CH 107/Fall 2003 General Chemistry I | CH 107 Lab Syllabus Fall 2003
Writing a Report

1st Report - Two Views/ Due on 18 September 2006

Each of you should choose a topic from the eight provided in the topic list.  This report is to be done in two pair groups, i.e. one group will have four students, two taking one view and two the other.  Each student is responsible for writing their own report - this should not be done in pairs.  Only the presentation will be in pairs.

For all reports, the pro or con, you must include the following:

• a general introduction to the topic;

• any background information needed;

• relevant examples or evidence of your statement;

• justify your point of view on the basis of the evidence;

• conclusions.

See the "Writing a Report" for information on references and formatting.

Deadlines:

6 Sept: you must select a topic in the parkonline.org website.
18 Sept: report due in the "Drop Box" in parkonline.org, or by email to me or a printed copy. 

Designing an Experiment for Community Outreach - Due 23 Oct by 11am

The theme for this experiment is "Home: Its all Built on Chemistry".  Write an experiment designed for elementary or middle school kids to teach them about the topic that you have been assigned and its relationship to chemistry. The experiment/outreach can be simple or complicated but the information given should be expressed in the form of an experiment the kids can perform using household chemicals or harmless materials (no fire if possible!!).  The experiment write up should not be longer than three pages.  Write any references at the end of experiment.  You should be as creative and original as possible.  You may use the internet as a guide but do come up with your experiment.   Do remember that you are writing for kids, so keep the language simple and experiment doable with positive results.

Here is the guideline:

1. you have been assigned a topic; the topic was given to you during the lab. (if you don't have one then please see me)
2. decide if you want it to be at the elementary or middle school level,
3. give a title of the experiment (try to make it catchy),
4. write a small introduction about the experiment, i.e. what should the kids expect to observe etc.,
5. give a list of materials needed for the experiment,
6. write any cautions at the beginning of the experiment or at the end as you seem necessary,
7. write the procedure of the experiment,
8. give a place for data collection, if needed,
9. a conclusion for the experiment,
10. references.

Visit the website at http://www.chemistry.org/ to learn more about this theme.

Chemical and Engineering News Report- Due 29 Nov 2006

Browse through the issue of the C & E News provided to you and answer the following questions in as detail as you can:

• What issues are covered in the magazine?
• Are the issues recent or old?
• What are the variety of subjects covered in the magazine? e.g. chemistry, biology, physics etc.
• Is the magazine focused only on research articles or does it cover other organisations' information, e.g. the chemical industry, government organisations etc.
• Chose an article that you understand or find interesting and give about a 400 words synopsis.
• What is the cover story? Explain it briefly in your own words.

Your report should be 3-4 pages, double spaced, 1" margin, 12 pt Times Font and stapled.  Make sure you have some sort of conclusions.  The only reference you need is the magazine's information.

Ethics: Case Study Report - Due 11 Dec (Monday)

There are five case studies.  I have randomly assigned case studies.  Click on the link for your case study.  Below are the tips on writing the report. 

Case 1- Discrmination: Steve, Ericlyne, Juleen, Paul

Case 2 - Environment: Darina, Mahsa, Ray, Stephan, Brynne

Case 3 – Health Issue:  Tina, Cameron, Jordan, Francesca

Case 4 – Which Story to Run: Krisy, Ivy, Tim, Laura

Case 5 – Privacy Isssues: Sarah, Tara, Daniel, Pa 

Tips on the writing the report

Consider the following questions when writing your report: who is at fault here? Is it one person or more? Is there an ethical situation here at all? If yes, then what is it? I.e. what is the moral dilemma? What is the relationship of the people involved? In the bigger picture – how many people are involved in the situation? I.e. will the result/action affect a larger group of people? Should there be any policies that should be in place to avoid such moral dilemmas? If yes, at which level and for who?  What would you do if you were in the main character’s position?

Don’t just answer the above questions and consider your report done – you are advised to add more to it.

Your report should be between 1-2 pages.  The usual formatting.  It will be good if you can find any references to support your decisions and opinions.  Remember – there are some rights and wrong in the society and most people base their decisions on their values and principles.  Examine yours and then write the paper.  Don’t just write whatever you “feel” is the right thing to do – it should be of principle and accepted by society as the right thing to do.