CH 301 Random Musings September 3, 2009 (this is a really long one, the others are much shorter) 1. Why, you ask, do I spend my one might a week writing Random Musings? I do it because I know how much you want to keep up with the goings on in class and don’t really want to send me non-stop redundant e-mails. So before you go asking me a question because you haven’t been to class or paid attention to the Random Musings, you would do well to read them. You don’t want to have me look at you after you ask your question and have me ask, “Have you read the musings?’ That way we can save our conversations for questions about chemistry. 2. As you will learn, I don’t care that much for adults and animals, but I do like kids (including the 18 year old type) and I have a bunch of them myself, including, Andrew, who just celebrated his first birthday with his five brothers and sisters, who, tragically, represent a quarter century or so of differences in age. I want to cry just thinking about the implications this has for how my life will end. 3. Electronic Text Book. I choose to use an electronic text book that the vast majority of you now own for the year. Associated with the e-book is something called a ChemPortal that will permit a variety of supplemental features to improve the electronic learning environment for the class. For example, I will be able to: • Annotate the sections of the text to indicate the appropriate material for you to read • Create practice quizzes and problems for you to work. • Communicate with you through e-mail, blogs and chat functions. 4. Buy your textbook NOW. I need to the entire class to purchase the text as soon as possible so that I can feel comfortable that I am effectively communication with you. I can’t make you purchase it, but I also can’t be responsible if you don’t get the e-mails or practice quizzes and exams I provide. 5. Course notes—Today the NSC will be selling my course packet, tax free, as a one-time fundraiser for student scholarships. The 450 pages of material include my 25 typed lectures, the 14 worksheets to be done in the academic communities, and last year’s quizzes and exams, all with answer keys. The cost of the course packet is $30 (it would sell for about $50 with tax at a for-profit copy center so this is a good deal). If you intend to buy the notes, please have cash or a check ready after class. The NSC will conduct a quick and orderly sale and everyone should have their notes by 3:20. By the way, proceeds from selling these notes will go to 8 $1000 scholarships for UT students to be awarded this spring. 6. Mistakes. Believe it or not, professors (and TAs) are not infallible and I have corrected the errors pointed out to me in Worksheet 1 answer key this weekend. Thank you. You are aboutto receive 450 pages of notes and support materials that I produced, mostly in the dead of night. If you think there aren’t a bunch of mistakes, you are sadly mistaken. By all means you should e-mail me with mistakes you find and I will do my best to correct them. Keep this up and my notes may be error free by 2012. 7. Forget your money? If you don’t have your $30 and intended to purchase the notes, come see Judy as soon as possible in my office, WCHogg 2.222 to pick them up. 8. Reviewing for this course. All of you are expected to know basic high school chemistry, and an ALEKS score of 70, either through the assessment or the remediation site, is expected if you are going to get 5% of your course grade. Each of you should have earned the first 3% by just taking the assessment. The rest we will work on over the next two months. For example, go to this web site http://basics.cm.utexas.edu/ to find out about lectures the chemistry faculty, including me, are giving over the next week on topics in the ALEKS module. Here are the six lectures by ALEKS content area. If you miss a lecture, they are available on line. • Lecture 1: From Math Readiness, Measurement, & Matter and Energy; Tuesday, September 1, 7-8:30 pm, Welch 2.224 with Dr. Walker o Significant figures, Unit conversions, Graphing, Mass, volume, and density • Lecture 2: The Periodic Table and Simple Ionic Structures Wednesday, September 2, 6-7:30 pm, Welch 2.224 with Dr. Sutcliffe o Chemical Elements (periodic table topics mainly, Matter and E category) o Atomic Structure (Atoms and Molecules category) o Ionic Compounds (Atoms and Molecules category) • Lecture 3: Solutions Wednesday, September 9, 7-8:30 pm, Welch 1.316 with Dr. McCord o Calculating molarities o Percent concentration o Dilution problems • Lecture 4: Chemical Formulae and Reactions Thursday, September 10, 6-7:30 pm, Welch 2.224 with Dr. Laude o Chemical Formulae (from Atoms and Molecules) o Chemical Equations (from Chemical Reactions) • Lecture 5: Stoichiometry (from Chemical Reactions) Sunday, September 20, 6-7:30 pm, Welch 2.224 with Carolyn Gondran o Balancing Chemical Reactions o Calculating amount of products o Limiting Reactant Concept • Lecture 6: Chemical Reactions Tuesday, September 22, 5-6:30 pm, Welch 1.316 with Dr. Fakhreddine o Acid-Base Reactions o Redox Reactions9. Choosing office hours to attend. I am a great believer in actually studying to do well. Many people like to study in groups or at least around a TA or professor to get help. Doing so around people who can help explain things would also be a good idea, so I provide about 20 different times to choose from each week to study in a formal environment. Because you are in college and I think you should do what you want, these sessions are optional. Come, don’t come, it is up to you. But I find that setting aside a couple of these times to attend on a regular basis is a very nice idea. Here are the times available for you to choose. 10. To help you discern the different study environments: • Office hours are intimate sessions that typically just a few people attend. They are held in office environments and provide a free for all for questions you have. Some times the questions stray away from strictly chemistry to other topics where you can benefit form the advice of the TA or professor. • Discussion sessions are hour long problem solving sessions held in classrooms. More people come and we end to focus on completing the worksheets although you can ask questions about any part of the course material. We make sure
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