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Course Requirements | Course Policies | Grading scale | Grade Distribution | Course Schedule | Reference Guide | Writing a Report | CH301 Course Information >Text: Chemistry in Context, 3rd edition., by American Chemical Society. (click on the book to go to the web site) Overview and Course Goals The goal of this course is to educate the students about the impact chemistry has on our lives and the Society. Chemistry is the basic science involved in every walk of our life. We all need to be more educated in science so we can lead a safer and healthier life. Even politics is not devoid of science. Many policy makers make important decision about our lives without a formal education in science or chemistry. Every citizen should be scientifically literate to understand their surrounding. Each week we'll focus on different new writing situations, issues, or problems encountered in the workplace through our online conferencing discussions; these are reinforced and expanded in readings in our text, Chemistry in Context, 3rd Edition (Published by the American Chemical Society). Course Objectives After you have completed this course, you should be able to:
>Biweekly report: Students will be expected to read magazines and newspapers and submit a one page report (300 - 350 words) on one scientific news article of their choice. The report should include: a) what you read, b) what you found interesting about it, c) if you have any opinion about it and e) the reference. This will help you to develop reading habit and keep them updated with the current events. Reports (opinion or informative)>: The students will express their views on an issue assigned by the instructor. They Should be able to defend their point of view by articulately expressing themselves and backing their opinion by facts, hence references is an integral part of this report. Students will generally get a minimum of a week to work on these reports. The report should be roughly 4-5 pages long excluding the references. >Class participation: During the course some discussion topics will be given to the class, to which the students are expected to respond. This is one of the most important part of the course. It will help establish communication between the student and the instructor and also among the entire class. Students are expected to question each other’s statements and challenge each other to think. >Research paper: The topic will be entirely the student’s choice. They can research on one scientific - Chemistry related topic that they are interested in. Primary reasons for choosing a topic should be: 1) they are interested in it, 2) they have found a significant amount of information on this topic, 3) no one else is writing on the same issue and 4) it has been approved by the instructor. Most times students get carried away with the vast number of interesting issues that they lose focus. To avoid this, a topic of interest should be submitted to the instructor within the first three weeks of classes; a rough, one page draft submitted two weeks after the submission of the topic, with at least five references, and the final report due two days before the final exam. It is important to remain focused on the topic of interest. The student will be allowed to change the topic only once and not later than five weeks into the course. >Mid-term Exam: There will be one midterm exam. >Final Exam: The final will be a comprehensive exam. It will be based on the discussion topics and the informative reports that the students have written. To help the students understand the kind of questions they can expect on the exam a previous exam is available on the web at: final exam sample. The standards listed here will help maintain the quality of the course. 1) Submission of reports: All reports must be submitted on time. 2) Class participation: During the course some discussion topics will be given to the class, to which the students are expected to respond. Students are expected to give their opinion and defend it articulately. This is one of the most important parts of the course. It will help establish a communication between the students and the instructor and also among the entire class. Students are expected to question each other’s statements and challenge each other to think. Constructive participation means responding to comments made in the class and taking initiative to bring interesting topics in the discussion forum. 3) Plagiarism is strictly prohibited: "Honesty is the best policy". Students will be writing a number of reports hence it is no doubt that they will be reading a lot of magazines and journals. Students are advised to do any of the following points: a) write in your words b) reference the article, book etc. from which they got the information or c) quote information (as in quotation marks) and then reference it d) not copy at all. If at any point the instructor has justified doubts about a student committing plagiarism the student will be issued a warning; however if the student plagiarizes a second time then necessary action will be taken which may result in expulsion from the class. ACADEMIC HONESTY: Park University policies are in effect. All your work must be your own, unless the instructor authorize collaboration, in which case you must, in writing, acknowledge the help you have received. Presenting as one's own the words, ideas, or expression of another in any form is cheating through plagiarism, and will not be tolerated. The claim of ignorance will not be accepted as an excuse.
Please note: You will be informed ahead of time any changes made in the above schedules. Unexcused absence of 6 lectures will result in a F in the class
Go to CH301 Course Information for more information given in class Weeks 1 & 2: The Basics of Chemistry Topics to be covered: history of chemistry; see suggested reading study of matter - what is matter, its properties, different states of matter, law of conservation of matter; the structure of atom (read section 2.2); the periodic table; the language of chemistry (read sections 1.7 and 1.8);the electromagnetic spectrum (read section 2.4). Weeks 3 & 4: Nuclear Chemistry and Energy Topics to be covered: what is radioactivity (read section 7.7); why does it occur, history of radioactivity; what is energy (chapter 4); sources of energy - old and new; water, wind, fossil fuels, fuel cells, geothermal, natural gas, wood, nuclear etc. (chapter 8). Weeks 5, 6 & 7: Environmental Chemistry Topics to be covered: divisions of the earth; the stratosphere; the hydrosphere and the atmosphere and their components; air pollution; what is pollution (chapter 1); air pollutants: carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter etc. acid rain (chapter 6); the ozone layer (read chapter 2); toxic effects of air pollution. For most of the topics listed above EPAs concerned citizen site is an excellent site to get a general idea about protection of environment. Topic of research paper due Water Pollution Topics to be covered: Water: a unique compound; its properties (chapter 5); Pollution as a result of air pollution (chapter 6); Effects of water pollution (chapter 6); Prevention; Conservation of water. Weeks 8 & 9: Medicinal Chemistry Topics to be covered: (chapter 10) history of medicine; the first drug to be synthesized – aspirin drug discovery - serendipity, targeted research and traditional medicine. Drug approval process - role of FDA in this process fraud in medicine weight loss pills, methotrexate (abortion pill), Huntingtons disease (uses fetus tissue for treatment). Research Paper summary due. Weeks 10 & 11: Polymers and Consumer Chemistry Topics to be covered: (Chapter 9) properties of solutions; polar and non polar molecules; formation of micelles basic cleansing action; role of foam in cleaning products soaps, detergents, toothpaste, shampoos, hair dyes, moisturizer lotions, lipsticks, other cosmetic products. Weeks 12 & 13: Food Chemistry Topics to be covered: (chapter 11) composition of our body; what is it made up of; what elements do we need to live healthily; nutrition diet needs according to the functions of our body; malnutrition, food additives, chemicals in the food, reading the food label. health fraud?! bugs in the food >Weeks 14 & 15: Genetic Engineering Research report due: on Wednesday 2nd May SUGGESTED REFERENCE GUIDE FOR WEEKLY REPORTS AND RESEARCH REPORT General Interest/ Magazines/ Newspapers
Energy
Environment
Medicine
Food
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