deadline.  Graded work may be accessed through “My Grades”.  Click on the score after it is available, and you will be able to access the comments and download the graded files by clicking on the comment bubble.

Incomplete Grade Policy:  An instructor may award a grade of “I” (Incomplete) if a student was unable to complete all the objectives for the passing grade in a course due to medical/emergency reasons. Students must have successfully completed at least 75% of the course material to receive an incomplete.  An incomplete grade cannot be carried beyond the established date in the following semester. The completion date is determined by the instructor but may not be later than the final deadline for withdrawal in the subsequent semester. In this course, it will only be possible to receive a grade of incomplete if you complete at least 75% of the course work with at least a 70% average.

Students may request an Incomplete from their faculty member if they believe circumstances warrant.  The faculty member will determine whether the Incomplete is appropriate to award or not.  The following processes must be followed when awarding a student an I grade. 

1. Prior to the end of the semester in which the “I” is to be awarded, the student must meet with the instructor to determine the assignments and exams that must be completed prior to the deadline date.  This meeting can occur virtually or in person.  The instructor should complete the Report of Incomplete Grade form.
2. The faculty member will complete the form, including all requirements to complete the course and the due date, sign (by typing in name) and then email it to the student.  The student will then complete his/her section, sign (by typing in name), and return the completed form to the faculty member to complete the agreement.  A copy of the fully completed form can then be emailed by the faculty member to the student and the department chair for each grade of Incomplete that the faculty member submits at the end of the semester.   
3. The student must complete all remaining work by the date specified on the form above.  This date is determined by the instructor in collaboration with the student, but it may not be later than the final withdrawal deadline in the subsequent long semester.  
4. Students will retain access to the course Blackboard page through the subsequent semester in order to submit work and complete the course. Students will be able to log on to Blackboard and have access to the course section materials, assignments, and grades from the course and semester in which the Incomplete was awarded.  
5. When the student completes the required work by the Incomplete deadline, the instructor will submit an electronic Grade Change Form to change the student’s performance grade from an “I” to the earned grade of A, B, C, D, or F. 

If an Incomplete is not resolved by the deadline, the grade automatically converts to an “F.”  Approval to carry an Incomplete for longer than the following semester or session deadline is not frequently granted.

Please refer to the “College Policies & Student Support Services” area in Blackboard for current information about general college policies enforced at ACC.

All dates below are subject to change.  Any changes to this schedule will be announced in class and posted in Blackboard as far in advance as possible.  Information for each experiment will be posted in Blackboard at least one week before the date the experiment is scheduled to be performed.