Syllabus
Chemistry 217
Sections 111, 112, 113, & 114
Principals of Chemistry Laboratory I
Fall 2007
2 Credit Hours
Instructor
Dr. Mohammad ItaniDepartment of Chemistry
Marshall University
Huntington, WV 25755 / Office: S 408
Phone: 696-3371
E-mail:
Web Page: http://www.science.marshall.edu/itani
Contacting the Instructor
If you have any question about what was covered in class or if you need any help, feel free to drop by the office, you don't need an appointment. Also, I can be reached by e-mail or telephone. Refer the contact info mentioned above. Office hours M-F 12:00 – 2:00 PM.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student is expected to be:
(1) Introduced to the basic laboratory skills of careful measurements and handling of experimental data.
(2) Provided by laboratory experience which emphasizes and reinforces the principles and concepts of chemistry given in the general textbook
(3) Acquainted with the quantitative thinking and procedure encountered in elementary physical chemistry and analytical chemistry with emphasis on the interplay between theory and experiment.
Towards that end, this lab has been designed so that lecture (CHM 211) and lab topics will occur at roughly the same times.
You should read the experiment before coming to the lab.
Safety Precautions
Keep your safety goggles in your drawer so you don’t forget them at home!
YOU must TAKE THE SAFETY QUIZ ON WEBCT. IF YOU FAIL TO PASS IT BEFORE THE NEXT LAB, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO IT AND YOU WILL RECEIVE A ZERO. GO TO: http://vista.marshall.edu/webct/logonDisplay.dowebct , or http://www.marshall.edu/chemistry/safetyquiz_instructions.asp
1. Anyone who has not signed the statement acknowledging one's full understanding of the required safety measures will not be permitted to work in the laboratory.
2. Use care in following the directions of your instructor and laboratory text. Do not alter the experimental procedures without being instructed to do so by the instructor or the TA’s.
3. Protective eye goggles must be worn in the laboratory at all times. Failure to do so will constitute sufficient grounds for dismissal from the laboratory. You are responsible for obtaining a pair of safety goggles. We strongly urge you not to wear contact lenses.
4. Clothing: Slacks or dresses cut below the knee must be worn. Shoes covering the bridge of the foot and toes must be worn. You will not be allowed to work while violating either of these rules.
5. Know the locations of all safety equipment in the laboratory. You will be tested on this.
6. All injuries, no matter how trivial, must be reported to the instructor immediately.
Required Materials
1. Laboratory manual purchased from the on-campus bookstore for CHM 217.
2. A bound laboratory notebook. All experimental data must be recorded directly in this notebook during your laboratory period. The laboratory manual provides a description of how this should be done.
3. Safety goggles; an apron is optional, but desirable, unless when handling reactive materials it is a must.
4. Bring a roll of paper towels to use in lab. MU does NOT provide paper towels (sorry)!
Co-requisites & Prerequisites
CHM 211 is a co-requisite for CHM 217. CHM 217 can be taken after taking CHM 211. The math prerequisite for CHM 217 is either MTH 127 or an ACT score of 21 points.
Procedure of the Course
1. Attendance is required in this course. You must attend all labs!
2. The first half-hour of the lab will be spent in a discussion by the instructor on the experiment to be done in that period and the chemical principles related to it.
3. The bound notebook is for the immediate recording of all experimental operations and observations made during the laboratory period. Use only pen to write in the lab books and do not use white-out. If you make a mistake, just draw a line through the mistake and continue writing.
4. Lab reports are due the following week at the beginning of the period.
Grading
Quizzes (approximately 5)* 20%
Midterm exam 25%
Final exam 25%
Lab reports and note book 30%
*lowest score dropped
Letter grades will be then be assigned based on the following scale for the final average.
· Greater than 90% = A
· 80-89% = B
· 70-79% = C
· 60-69% = D
· Less than 60% = F
Absences: If you are sick and can’t come to lab, you will be excused if you have a University approved excuse. To obtain a University approved excuse, you need to see Dr. Hensley in Academic Affairs. If you do not have a University approved excuse, you will receive a grade of zero for the missed experiment. Regardless of why you missed lab, it is important to e-mail me to inform me of why you missed lab. Whether or not you are excused from a missed lab depends on the specific situation and the decision will be made on a case by case basis.
Lab Make-ups: If you wish to make up a lab in another instructor’s section, you must let me know in advance.
If you miss 3 or more labs for unexcused reasons, you will receive a grade no greater than a D in this class. You are enrolled in this section of CHM 217. This means the labs need to be done before the next lab session of this section.
Lab reports are due one week after we do the lab. For every day late, you will lose 2 pts on the lab report. Late lab reports turned in eight days or more will be given a grade of zero. Due dates remain the same even if you make up the lab in another instructor’s section due to an excused absence.
Talking and sharing of calculators is forbidden during exams. Students will sit in alternate columns while taking exams and quizzes.
EMERGENCIES: If you are sick or you are experiencing a family crisis (a death in the family, hospitalization of a family member, etc.), please let me know this before an exam. I will either give you a make-up exam or in certain cases, the final exam will count as 50% of your grade. I will decide how to calculate your grade and I will inform you of my decision.
Withdrawal Policy
The University withdrawal policy is followed in this course. The withdrawal period for an individual course begins August 27 and ends on October 26, 2007. Complete withdrawal from all classes for the semester begins October 29 and ends on December 4, 2007.
An Overview of the Key Elements of Your Laboratory Course
Quiz Format
On the quiz you'll be asked: What is the purpose of your lab experiment (not just a title) and what are the chemical procedures and methods that you're going to use? A pre-lab question, a post-lab question from the previous session, and a safety question. Consequently, if you didn't read and understand the experiment you won't do well on the quiz.
Lab Notebook
All data must be recorded in your lab notebook. You should bring your lab notebook to the digital balances to record initial and final weights. Data should NOT be recorded on separate pieces of paper.
Lab Reports
Lab Reports are to be typed and are due one week after the lab is performed. Please check your spelling and grammar. If a lab report is turned in late, a 2 point deduction will be made for each day the lab report is late. If a lab report will be turned in late, please communicate this to me! Lab reports for any experiment will not be accepted one week after the due date.
Copying lab reports: I want to be very clear on this. If you submit a lab report that is very similar to another student’s lab report, you will BOTH receive a grade of zero for that lab report. If you lend your lab report to someone, you are taking a chance that someone will plagiarize your lab report. You could end up with a zero.
Lab Report Format
1) Introduction: The introduction should be one paragraph in length and it should provide the reader with an understanding of why you are doing the experiment. How is the experiment going to be accomplished? What data is going to be collected? Do not make the introduction more than six sentences! You should have one sentence in the introduction that tells us what the results of the experiment were. For example: The density of the unknown metal was found to be 4.53 g/mL and its identity is believed to be aluminum.
You do not have to tell me every step you performed in the experiment. Just provide enough information so that I can understand what was done and what you determined! BE BRIEF, PLEASE!
DO NOT USE “I”, “WE”, “YOU” WHEN WRITING A LAB REPORT. Instead, write in what is called the “passive tense”. For example: “The reaction mixture was heated”. Do not write: “I heated the reaction mixture.” You will lose points if you do not follow this rule.
Very Important Point: If your experiment involves a chemical reaction, then you should write the chemical equation at the end of the introduction section. If you do not do this, you will lose points! Example: A + B à C + D
2) Data: Presenting data in tabular form is always an excellent idea. Make sure that your rows and columns are correctly labeled and that you are using the data that you obtained, even if your results are not perfect!
If you have never made a table in a word processing program, now is a good time to learn. Also, you need to learn how to subscript and superscript numbers. For example, H2O has a subscript 2 in the formula. Highlight the “2” and then go to font and select (check mark in the box) for subscript. This is the process for Microsoft Word.
3) Calculations: One calculation should be done as a sample calculation for each type of calculation that you include in your laboratory report. This means if you use three different reagents, you will need to show calculations for each reagent used, even if they are performed similarly!
IF YOU DO NOT SHOW HOW YOU DID THE CALCULATIONS IN YOUR EXPERIMENT, THEN YOU WILL LOSE POINTS.
4) Results and Discussion: When you write this section, ask yourself what do your results mean? Graphs, calculations and conclusions are also placed in this section. If your results did not agree with the accepted value, why do you think that is? What specific kinds of errors did you, or could you, have made during the experiment that resulted in an error. Discussing the % error or the % yield is also appropriate, depending upon the experiment. Let me be clear by saying that I would ideally like you to think about your results and tell me why they make sense. If they are poor results, then say why.
DO NOT USE HUMAN ERROR AS AN EXCUSE! You are an adult. Provide specific reasons to explain poor results. You should know how to use a balance, how to read volume, etc. You should do the calculations for a lab before you leave the lab. If the results are not good, then you should repeat the experiment.
5) Post-Lab Questions: Please use full sentences to answer the questions. It is not necessary to rewrite the question. YOU DO NEED TO TYPE THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. I will tell you what post-lab questions you need to answer. IF YOU DO NOT TYPE THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS, PLEASE WRITE SO I CAN READ THE ANSWERS! WRITE SLOWLY SO I CAN READ WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN!
REMEMBER: Do not copy your lab partner’s or friend’s answers.
6) Pre-Lab Questions: Please attach the typed or NEATLY written answers to the pre-lab questions to your lab report. I will assign the pre-lab questions during my pre-lab lecture.
Chemistry 217 Fall 2007
Date Exp. No. Experiment
8/22 - 8/23 1 Part I Lab check in. Density of water.
8/29 - 8/30 1 Parts II & III Density of sugar water & sodas
9/5 - 9/6 2 Separating Components of a
Mixture
9/12 - 9/13 3 Percent oxygen in Air
9/19 - 9/20 4 Determination of Avogadroes
Number
9/26 - 9/27 5 Empirical Formula
10/3 - 10/4 6 Synthesis of an Alum
10/10 - 10/11 Synthesis of Alum Cont’d
Mid Semester Exam
10/17 - 10/18 7 Analysis of Commercial Antacids
10/24 - 10/25 8 Determination of Water Hardness
10/31 - 11/1 9 Combustion - Reactions of
Oxygen
11/7 - 11/8 12 Synthesis of an Ester
11/14 - 11/15 13 Energy of a Peanut
11/28 - 11/29 Lab Check Out Final Exam