Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | CHE-1020-VO02 - Introduction to Chemistry

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Christopher Shaffer
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Danielle Lafleur Brooks

General Education Requirements

VSCS Natural Science

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the concepts, principles and applications of chemistry. Includes atomic structure, periodicity, structure of matter, solutions, and an introduction to organic chemistry. Includes lab sessions which illustrate the principles of quantitative interpretation of data. Prior learning in Intermediate Algebra or equivalent is strongly recommended.

Essential Objectives

1. Define, and distinguish between, science and pseudoscience.
2. Define and employ the terms necessary to the study of chemistry.
3. Describe Dalton's atomic theory and modern atomic structure.
4. Explain the organization of the periodic table and how to use it.
5. Name, and be able to write chemical formulas for, binary ionic and covalent compounds, including those with common polyatomic ions.
6. Describe basic classes of chemical reactions and write complete, balanced chemical equations.
7. Apply the systems of measurement and unit conversions used in chemistry.
8. Apply the concepts of acid-base chemistry according to Arrhenius.
9. Describe the concept of equilibrium.
10. Describe the fundamental characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases.
11. Explain chemical bonding and molecular structure.
12. Demonstrate the quantitative reasoning skills required to understand, calculate, and interpret stoichiometric data for formulas, chemical reactions, and solutions.
13. Explain how knowledge created in the natural sciences has contributed to the creation, maintenance and dismantling of social inequalities and discuss how diversity improves science.
Lab Objectives:
1. Apply knowledge of the scientific method to:
a. formulate and evaluate real-world scientific questions;
b. ethically plan and implement accurate data collection;
c. analyze and evaluate data;
d. generate conclusions based on analysis and justify claims with evidence;
e. integrate the related work of other scientists; and
f. propose ideas for further inquiry.
2. Communicate findings in a format appropriate to the discipline and type of investigation, such as a laboratory notebook, laboratory report, observational study, field investigation report, poster, or presentation using appropriate evidence to support these findings.
3. Understand the structure and purpose of peer-reviewed publications.
4. Evaluate scientific information for validity, accuracy, reliability, and methodology.
5. Identify and follow lab safety techniques that are aligned with CCV’s Chemical Hygiene Plan, Lab Safety Agreements, and chemical Safety Data Sheets (SDS).

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a no cost textbook or resource class.
This does not include lab fees for 4-credit science courses. ***

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Evaluation Criteria

Grading for the semester will be out of 100 points.

Discussion = 10 points
Homework = 14 points
Quizzes = 30 points (3 quizzes @ 10 pts each - Ch 1-4, Ch 5-7, Ch 8-11)
Labs/Assignments = 31 points
Final Quiz = 5 points
Final Project = 10 points

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Participation Policy

Below are the participation requirements for this course to help you calculate the scoring for your grade. Participation will make up a portion of the points for your overall grade. With an online course, participating in the discussion questions will help us to build an online community to help us replace the lack of in-person interaction that occurs when we take a course together in a shared space.

You should aim to complete ALL of the assignments and post them for discussion and critique. I will provide a scoring guide for each assignment that is intended to give you clear criteria for grading the quality of your work.

You should participate in ALL of the discussions each week. Discussion participation will vary slightly depending on the discussion. I will state the participation requirements when I post a discussion. I will provide a scoring guide for each discussion to guide you for grading the quality of your discussion posts.

It is important that you participate in the discussions on a regular basis. Please keep these things in mind when posting to a discussion:

1. Post your discussion assignment by due date and time. Earlier is better because it gets the conversations going sooner and allows you to relax a little knowing it is not eating away at your mind. (And perfect to prevent any last-minute troubles that life likes to throw at us when we need to complete something last minute.)
2. You should ideally respond to at least two discussion post from your classmates (unless stated otherwise.)
3. The ideal is 3 or more posts per discussion; that is not an undue burden — just get involved in the conversations. When grading time comes, I will grade the overall quality of your post.
4. You should aim to participate on at least two separate days during the week. I understand that each of you have a unique schedule and we are not meeting at a specific place at a specific time. If you are only on the last night to get all of your work done in one sitting, it does not allow for the class to connect with you as well.
5. Your postings should be of substance. Posts such as “I agree!” or “That’s what I thought too.”, with no further explanation, although well-meaning, will not count towards your participation.
6. Another important thing, sometimes another student or I will follow up your post with another question. Be sure to answer those follow-up questions. Check in periodically to see if anyone has asked you a follow-up question.

Discussion Posts

The “week” runs from Tuesday until Monday, ending at 11:59 pm. No points will be given for anything posted in the discussion after the next week starts. If you know you are not going to be able to participate in an upcoming week as much as usual, try to post your discussion assignment in advance if possible. In a situation like this, aim to pick up as many points as possible or be able to move on knowing you would not pick up those points.

Often there are deadlines out of your control with due dates not set by you or simply a demanding client or boss. This course will help you practice to meet deadlines and help you develop better time management skills. We also plan to cover a lot of chemistry content material that builds on earlier concepts. It is proven that our brains assimilate material better when it has time to process it without high stress. Little chunks of time and material to learn is a better formula for success. (Not to think that there might be a week or two that you are stressed to the max with life and this course on a collision course, but the fewer of those weeks you have the better.)

Missing & Late Work Policy

Late Work Policy Assignments

To receive full credit for assignments they must be completed on or before the due date. After that, your grade will decrease by a 10% per day for each day it is late. After two weeks late, it will not be accepted (unless we have agreed to something else based on special circumstances that we discussed.)
There may be circumstances that make it impossible for you to get the work in on time in this class. Please communicate with me as soon as possible about your situation so we can create a plan to get you back on track.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity