Principles of Chemistry is one-semester course designed primarily for Nursing majors and students pursuing other health related fields. (However Note: This is not for Health Science majors). The semester will be divided into three parts. First, the course focuses on basic chemical principles such as the structure atoms and molecules, chemical reactions and stoichiometry, and physical properties of compounds. Second, the terminology, chemistry, and physical properties of organic molecules (with a emphasis on biologically relevant ones) will be covered. The class culminates with a look at some important biomolecules and their function.

The course will include a significant group component. Most MWF classes will begin with a 10 minute “problem” which is a set of questions covering the reading material for that day. After completing the questions, the class will split into groups to discuss and rework the questions. I will circulate among the groups and help in the discussions and then we will go through the problem as a class. These discussions are intended to encourage group collaboration and a dynamic classroom environment and will form the basis for much of the material presented in class.

Meeting Times Mon/Wed/Fri 1130-1230pm, Thr 110-210pm. BROH (formarly Gatehouse) 114

Text Introduction To General, Organic, and Biochemistry (8th Ed.) by Bettelheim, Brown, Campbell, and Farrell. ISBN: 9780495011972 Go to Publisher

Prerequisite One year of high school chemistry, one year of high school algebra or have passed introduction to biology (BIO10/11).

Homework Assigned chapter problems can be found from the daily links on the Calendar Page. You should keep up with homework on a DAILY basis, therefore, the daily assignment is given on the calendar. The problems from the text will be assigned on a regular basis, but will not be collected or graded. Anyone needing help with homework assignments should visit me during normal office hours or schedule a one-on-one appointment. Other resources, such as small group tutorial sessions, will also be available to help students strengthen their problem-solving skills.

Homework assignments are designed to guide you in your study of the material and should be considered the minimum set of problems to do. It is up to you to work as many problems as necessary to clarify your understanding of any particular topic.

The importance of working problems cannot be overemphasized!

Study Periods/Office hours Students have seen remarkable improvement in their performance in chemistry by taking advantage of the time available to ask questions of faculty. The study period is a block of time each week in which you are encouraged to work on homework problems in Gatehouse, alone or in groups. I will be available in my office or the lab during the scheduled times to offer assistance as you need it. The advantage is that it will make it easier for you to get feedback from me immediately upon encountering a problem with the homework.

Testing Weekly quizzes will be given every Monday that focus specifically on your understanding of the assigned problems. The quizzes will take about 15 minutes of class time. Some quiz questions will be nearly exact replicas of the homework problems. Therefore, it is extremely important that you keep up with the reading and do ALL the homework on a daily basis.

There will be 2 one-hour long exams during the semester. The exams will test your ability to adapt and apply your understanding and problem-solving skills to new and somewhat unfamiliar situations, rather than ones patterned exactly like those you have seen before. Simply repeating facts or mechanically producing solutions to familiar problems will not help you excel. In fact, there will be some questions/problems on every exam that are a bit different than the ones presented in class or in the textbook.

The comprehensive final exam will be scheduled during final exam week at our alloted period (see schedule below). No exceptions will be made.

Students will be permitted to bring a double-sided 3 by 5 inch notecard to the three exams and the final. This notecard may contain any information (e.g. formulas, constants, definitions) deemed relevant by the student and will be collected at the conclusion of the exam. This approach is intended to motivate students to be proactive with respect to their exam preparation and study habits.

Exam Dates

Exam #1 March 19

Exam #2 April 19

Final Exam (All assigned Chapters, with emphasis on biochemistry chapters) Wednesday, May 23, 1130am - 130pm.

Alternate exam arrangements will be considered only for excused absences with prior notification.

Group Presentation Each student is required to give a short (10-min.) group presentation of a news article relevant to science and/or medicine. The article can be from any “credible” news source (e.g., The New York Times online). We will assign times and presentation partners starting at mid-semester. I will be discussing examples of articles throughout the first half of the semester. The presentation is informal. You may use the WEB, Powerpoint, handouts or other formats to aid your presentation. The talk should include 1) summary of the article, 2) its primary findings, and 3) its relevance to scientific/and or medical fields and the topics covered in this class. Anything that will generate class discussion is favorable!

Grading Your grade will be based on your performance on 10 weekly quizzes (10 pts each), two midterm exams (120 points each), a comprehensive final exam (120 points), and a short (10-min) group presentation of a news article relevant to science and/or medicine (30 points).

Final letter grades will be assigned according to the percentage of points that you accumulate during the semester. The approximate ranges for letter grades will be:

A = 100-85% B = 84-70% C = 69-55% D = 54-40%

Your exact letter grade will be determined by a number of factors, including your performance on the final exam, the consistency of your performance during the term, and class participation.

Academic Honesty Students are expected to do their own work on all exams and quizzes. Violations of this policy will be vigorously prosecuted according to SMC Academic Honesty Procedures.

Tips for Success Your performance is based on exams and quizzes. Since questions on these will be based on the lectures, assigned problems, and reading (with emphasis in that order), it is important to attend lectures and do the assignments.

Keep up with the work! Assignments will be updated on a weekly basis. Check our website after each lecture for the assignments due before the next class. I cannot emphasis enough the importance of keeping up with the assignments. The material builds upon itself as the semester proceeds, so you must learn the early concepts to understand the later material.

Also, you are here at SMC to get the best possible education. Take advantage of the small class size and individual attention that a small liberal arts school can provide. Work together on assignments, and see me in my office as often as possible.