CH 302 Random Musings, Spring 2010, Top of the First (January 21, 2010) 1. For folks new to the class, this is the first of a collection of random musings that I post once a week to keep you abreast of what is going on in class. Most important, specific questions about quizzes and exams as well as changes to the syllabus are provided here. Remember, it is your responsibility to read the musings even if you cannot come to class (they will be posted on the web.) I take a wearied view of students asking me questions that I previously answered in this forum. 2. About me. Everybody has a preference for the kind of humanity they hang with—old people, adults, college students.… for my money nothing beats hanging out with children. I have made a bunch of them myself, including a few a little older than you who are “adults” and basically out of my control, but there is a new crop coming along. The oldest of this batch, Sam, is nine and is named after Sam-I Am, of Green Eggs and Ham fame. With every day that passes Sam is more and more dork-like, and is further proof that if you have enough kids, one of them will become an engineer. Maddie is my seven year old and is named after the Madeline character. She is proof that if you have enough kids, one will be a girl. I am still learning how to raise daughters but one thing I know for sure from being around one is she is a better person than me and lets me know it daily. For example, she just got an E+ for conduct at school last grading period. (So now we call her E+ and it drives her crazy.) My five year old, Nate Dog, is not named after Nate Dogg, the rapper (who has two gs in his name.) The Nate Dog that is my son, is a punk, and is proof that if you have enough kids, one of them will make you not want to have any more. Except that we did have another one, Andrew, who is 17 months old, doesn’t have a nickname, and thinks that he should have everything everyone else has--and screams bloody murder if he doesn’t get it. Life is a joy right now.3. Your first quiz is Tuesday, February 2, about ten days from today and will cover the material in the first four lectures and on Worksheet 2. For those new to this class, quizzes are used instead of homework as my way of forcing you to keep up with the material. They are not intended to be as challenging as the tests. Some things you should know about quiz procedures: • Quizzes will occur the last 20 minutes of class and will cover 8 questions worth five points each. • You will be provided a scantron at the beginning of class to be filled in correctly. It is important that you learn to do this so you can get credit for your quizzes and exams. • I will provide you with all necessary equations and constants at the beginning of the quiz. • I am not a real stickler for time on quizzes (I am a stickler on exams) but you do need to be finished in time for the other class to come in. • Expect to have the quiz grades and the answer key posted on QUEST soon after the class ends. • If there is a problem with your grade, refer to the regrade procedure in the syllabus and on the web--do not e-mail me about this. Instead, fill out a regrade request and turn it in to Travis. • There are no make-ups for quizzes. You get to drop two so they are used in that way for both academic and non-academic reasons. Only contact me about make-ups if your absences are chronic. 4. The question types for Quiz 1 are straight Worksheet 2: • Calculating ΔH for a substance across various phase changes • Interpreting phase diagrams • Theory dissolution of gases, liquids and solids in water • Ranking miscibility and solubility in liquids • Clausius-Clapeyron calculation • Van’t Hoff ranking of magnitude of colligative properties • Raoult’s Law in a binary system • Colligative property calculation 5. This is actually a fairly tough quiz with some multi-step calculations. The 20 question Worksheet 2 from 2009 and from 2008 includes these kinds of problem types. By the way, for those of you who start to feel overwhelmed about all the material, just remember that you need to do ONLY these 8 things for the quiz and should study these question types directly. http://laude.cm.utexas.edu/courses/ch302/worksheetss10.html 6. My course packets, with 470 pages of bound material, is ready for sale today. I am not allowed to sell them, so the Natural Sciences Council will be doing so, and as I mentioned will be using the modest profit (about $10 per course packet) to contribute to the scholarship fund. Please have $30 in check or cash right after class, and in about 5 minutes time, you can exchange your money for a bound packet that includes: • the syllabus • last year’s practice quizzes and exams • last year’s quizzes and exams • the worksheets and answer keys • the lecture notes for the course You don’t have to purchase the notes, and much of this material is available on line, but it is far less expensive than if I had a third party sell them to you, and less expensive if you downloaded and printed them yourself. Most of you will find the course packet to be the most important resource for this class.7. I use Atkins Jones, 5th edition, so those of you currently using a different text will need to switch. The text book I use is on-line which has the added perk that it is only about $60. Many of you have asked, “what do I do if I used a different textbook from the fall?” And here is my answer: hey, free will. However if you do not use my text book all you will have is my abbreviated lecture notes, and given that we will be covering the entire textbook this spring that can be a problem. Also, I will be posting practice on-line quizzes and exams that mimic the real tests, through the portal. And finally, I do all my e-mailing through the portal. If you choose not to make the purchase, please be willing to accept the consequences. 8. Exam conflicts: It seems the entire class has a conflict with my evening exams. No doubt that I could be as difficult about make-ups as whatever other course exam is in conflict, but I won’t be. Very simply, I will be giving a make-up exam on the Sunday evenings after the regularly scheduled exams. You can find the information on exam reviews, exam times and make-up exam times at: http://laude.cm.utexas.edu/courses/ch302/sessionss10.pdf 9. Laude’s Office Hours. I have one office hour a day, Monday through
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