Barnard Chemistry BC 2001x
As the semester progresses, I post advice, notes,
announcements, comments, and corrections below.
Please check this page frequently!

 

On Thursday, November 12, the lecture topic is Coupled Equilibria: the Effect of pH on Solubility, not Binding of Ligands to Metals (as on syllabus). This topic is not treated extensively in Chang, so there are more Powerpoint slides than usual. [posted 11/11/09]

 

On Thursday, November 12, office hours will end at noon, not 12:30. On Tuesday November 14, office hours will be 4 to 6 instead of 2 to 4.  My apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. [posted 11/11/09]

 

Strategies for learning Chemistry. A Nobel Prize-winning chemist (Roald Hoffman, Cornell) and a distinguished chemical educator (Saundra McGuire, LSU) recently published a letter in Science Magazine about teaching and learning chemistry.  You may find it interesting [posted 9/28/09].

 

Participate in Learning Study: please read the text below. Dr. Lisa Son will come to class on Sept. 29 to ask you to agree to participate. Neither your decision to participate nor your confidence assessments will have any bearing on your grade. [posted 9/26/09]:

In this course, you will have the opportunity to participate in a research study entitled The Value of Knowing Thyself. The purpose of the study is to better understand how well you can assess your own performance on a test. The research will take place during your three class exams and the final. For each question on the exams, you will be asked to make a judgment about how confident you are that your answer is correct on a scale from 0-100%. You will see the following scale after each question on the exam:

Just check the box that corresponds to your level of confidence about the previous question. When selecting your level of confidence, just provide a very fast gut response. Don’t puzzle over how confident you feel.

The person conducting this study is Dr. Lisa Son, a professor in the Barnard Psychology Department. If you have any questions about the study, you can contact her at lson@barnard.edu. About a week before the first exam, Dr. Son will visit your class to describe the methods of the study. She will also present a few sample questions along with the confidence scale to make sure that you understand the procedure. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about the study at that time. In order to participate, you will be asked to sign your consent .

Announcing Student-run General Chemistry Help Workshops. [posted 9/22/09]

Average resonance structure with dotted lines (mentioned in class 9/22).  There is no simple way to draw these and count octets, so please ignore them!  They are not mentioned in Chang.  [posted 9/22/09]

Combustion reactions.  I was asked whether there is a systematic way to balance combustion reactions.  Yes!  Go to Combustion [posted 9/22/09].

Math Skills Diagnostic: results and implications.  [posted 9/15/09]

Recent question: "May I bring a tape recorder to class?"  I have no objection to this. There are often many papers and chemicals on the front desk, but if you can find a safe spot, that is ok.  If you are missing class for a religious holiday, and want that class to be videotaped, just ask me.  With sufficient lead time, that can usually be arranged. What about using a computer to take notes?  In this banked lecture hall, computers can be quite distracting.  If you wish to take notes on a laptop, please sit in the back row. [posted 9/9/09]. 

What is our policy with respect to calculators? Is there a restriction on the type you may use? No: you may use any kind. If, however, you have a calculator into which equations can be programmed, you must empty the memory of all equations before coming to an exam. Failure to do so is an honor code violation, and there may be spot checks. Note that you do NOT need a fancy calculator: any one that can evaluate logs and exponents is sufficient. The most important thing for exams is that you are fully familiar with the calculator you are using!

Many class handouts are posted on the web.  However the weekly hand-in problem is not: it is distributed in class only.  If you miss class, you must come to my office to get your copy.  Originals only (no photocopies) are accepted: this way we have equal numbers of each version. All answers must be written on the original sheet, not on an added page.  Please work out the problem on scratch paper; copy it to the problem sheet after you have found the answer. These policies are designed to make the grading prompt, accurate, and fair.