Advisory: Math 54 with a grade of "C" or better, or equivalent; and English 51 and

Follow-on: Chem 151 and Math 100 are prerequisites for Chem 200. Chemistry 100 is

7^th Alternate Edition. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1996.

Instructor Information

Name: Ann M. Kressin

Office: B301B

E-mail: chem151f99day@hotmail.com

Phone: Daytime Work Phone 536-7369; voicemail extn. 5275

(or dial 536=7800 and type in 5275 for voicemail only)

Office Hours: Use E-mail anytime.

1. E-mail

2. Leave me a message by phone. I review my voicemail daily.

3. You may also leave me written notes in the Miramar Faculty Mailboxes.

Message forms are available and may be dropped off in Room A-104, the

Dean of Students Office. The message must be signed (with the date and

time noted) by a Miramar College employee.

4. Come to office hours. (To be announced.) The best place to get one

on one assistance with chemical queries and problems.

Greetings! Welcome to the admirable feat of taking college chemistry. The caliber of students taking chemistry at Miramar is generally excellent. This may prove to be one of the most challenging courses of your college career. I salute You! Your success in this course is directly proportional to your commitment. In order to master chemistry, you will develop an important array of cognitive and deductive reasoning tools and analysis techniques (including math skills!!) These are skills you will use in your practical working life, even if you never again step foot into a chemistry lecture or laboratory. So, lets commit to 12-15 hours a week for this course and have some fun uncovering, investigating and mastering the fascinating science of chemistry!

An understanding of chemical concepts and calculations will require patient thought and practice. (This means doing all the homework problems, reading the text, studying together and asking questions.) And it will become clearer to you with patience and determination. Don't expect to fully comprehend everything the first time you hear and see it, or even after a second careful glance. So, don't just give up when you don't "get it" immediately. Expect to study. And expect some frustration! It’s OKAY!! Don’t let that get in your way! Be consciencious and diligent in your quest to become a Jedi Chemistry Master! Keep track of the details and Take Responsibility for learning chemistry this semester. I cannot and will not spoon feed it to you! The following page contains some ideas that may help you succeed.

* Pay Attention. You'll get best results if you listen carefully while

you're in class. Try to act interested (it may be habit-forming). The

first things you should expect to see on a test are the topics that I

cover in class.

* Take excellent notes on everything I say and write in class. You're

here to listen and learn. This is your chance. Scribble quickly, then

go home and copy your notes neatly into another notebook. Use your own

words, making sure that everything I said makes some sort of sense.

* Read the book. Skim each chapter before I cover it, then you will have

some idea of which questions to ask. You'll also be more aware of what

I am skipping. After lecture, re-read the parts of the chapter that I

talk about in class.

* Be courteous. Both to me and to your fellow students. If you don't listen

and take notes, please be courteous to those who do. You may nosh during

lecture, but not in the lab, if you are polite and do not disturb others.

* Ask questions!!!!! (POLITELY) It is my job to answer them. People

either know all of the answers or they ask.

I usually assume people understand me if they don’t ask questions. If

you are so lost that you don't know what to ask, then ask me what to

ask! There are no dumb questions. Those who ask questions eventually

become the smartest people in the class. Those who neither know nor ask

will find this course very difficult to pass.

* Suggestions for Lab: To do well in the lab and to write good lab

reports, you must prepare ahead for each experiment. Before you walk in

the door, you should read the lab manual and think through the whole

experiment. Write the procedure in your own words, draw pictures, write

a step-by-step procedure (a recipe), make a data table if your manual does not

provide one and think of questions for the

prelab discussion. Your time spent planning for each experiment will

pay off in efficiency, speed, accuracy, and safety while you're in the lab.

Many of you will ignore the previous paragraph!! When I walk into labs "cold"

unless my chemistry guardian angel wanted to do the lab for me, those

labs did not go well. I've been teaching long enough now to have seen

hundreds of students come to labs each way (prepared or cold). Those

who plan ahead tend to understand the material, do well on reports, and

get out of lab early!

and early exits will be noted and recorded, and may affect your grade

in borderline situations. Miramar College policy allows me to treat

late arrivals and early departures as unexcused absences. While you are

in class, all pagers and cell phones must be turned off. Talking is not allowed

during lecture, as it distracts other students not involved in your conversation.

Also, I find it extremely rude and will not tolerate it. Offensive students will

be asked to leave and will have to get formal approval from the instructor to

return to class. You may talk once lecture is complete, or outside of class.

Absences are "excused" by permission of your instructor only. Use the excused

absence form attached to your syllabus if you know you will need to miss a

class. You are responsible for everything that I cover during any class you miss,

without exception. If you don't notify me of your absence according to

the guidelines listed below, your absence will be unexcused. In the case of

o Professional or personal reasons, including non-emergency illness:

You must notify me before 5:30 pm on the day of the class you will

miss. See below for a list of acceptable ways to notify me.

o Emergency: Call me or arrange for a friend or family member to

call me as soon as possible, but no later than 5:30 pm on the day

of the class following the class you miss.

o Acceptable Notice In order of preference:

1. a written note given directly to me;

2. a written note left at my faculty mailbox (The note must be

signed and dated by a Miramar College employee.);

3. a telephone call or voice mail message to me at 536-7369.

4. E-mail notification is acceptable, only if I receive it

before the deadlines specified above.

Miramar College policy allows me to drop any student with six hours of

unexcused absences (6% of class time), and requires me to drop any

student with twelve hours of unexcused absences (12% of class time).

Please note that you will receive a grade if you remain on the course

roster after September 3th drop deadline, even if you have decided to drop the

course. A grade of W may be assigned to students who withdraw after

September 3th and before October 29th. After October 29th, a grade of

A, B, C, D, or F must be assigned.

Grades for CHEM 151 are earned according to the following scale.

A 87% of total pts or higher

B 75 to 86% of total pts

C 63 to 74% of total pts

D 52 to 62% of total pts

F 51% or less of total pts

The total available points will be 1000 points or greater. Points will be

Distributed something like this:

Exams 500 (best 5 of six)

Lab 250

Homework 50+

Assigned for each chapter, homework helps focus your studying and

prepares you for each quiz. Due the day those chapters are tested.

When a quiz or homework assignment calls for a calculated answer, you

must show a clear, step-by-step solution for the answer to receive full

credit. This typically means that you need to show the units (dimensions)

on each number and the conversion factor or equation used in each

calculation.

All work must be original and your own. Penalties, such as automatic

grades of zero or immediate course failure, will result from cheating,

copying, plagiarism, or deceit of any kind. You may work together

outside of class, but the work you submit on homework assignments must

be your own. If you cheat on a quiz or assignment, you and the person

from whom you copy will both earn a zero and/or be dropped from the

class with a failing grade without notice or exception. Miramar College

may also wish to pursue expulsion and/or legal proceedings. Please be

fair.

Make-up quizzes are not available. So if you miss a quiz, you get a

zero. (Only your five best quiz scores will count.) Late homework will

be accepted, with a grade reduction of 25% for each class period late.

The instructor may offer extra credit assignments to help your overall point value. These will be assigned at the instructor’s discretion and will involve a topic of chemical interest in the real world.

Activities are due one week after completion.

Homeworks are to be done in a separate wirebound notebook and are due the day of the exam.