Chemistry 177, Course D Syllabus Fall 2013 Instructor Lecture: Dr ...

Recitation: Recitation/discussion sessions meet on Thursdays; attendance is required. Students are encouraged to work in groups
to improve their understanding of concepts and of their problem-solving skills. A short (~12 minute) quiz will be given during
every recitation session on materials covered in lecture and assigned homework. There are no make-up quizzes, no exceptions.
At the end of the semester, 3 to 5 low scores will be dropped, including scores of zero due to absence.
Assignments: Mastering Chemistry will be used for homework assignments. You should expect two assignments every week that
will require one to two hours each. Visit http://www.masteringchemistry.com/ to keep track of due dates and your score. Mastering
Chemistry is worth 75 points and these will be calculated directly out of the percentage found on the Mastering Chemistry built-in
grade-book total column. If you have 100% you will be awarded 75 points, if you have 50%, you will be awarded 37.5 points, etc.
Mastering Chemistry scores will be uploaded on Blackboard at mid-term and at the end of the semester. A clear explanation of how
points are awarded can be found on each assignment. Some of each homework assignment may cover material that will be
discussed in the upcoming lecture: this is done to encourage students to come to lecture prepared and requires reading the textbook
in preparation for lectures. Many of the assignments, especially those that cover material not yet explored in lecture, are tutorial in
nature; the tutorials provide hints and sufficient information to answer the questions. The tutorial problems are designed to
introduce students to concepts and problem solving techniques.
Late assignments will be penalized 0.5% per hour after the deadline to a maximum of 50% (submitting an assignment 24 hours
late will result in a 12% penalty; submitting the assignment 2 weeks or more after the deadline will result in a 50% penalty).
All Mastering Chemistry assignments must be completed by Friday, December 13 at 10 PM to count for credit. Paper-based
homework may be assigned upon occasion and will be collected in recitation.
Exams: In addition to the Final Exam (given during the week of Dec. 16-20), there will be three one-hour exams scheduled on
the following Wednesdays: September 25, October 23, and November 20. Exams start at 1 pm and end at 1:50 pm (instead of
lecture). Rooms will be communicated in class. There are no make-up exams, no exceptions. Missed exams require a face-to-face
discussion with the instructor (not your TA). If a student misses two hourly exams, he/she will be asked to drop the course. Students
are urged to be proactive and communicate to the instructors, in a timely manner, if anything prevents them from taking an exam.
Athletes and students who are away from campus for ISU games, matches, or club trips and cannot take the exam as
scheduled, must discuss their options with the instructors as soon as possible. No cell phones, PDA devices, etc. may be used during
exams and in the lectures.
Exams will be returned to students during the recitation session on the Thursday following each exam. The General Chemistry
Office will not give out individual exam scores. A Periodic table, appropriate equations, and physical constants will be provided on
the back sheet of each exam.
Special Academic Needs: Please address any special needs or special accommodations with the course instructor as early in the
semester as possible. Those seeking accommodations based on disabilities should obtain a Student Academic Accommodation
Request (SAAR) from the Disability Resources (DR) office (515-294-7220); disabilityresources@iastate.edu). DR is located in
Room 1076 of the Student Services Building. Web site: http://www.dso.iastate.edu/dr/. A request presented on the day prior to the
exam may not be accommodated.
Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct in any form is in violation of ISU Student Disciplinary Regulations and will not be
tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to: copying or sharing answers on tests or assignments, submitting a lab report using
manufactured results or results that you have not collected yourself, plagiarism, and having someone else do your academic work;
having anyone other than you bring your clicker to class and use it to earn points on a quiz is academic misconduct. Depending
on the act, a student could receive an F grade on the test/assignment, F grade for the course, and could be suspended or expelled
from the University. See the Conduct Code at www.dso.iastate.edu/ja for more details and a full explanation of the Academic
Misconduct policies.
Laptops, iPods, cell phones & others: Browsing the Internet, playing games, music, movies, texting, facebook, twittering, reading
newspapers, solving crosswords, etc. are not permitted in the classroom. Any disruptive behavior/activities in the class that might
affect your fellow students will not be tolerated and may result in a zero grade for any assignment associated with that class
including exams and may impact your grade significantly. Students disturbing class will be asked to leave the room. The use of
laptops or other electronic devices is allowed only in lecture (NOT in recitation or laboratory) and only if used as a study aid (for
example for taking notes). Language translators and dictionaries are not allowed during quizzes and exams, no exceptions.
Grades: The grades will be based on a total possible 700 points accumulated from the 3-one-hour exams (100 points each), 100
points from the 10 best recitation quizzes, 75 points from homework problems, 75 points from Turning point clicker quizzes, and
the final exam (150 points). The tentative letter grade scale would be 93% A, 90% A–, 87% B+, 83% B, 80% B–, 77% C+, 73% C,
70% C–, 67% D+, 63% D, 60% D–, below 60% F.
Important: final grades are based solely on graded work and are NOT negotiable; no make-up or extra credit points will be offered at
any time during the semester and with no exceptions. The final grade distribution will be consistent with prior semesters.