Chemistry I Syllabus

CHEM 1211 – Spring 2025

The instructor reserves the right to make changes or corrections to this syllabus at any time. Students will be notified when any changes are made by email or eLC announcements.

Course Overview

This is a Core IMPACTS course that is part of the STEM area.

Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help master course content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals.

This course should direct students toward a broad Orienting Question:

  • How do I ask scientific questions or use data, mathematics, or technology to understand the universe?

Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcome:

  • Students will use the scientific method and laboratory procedures or mathematical and computational methods to analyze data, solve problems, and explain natural phenomena.

Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:

  • Inquiry and Analysis
  • Problem-Solving
  • Teamwork

Instructor

Name: Dr. Eric Van Dornshuld
E-Mail: eric.dornshuld[at]uga{dot}edu

Group Office Hours:

  • M 10:20-11:15 414
  • W 12:40-1:30 (online; CircleIn)
  • F 12:40-1:30 411

One-On-One Office Hours (for discussion of personal matters, course standing, etc.): By appointment

Course Description

Chemistry 1211 is an in-person course with lectures and a once weekly required in-person recitation session. Chemistry 1211L is the companion one credit hour lab course and must be taken concurrently unless you already have credit for the lab course. CHEM 1211/1211L is the first in a two-sequence introductory chemistry course. This course uses an American Chemical Society Examinations Institute standardized exam as the final.

Textbook (e-text to be purchased through eLC)

Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity, 11th Ed.; John C. Kotz, Paul M. Treichel, John R. Townsend, and David R. Treichel. The textbook must be purchased through eLC to receive the special UGA price of $40.00. Do not purchase this textbook through the UGA bookstore or another vendor as you will be charged a higher price.

Other Required Materials

Access to Squarecap, a polling website, will be required. Your instructor will add you to the course during the first week of class, and you will be able to pay the $5 fee. You will also be added to Gradescope, which is free for student use. Additionally, you will need any non-programmable scientific calculator such as the Ti-3x series or the Casio ClassWiz series (The TI-36x Pro is recommended). Programmable or graphing calculators (e.g. TI-83 or similar) are not permitted.

Course Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply, integrate, and synthesize concepts from multiple fundamental areas of chemistry to solve complex problems.
  2. Explain the behavior of, and interactions between, matter and energy at the atomic, microscopic, and macroscopic domains using appropriate models and symbols.
  3. Predict chemical and physical behavior from three-dimensional models of molecules and ions.
  4. Distinguish between chemical and physical changes.
  5. Predict macroscopic characteristics of materials based on atomic/molecular structure using appropriate models.
  6. Describe how chemical reactions obey the law of definite proportions and the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
  7. Demonstrate how the Bohr model of the atom relates to the modern description by quantum theory, and using terms of the quantum theory, relate atoms to the Periodic Table.

Course Requirements and Grading

Course Coverage

These chapters will be covered in CHEM 1211:

Chapter 1: Basic Concepts of Chemistry
Chapter 1R: The Tools of Quantitative Chemistry
Chapter 2: Atoms, Molecules, and Ions
Chapter 3: Chemical Reactions
Chapter 4: Stoichiometry: Quantitative Information about Chemical Reactions
Chapter 5: Principles of Chemical Reactivity: Energy and Chemical Reactions
Chapter 6: The Structure of Atoms
Chapter 7: The Structure of Atoms and Periodic Trends
Chapter 8: Bonding and Molecular Structure
Chapter 9: Orbital Hybridization and Molecular Orbitals
Chapter 10: Gases and Their Properties

Course Assignments

Reading Checks

Before each week of lecture, you will need to read the indicated sections on the class schedule and complete a reading check that assesses basic knowledge of the material that will be covered in class that week. Reading checks will be delivered on WebAssign and will be available on Wednesdays at 5:00 PM and will be due on Mondays at 9:00 AM unless otherwise announced. There will be a total of fourteen reading checks worth four points each. The three reading checks with the lowest score will be dropped at the end of the semester. This is intended to cover any circumstance that may stop you from completing the assignment (technical difficulties, illness, etc.), so no reading check will be excused or extended.

Five attempts will be allowed for each question in the Reading Check. There is a 5% penalty for each incorrect attempt after three, so it is in your best interest to work the problems as you read the chapter.

Academic Honesty Expectations: You may work in groups on reading checks while consulting outside resources (except AI); however, each of you must do your own problems.

Class Activities

The instructor will provide class activities to accompany the in-person discussions during the semester. The activities could be worksheets, hands-on activities, clicker questions, or other activities. Students must be present to receive credit for the class activities and are responsible for uploading any required files correctly. Make-ups are not offered for in-class activities. Raw points equal to the average for 5 days of classes will be dropped for all students at the end of the semester to account for any absences. If you have to miss more than 5 days of class due to an extended illness, injury, or other valid documentable reason, please contact your instructor directly to discuss.

Class activities will be worth a total of 60 points. You will receive a portion of the class activities points based on your total percentage. If you score 90% of the credit for the class activities, you will earn 90% of 60 points (or 54 points) toward your final grade.

Academic Honesty Expectations: You must respond to your own questions and be present in class to attempt the activities. If you respond to class activities while you are not present in the classroom, a report will be made to the Office of Academic Honesty.

Recitation Sessions

In addition to lectures, you are required to attend a weekly in-person recitation session that is intended to supplement course material and promote a deeper understanding of concepts. The assignments during recitation sessions may include worksheets, case studies, and other activities. During the recitation sessions you will work in small groups, and assignments will be due at 9:00 AM on the Saturday of the recitation week. The worksheets will be posted to eLC, and you will need to convert the completed worksheets to a single PDF file and upload them to Gradescope yourself. You are responsible for uploading the correct file as instructed in recitation. Assignments will not be regraded if the pages in the PDF file are in an incorrect order or there are missing pages or other formatting issues. There will be a practice recitation (recitation 0) for you to practice creating and uploading the correct PDF file to Gradescope.

You must attend recitation to receive credit for the recitation. Attendance will be taken at the recitation sessions. You will not be marked as attending if you arrive more than 10 minutes after the recitation session begins or leave before the recitation period is over, and you will not earn credit for that recitation. No recitations will be excused, but a set number will be dropped to account for a few conflicts throughout the semester.

There will be 13 recitation sessions worth a total of 171 points, and the 3 with the lowest score will be dropped. You will receive a portion of the recitation session points based on your total percentage. If you score 90% of the credit for the recitation questions, you will earn 90% of 171 points (or 153.9 points) toward your final grade.

Academic Honesty Expectations: You are expected to work in groups on recitations; however, you must do your own problems and submit your own PDF file to Gradescope. You may use outside resources (except AI).

Readiness Quizzes

Readiness quizzes are timed assignments designed to test your understanding of the course materials and simulate exam conditions. The point value of readiness quizzes has been intentionally set at a low value so that you can stumble on the readiness quiz and not severely hurt your grade in CHEM 1211. It is much better to find out what you’re struggling with on the readiness quiz instead of the exam.

Readiness quizzes will generally open on Fridays at 5:00 PM before an exam and the 1st attempt will be due on Monday at 5:00 PM. The 2nd attempt will be due on Tuesday at 5:00 PM. The 3rd attempt will be due on Wednesday at 5:00 PM. The final readiness quiz will follow a different schedule – opening Thursday at 5:00 PM, with the first attempt due Saturday at 5:00 PM, the second attempt due Sunday at 5:00 PM, and the third attempt due Monday at 5:00 PM. There will be a total of 5 readiness quizzes worth 5 points each. Each quiz can be taken three times, the key can be viewed in between attempts, and the highest score will be used. We suggest starting early, as no extensions or excuses will be granted.

Be Aware: Opening the progress quiz before it is due to look at the questions commits you to completing the assignment. The timer cannot be stopped or reset.

Academic Honesty Expectations: You are expected to work on your own when completing the readiness quizzes. You should not use any outside resources, including your own notes. This is your opportunity to see what you need to work on before the exam. You should not share or post readiness quiz questions for other students while the readiness quiz is open.

Suggested Exercises and Practice Quizzes

Suggested practice problems for each chapter may be posted. It is recommended that you do these with your available resources to help you build skills and master the material. These problems will not be graded.

Exams

Four (4) 90-minute examinations will be given on Thursday evenings. Exams will be worth 200 points, and exam coverage is detailed on the course schedule. Chemistry is an inherently cumulative subject, so while exams will focus on new material, any material previously covered in the course may also appear. Exams will be administered in-person. Your exam grade with the lowest percentage score will be replaced with your final exam percentage value if it is higher. Make-up exams are given at the discretion of the course coordinator, Dr. Jessica Jensen, and require official documentation (e.g. a doctor’s note with dates excused listed) of an unavoidable absence. You must email Dr. Jensen () as soon as you know you will be absent, at least 24 hours in advance except in the case of sudden emergencies.

Because this is a course with evening exams, there are a few rules that you should be familiar with before entering the exam room. These rules will be enforced by the exam proctors.

  • Personal belongings are to be left at the front or sides of the room and electronic devices turned off.
  • You are not allowed to have a cell phone or smart watch on your person during the exam. All electronic devices must be left with your belongings. Any student found with a cell phone or smart watch will be referred to the Academic Honesty office.
  • You should make use of the facilities before you enter the exam room. Once in the exam room you cannot leave until you have finished the exam. If you have a medical reason this is not possible, please sign up with the DRC as soon as possible.
  • Bring your ID - we can accept any government issued photo ID but your UGA ID is preferred.
  • You may only use a non-graphing calculator (see Other Required Materials) with the back cover removed and left in your bookbag.
  • You will not be given extra time to bubble in answers after time is called, so make sure all answers have been transferred to the answer sheet before time has elapsed.

Exam Schedule

Final Exam

The final exam will be administered on May 1. It will be the (multiple-choice) First-Term General Chemistry Exam from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Examinations Institute. The raw score out of 70 will be applied to the possible 400 points. You will not be allowed to write on this exam; doing so will result in a fee of $25 and a hold being placed on your account. The exam has a total value of 400 points in the course. If your percentage grade on this exam is higher than your lowest exam percentage grade, this percentage grade will replace it. It is in your best interest to do as well as you can on this exam.

Course Grades

Course grades in CHEM 1211 will be calculated based on these components:


If you score below 50% on the final exam, you will receive an ‘F’ for the course. If you score 50% or higher on the final exam, your final grade will be based on the total points earned out of 1500 total possible points:


Final grades will not be adjusted (i.e., “curved”) at the end of the semester. Course letter grades are delivered via Athena and appear when they are posted and released by the Registrar’s Office.

Regrade Requests

Requests for regrades on any assignment, including exams, must be submitted no later than one week after the score or key is posted. After one week, no grades will be changed, even in the case of errors. Please make sure you are keeping up with your returned work – we encourage you to look graded work in order to learn from it in a timely manner.

Regrade requests for anything on WebAssign or for in-class activities should be directed to your instructor by UGA email. Regrade requests for anything on Gradescope (recitation worksheets, exams) must be submitted using the regrade request function on Gradescope.

Policies and Procedures

Communication

The instructor will communicate with the class in two ways: (1) email and (2) announcements on the course eLC site. You may login to eLC at http://elc.uga.edu using your UGA myID and password. It is highly recommended that you forward your eLC e-mail to your preferred e-mail address. Remember that official communication is through eLC e-mail and/or UGA mail. It is your responsibility by UGA policy to check both on a daily basis.

The eLC site will also be used to store and deliver lecture slides, exam resources, general handouts and other documents. You will also find instructions covering Gradescope and WebAssign.

Email Etiquette

The course instructor receives a large number of student emails per day. To ensure your email is answered as quickly as possible:

  • Do not send email to eLC accounts. Instructors may be reached via their primary email addresses.
  • Instructors will not respond to questions that are answered in the course syllabus or postings on eLC.
  • Please allow at least 48 business hours for a response due to the high volume of emails.
  • Your emails must be both courteous and coherent. If you would not say it in person, don’t write it in an email.
  • Students should include their course number and CRN in every email, as instructors teach multiple large courses.
  • Experience has demonstrated that it is not effective to answer homework or concept questions via email. In order to receive help concerning class work or homework you should visit your instructor during regularly scheduled office hours.

What about lab (CHEM 1211L)?

CHEM 1211 and 1211L are individual courses that are administered and graded separately.
You will receive separate and independent grades for these two courses. However, CHEM 1211 and 1211L must be taken concurrently. All students must be registered for both lecture and lab. (A small number of students may have already completed the lecture or lab when rules allowed that. Students who have taken CHEM 1211 and 1211L previously, and received grades of “I”, should not register for the course(s) a second time because the earlier “I” grade will automatically be changed to an “F”.)

Withdrawal Policy

The last day to withdraw from CHEM 1211 is Thurs., Apr. 3, 2025. A grade of ‘W’ is assigned to all withdrawals made prior to the withdrawal deadline, irrespective of performance in the course. Withdrawal is accomplished through Athena. Go to the withdrawal section of Athena and follow the instructions.

CHEM 1211 and CHEM 1211L are co-requisite courses. You may not remain enrolled in CHEM 1211L if you withdraw from CHEM 1211. There are no exceptions to this policy. After the withdrawal deadline, no student may withdraw from CHEM 1211/1211L except in the case of an approved hardship withdrawal that is authorized by the Office of Student Services (https://reg.uga.edu/general-information/policies/withdrawals//).

Incomplete Policy

An incomplete grade, “I”, may be assigned to students that are passing CHEM 1211 but are unable to complete all university coursework during the current semester due to unforeseen personal and/or medical circumstances. An incomplete grade is not assigned to students who are able to complete their university coursework but choose not to complete chemistry due to poor performance. In order to receive an incomplete in the class you must meet with your instructor and sign a contract which stipulates the terms and conditions of all university sanctioned incompletes.

Disability Accommodations

Students with a disability that are seeking classroom or testing accommodations must register with the Disability Resource Center (DRC). More information can be found at https://drc.uga.edu/site/content_page/register-for-services.

Academic Honesty

As a University of Georgia student, you have agreed to abide by the University’s academic honesty policy, “A Culture of Honesty,” and the Student Honor Code. All academic work must meet the standards described in “A Culture of Honesty” found at: https://honesty.uga.edu/. Lack of knowledge of the academic honesty policy is not a reasonable explanation for a violation. Questions related to course assignments and the academic honesty policy should be directed to the instructor.

FERPA Notice

The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) grants students certain information privacy rights. See the registrar’s explanation at https://osas.franklin.uga.edu/ferpa-and-privacy FERPA allows disclosure of directory information (name, address, telephone, email, date of birth, place of birth, major, activities, degrees, awards, prior schools), unless a https://reg.uga.edu/_resources/documents/imported/FERPARequestForRestriction.pdf is submitted to the Registrar’s Office.

UGA Well-being Resources

UGA Well-being Resources promote student success by cultivating a culture that supports a more active, healthy, and engaged student community.

Anyone needing assistance is encouraged to contact Student Care & Outreach (SCO) in the Division of Student Affairs at 706-542-8479 or visit https://sco.uga.edu. Student Care & Outreach helps students navigate difficult circumstances by connecting them with the most appropriate resources or services. They also administer the Embark@UGA program which supports students experiencing, or who have experienced, homelessness, foster care, or housing insecurity.

UGA provides both clinical and non-clinical options to support student well-being and mental health, any time, any place. Whether on campus, or studying from home or abroad, UGA Well-being Resources are here to help.

Additional information, including free digital well-being resources, can be accessed through the UGA app or by visiting https://well-being.uga.edu.