Instructors:

 A systematic study of the main group elements with an emphasis on chemicals and chemical reactions and processes of importance to society.  Twelve sessions of a lecture/discussion and laboratory format.  Each laboratory session will include 10-15 short experiments or activities.  The purpose of the course is to extend the participant's depth of knowledge of descriptive chemistry by first hand laboratory experience.

1. Format:
Monday Afternoons (3:30 - 4:20 PM): Discussion, Demonstrations, Laboratory Instructions, Problems, Discuss homework and introduce experiments, etc.
In Laboratory: Conduct the experiments, complete report.

2. Attendance.  Attendance and participation is required.

3. Grading.  Each week is worth 30 points, as follows.
• Ten points are awarded for attendance and participation.  Participation means that you are involved in the discussion (not doing other work, visiting with your friends, sleeping, etc.)  You must be on time to receive full points for attendance.  Generally, the Monday sessions are worth 4 points and the lab sessions are worth 6 points.
• Ten points for laboratory manual or laboratory report sheet.  If the laboratory manual is to be checked, we will use a rubric that gives points for (a. 4 pts) completion of the previous week's boxed lab questions (we will look for thorough observations, balanced equations, legible work.  Show all work.  Boxes are read and graded with care.  Partial credit is sometimes given.  Good penmanship and thorough explanations are essential.  One word answers without explanations are usually unacceptable.), (b. 2 pts) completion of the previous week's post lab questions, (c. 2 pts) strong evidence that the prelab has been read (as indicated my underlining or highlighting, etc.), (d. 2 pts) completion of the pre-lab questions for the current week.  If a laboratory report is collected instead, we will provide the forms.
• Ten points per week for laboratory quiz.  These will be given every 3 or 4 weeks and will be worth 10 points per experiment.

 The laboratory portion of the course is worth 35.0% of the Chm 501 course.  Refer to the lecture syllabus for general information.

4. Academic honesty.  You and your lab partners should work together in completing the questions and boxes and thus would be expected to have very similar answers.  Ideally, you and your partners would discuss a particular question/box together and then each of you write your explanation in your own words.  It is not acceptable to copy your partner’s work without being a part of the intellectual process.  It is unacceptable to work in groups larger than 2 - 3 because individual thinking is diluted or eliminated.  (This includes answering the pre-lab questions.)  It is unacceptable to copy the work of another.  In instances where copying is evident, total report scores for all parties concerned will be divided by the number of individuals involved.  Please do not betray the trust we have in you.

5. Towards success.  Many of the topics covered in this lab program relate back to topics from General Chemistry (redox, Lewis dots, etc.)  We encourage you to refer to general chemistry texts to “brush up” on these topics as needed.  Also, be sure to ask in class about other concepts (MO theory for example)  We can give you a mini-lecture on these concepts.

Schedule of Experiments.

August 29  Hydrogen
September 5  Alkali Metals
September 12 Alkaline Earth Metals
September 19 Boron and Aluminum
September 26 Carbon
October 3  Silicon
October 24  Nitrogen
October 31  Phosphorus
November 7  Oxygen
November 14 Sulfur
November 21 Halogens
November 28 Transition Metals