CHM 309 GRADING

FALL 2012

Quizzes will be "open book" - you may use any published (including electronic) materials and databases, plus your own class notes and homework solutions. This long-standing policy is intended to encourage creative problem solving and discourage memorization of mathematical equations and physical constants that can be easily looked up. Each quiz will cover material up through the chapter just completed (e.g. Quiz #1 will cover chapters 7 & 8; Quiz #2 will cover chapters 9 & 10, etc.).

The scheduled 3-hour Final Exam will also be "open book," and will cover the entire semester's material.

Physical chemistry is a subject that is better learned through your own practice than through watching others do it. Therefore, Homework problems will be regularly assigned, collected and graded. However, you are allowed, in fact encouraged, to collaborate with other students in the course in completing the assignments. You will find you gain a better grasp of the concepts when you teach them to each other. Grading of the homework will be fairly lenient, so if you make a sustained effort to do it, you will find that it will raise your grade. Homework solutions are due at the beginning of the class period on the day indicated. Solutions will be posted after class, so late submissions will not be accepted.

The five Laboratory exercises will be assigned in three-week blocks, with the report due on the Monday of the second week after the experiment is to be completed. Laboratory reports received after 4:30 p.m. on the due date will be penalized one-third letter grade (e.g. 3.3%) per day late. You will be assigned a lab partner (or partners) for each experiment. Reports (one per team) should follow the format of an ACS journal paper (e.g. abstract, introduction and background, experimental details, data and analysis, results and conclusions, acknowledgements, footnotes and references) - except that you may simply reference the source of experiment instructions and make note of any changes you made in procedures or important details about variables.

You should purchase a laboratory notebook, and record all data and observations made in the laboratory in your (or your partner's) notebook. You should append your notebook pages (either the carbon copy if you use a duplicating notebook, or a photocopy of your pages) to your laboratory report. Some advice based on past experience: placing a carbon copy or photocopy of your laboratory notes in a safe place immediately after recording them avoids the risk of losing important information if your notebook should stray.

An alternative method of keeping laboratory notes is to record them on a laptop computer. If you do that, you should email me a copy of the notes and the end of the experiment sessions (you will not have to append photocopies to your lab reports).

In constructing the class and laboratory schedule, I have tried to avoid scheduling quizzes or due dates for laboratory reports on religious holidays or at the class immediately following Thanksgiving break. I will consider granting reasonable requests for changes in the schedule if they are presented well in advance of the date(s) affected.

I encourage you to discuss with me your standing in the course at any time. Also feel free to discuss with me how you feel class and laboratory time can be spent most productively to assist your learning.

Best wishes for a safe, productive, satisfying and enjoyable semester.