Vanden Bout CH353

Class
51045 T/Th 11:00-12:30AM

Principles of Chemistry I Honors
Dr. Vanden Bout
Fall 2010

Instructor: David A. Vanden Bout
Office: WEL 3.151
Office Hours:MW 3-4
vandenbout_class@mail.cm.utexas.edu

TA: Matt Wallack
Office Hours:W 2-3 cubicle B, F 10-11 cubicle B
wallackm at mail.utexas.edu

 
 
Textbook: Principles of Modern Chemistry 6th Edition, Oxtoby, Gillis, and Campion

WEB PAGE:  http://vandenbout.cm.utexas.edu/courses/ch301h/      (case sensitive!)
 
 

Course Material

Topics to be Covered:
First Unit
Introduction, Classical Bonding
Chapters 1-3 (really only a little bit of chapters 1 and 2)

Second Unit
Quantum Mechanics and Bonding
Chapters 4-6

Third Unit
Organic and Inorganic Molecules
Chapter 7-8 + supplemental material

Fourth Unit
States of Matter and Introduction to Thermodynamics
Chapters 9-10
+ intro thermo

>

Homework

Homework problems will be assigned from the book in addition to other problems. They will be spot graded. Points will be given for correctly working certain problems as well as completion of the overall assignment. One the day the HW is due it should be turn in at the BEGINNING of class. We will drop the two lowest HW scores. The remainder of the HW’s will be averaged and count towards 10% of your final grade.

Exams

TThere will be four one-hour exams and a final exam. The exams will be given during the normal class time. There is no good excuse to miss an exam. Your lowest exam score will be dropped. If you miss an exam FOR ANY REASON this will be the exam score that is dropped. The dates are set. Plan accordingly. The hour exams will not be comprehensive in the sense that they will not ask question that only cover material from earlier parts of the course. They will however expect you to remember this material. The final will cover everything from the entire course. The final counts the as much as one in-class exams. You cannot be “exempt” from the final.

Any requests for regrades must be made in writing (including simple mistakes such as adding up the points wrong, etc...) within one week of the return of the exam. Requests received at a later date will not be considered. Exams may be photocopied prior to return. Any regrade request that has answered changed from the original will result in a referral to student judicial services with a recommendation of a failing grade for the course.

Final Exam

The final will be comprehensive

Grades

The basis for the grades will be the exams. The breakdown will be as follows:

Best three of four in-class exams	600 points 

Final Exam		                300 points

HW			                100 points


TOTAL 			               1000 points

The grade cutoff will be 55/70/85. Plus/Minus grades will be assigned. The plus range will be the top 5 points on the end of the scale and the minus will be the lowest 5. (70 <= B-, 75 <= B, 80 <= B+). The cutoffs may be slightly lower than these but they will never be higher.

Student's With Disabilities

Please notify me of any modification/adaptation you may require to accommodate a disability-related need. You will be requested to provide documentation to the Dean of Students' Office, in order that the most appropriate accommodations can be determined. Specialized services are available on campus through Services for Students with Disabilities.

Drop Dates


The last date to drop the course without possible academic penalty is September 22, 2010. The last day to drop the course or change to pass/fail is October 20, 2010 (requires Dean’s Approval).

Religious Days


Religious holy days sometimes conflict with class and examination schedules. It is the policy of The University of Texas at Austin that the student must notify each instructor at least fourteen days prior to the classes scheduled on dates he or she will be absent to observe a religious holy day. For religious holidays that fall within the first two weeks of the semester, the notice should be given on the first day of the semester. The student may not be penalized for these excused absences but the instructor may appropriately respond if the student fails to complete satisfactorily the missed assignment or examination within a reasonable time after the excused absence.

Cheating


If you get caught cheating in any way whatsoever you will have to discuss the situation with me. I will arive at a pentaly and write a formal report. If you deny the allegation, I will proceed by filing a formal report to the Judicial Services in the Dean of Students Office as is policy. The final penalty would be decided by Judicial Services after a hearing on the matter. For more information read the General Information Catalog about scholastic dishonesty (i.e. cheating). If found "guilty" the University can go so far as to bar you from enrollment for life. Take home lesson, don't cheat.