Syllabus - CHEM 1110 - L
General Chemistry I Laboratory
Srpring Semester - 2011
General Chemistry I
Instructor:  Dr. James B. Condon
Home Page: www.genchem.net
e-mail address:
COURSE TITLE:    General Chemistry I - Laboratory -  Click here to view relationship between laboratories and items.    Click here for the lab schedule  

TEXTS:  General Chemistry Laboratory Manual, 10th Edition, by Condon, Roane State Foundation.

OTHER:   Texas Instruments TI-35 calculator, equivalent or better.

CREDIT:  0 semester hours

COURSE REQUIREMENTS listed for the laboratory:

Read all the assigned topics listed in the outline schedule. Use the glossary of the textbook to determine the locations of the topics under discussion.  Perform all assigned laboratory exercises and turn in completed laboratory reports and tests as assigned. Laboratory reports and test must be handed in at the end of the assigned laboratory period except as instructed by the instructor.  No credit is given for late laboratories.  One must both attend the laboratory session and hand in the written material to obtain a grade for a laboratory session.

LABORATORY:

Each student is responsible for their own laboratory exercise.  There are two types of laboratories.  These are referred to as "exercises" and "laboratories".  The description and rules for each is as follows:

• Exercises:  Exercises consist of performing some written exercises, typically calculations, in the laboratory manual.  After the student completes the exercises in the manual, the student will complete a quiz which is available on the Momentum system.  During the completion of the exercises in the manual, the student may and is encouraged to collaborate with other students.  For the quiz, however, the student must complete the quiz alone without consulation but with the aid of any written material deemed useful.
  
  
• Laboratories:  Laboratories are hands-on experimentation in the laboratory.  Each student must perform the laboratory alone, except for those laboratories where equipment supply is restricted.  All reports, etc., must be individual work and no group effort or copying of any kind is allowed.  If an unknown is involved, each student will have a unique unknown with a unique unknown number.  All laboratory reports are individual efforts and duplicates or copies will not be given credit, nor may the student re-do a duplicate or copy.  Consultation between students during the laboratory is allowed and encouraged, so long as data, conclusions or wording is not exchanged or copied.  These rules are consistant with the RSCC definition of plagiarism and consequences for breaking these rules are at the discretion of the instructor.  Uniform enforcement is not guaranteed nor promised.  All reports are due at the end of the laboratory session unless the intructors specifically states otherwise (usually applied to the full written reports). Failure to turn in the laboratories on time results in a grade of 0.

Laboratory Make ups:

In general, there are no excuses for missing laboratories, neither for the exercises nor for the performance of experiments.  Resolution of problems for absences are at the discretion of the instructor.  See the Lecture syllabus for possible permissible excuses and how they are handled.  Do not assume that your instructors policies are the same and be sure to check with the instructor concerning the specifics.

For the lab schedule click here.

CHALLENGE TESTING:
Challenge testing must be performed on two tests, one for the lecture materials and another for the laboratory material.  In place of the laboratory test, the student may select to complete the laboratory work.  The lecture test must be passed with a grade of B or greater.  Passing the lecture session examination is a prerequisite for the laboratory examination.  The laboratory examination will be comprehensive over all the materials covered during the normal semester and a demonstration of laboratory skills.  To qualify for the challenge test, a student must sign up for the course and attend at least the first session. The challenge test must be taken before the last day of classes for the semester for which the student has registered for the course.

CHEATING POLICY:
The consequences for a student caught cheating are totally at the discretion of the instructor. The consequences are completely arbitrary and uniform enforcement or uniform consequences are not required nor promised.  Consequences may include a recommendation of expulsion to the dean.

Documented excuses for obtaining makeup quizzes or laboratories
Makeup laboratories may be possible for instances where a proper excuse is presented.  Due to the nature of laboratory work, however, the makeup laboratory assignment may not necessarily be the same as the normally scheduled assignment.  If an absence is anticipated, make arrangements with the instructor as early as possible.  It may be possible to attend another section.

Section I - Excuses after-the-fact:
The following are the only acceptable after-the-fact excuses for obtaining a makeup test and laboratory assignments.

• A written excuse from a licensed physician. The excuse must state that the student missed the test due to a medical emergency that the physician states was important enough that it needed immediate attention or that the student was to ill to function in a normal fashion. 
  
• A written excuse from an undertaker stating that the student had family responsibilities related to the death of a close relative.
• A written excuse from the Dean of Students, the Associate Dean for Math-Science, the Academic Dean (or Vice-President) or the College President stating the reason for the absence and that the Dean (or other) judges that the student had an uncontrollable circumstance made it impossible to attend the date of the test.
• Court proceedings that had not been scheduled more than a week in advance.  This excuse is valid only if the student is not culpable (For example a witness).
• The student must take the make-up test no later than 24 hours after the end of the date of return.  The student must be ready to do the laboratory assignment within 24 hours.  The arrangements for makeup laboratories are at the discretion of the laboratory instructor.
• The excuse should state:  the date of the absence,  the date of return,  the name of the person issuing the excuse (printed) and should be signed and dated.

Section II - Prearranged excuses:
The following are excuses that may be given for a make-up test if presented before the date of test.  Normally the test will be taken in advance of the scheduled time.  The arrangements for makeup laboratories are at the discretion of the laboratory instructor and should be prearranged.

• Official school functions, for example: Roane State Singers, Basketball team etc., which involve out-of-area travel.  A faculty letter is required for this excuse.
• Court proceedings that had been scheduled more than a week in advance.  A court or lawyer document of scheduled appearance is required for this excuse.  This excuse is valid only if the student is not culpable (For example a witness).
• Jury duty - this requires a discussion with the instructor and documentation of jury duty requirements.
• The excuse should state:  the date of the absence,  the date of return,  the name of the person issuing the excuse (printed) and should be signed and dated.

Click here to obtain the latest CHEM 1110 laboratory schedule