18 August 2020

We are down to the comprehensive final that you can take any time and is due this Friday morning at 6 am! The final quiz will be just like the quizzes we have been having, but it will be over the whole class. It will be given one question at a time and you will only have one attempt.

Because a couple of students haven't completed the last homework I will repeat some of the post from last time.

This has generally been a good class about getting homework in on time. Good job! But if you are behind please note the message that I have been posting about missing homework, it can drastically change your grade! Here it is again:
As I have said earlier, if you have any missing assignments now is the time to start getting them done and getting caught up. As you may have noticed the quiz scores remain a dash until you complete them, even if they are late. These dashes don't have any effect on the grade total. The problem is that the dashes will be turned to zero at the end of the term and zeros don't help the grade! So the final grade could be much different if there are still dashes when the class ends. In that regard the last day to submit homework will be at the time and date of the final exam. After 6 am on that Friday the dashes will be turned to zeros and the score you have will determine your final grade. Because you are able to do this work at any time there will not be any incomplete grades given for this class.

I hope you have some time to enjoy the rest of the summer and I wish you the best as we all move forward during this very stressful time.

14 August 2020

We are down to the last short homework before the comprehensive final! Use the extra time from this short homework to prepare for the final quiz. The final quiz will be just like the quizzes we have been having, but it will be over the whole class. It will be given one question at a time and you will only have one attempt.

This has generally been a good class about getting homework in on time. Good job! But if you are behind please note the message that I have been posting about missing homework, it can drastically change your grade! Here it is again:

As I have said earlier, if you have any missing assignments now is the time to start getting them done and getting caught up. As you may have noticed the quiz scores remain a dash until you complete them, even if they are late. These dashes don't have any effect on the grade total. The problem is that the dashes will be turned to zero at the end of the term and zeros don't help the grade! So the final grade could be much different if there are still dashes when the class ends. In that regard the last day to submit homework will be at the time and date of the final exam. After 6 am on that Friday the dashes will be turned to zeros and the score you have will determine your final grade. Because you are able to do this work at any time there will not be any incomplete grades given for this class.

Some cooler days ahead. It will be great weather for being outdoors!

11 August 2020

We are down to the last set of quizzes before the comprehensive final! It seems like we just started!

Three more quizzes are due this Friday and then a short last homework due next Tuesday and the final quiz a week from this Friday. The final quiz will be over the whole class. It will be given one question at a time and you will only have one attempt.

As I have said earlier, if you have any missing assignments now is the time to start getting them done and getting caught up. As you may have noticed the quiz scores remain a dash until you complete them, even if they are late. These dashes don't have any effect on the grade total. The problem is that the dashes will be turned to zero at the end of the term and zeros don't help the grade! So the final grade could be much different if there are still dashes when the class ends. In that regard the last day to submit homework will be at the time and date of the final exam. After 6 am on that Friday the dashes will be turned to zeros and the score you have will determine your final grade. Because you are able to do this work at any time there will not be any incomplete grades given for this class.

It looks like a hot one today. Stay cool!

7 August 2020

Next week combines some short pages and there will only be one pre-quiz and one quiz for the set of four odds-and-ends webpages. Biochemistry will have its own pre-quiz and quiz.

After next week we only have the final exam to go. The final quiz will be cumulative, over the whole class, it will be given one question at a time and you will only have one attempt.

As I have said earlier, if you have any missing assignments now is the time to start getting them done and getting caught up. As you may have noticed the quiz scores remain a dash until you complete them, even if they are late. These dashes don't have any effect on the grade total. The problem is that the dashes will be turned to zero at the end of the term and zeros don't help the grade! So the final grade could be much different if there are still dashes when the class ends. In that regard the last day to submit homework will be at the time and date of the final exam. After 6 am on that Friday the dashes will be turned to zeros and the score you have will determine your final grade. Because you are able to do this work at any time there will not be any incomplete grades given for this class.

Stay safe!

4 August 2020

It looks like a rainy day today! My lawn really needs the water, so that is good. My garden will like it as well. I'm enjoying lots of beans and tomatoes from my little garden. I really like this time of year.

After this week we are down to the last week of content! After that week we only have the final exam to go.

If you have any missing assignments now is the time to start getting them done and getting caught up. As you may have noticed the quiz scores remain a dash until you complete them, even if they are late. These dashes don't have any effect on the grade total. The problem is that the dashes will be turned to zero at the end of the term and zeros don't help the grade! So the final grade could be much different if there are still dashes when the class ends. In that regard the last day to submit homework will be at the time and date of the final exam. After 6 am on that Friday the dashes will be turned to zeros and the score you have will determine your final grade. Because you are able to do this work at any time there will not be any incomplete grades given for this class.

Stay dry!

1 August 2020

Yet another beautiful day!

After studying balanced equations we now turn our attention to some specifics. The most difficult part of this section is likely oxidation/reduction. In these reactions electrons are transferred between atoms. There are a set of rules that allow us to determine an oxidation number for each atom in the reaction, both as reactant and as product. The change in the oxidation number from the reactant to the product tells us how many electrons were gained or lost by that element. If you just apply the rules to each element you will be able to determine the oxidation number and answer the questions.

Send me any questions that you can't seem to find the answer to on the webpage.

28 July 2020

Good morning! I hope you are enjoying the sunshine and heat, but have a place to go to and cool down as well.

More students than usual are late with today's homework. For some of you these concepts may be unfamiliar, but they are accessible if you just take them one at a time and focus on the current concept.

The three concepts that seem to cause the most trouble are moles, unit conversions (dimensional analysis) and balanced equations.

Remember that a mole is just a number. Like a dozen is just a number. A dozen is the number 12, a mole is the number 6.02 x 10²³. Half of a dozen would be 6 and half of a mole would be 3.01 x 10²³. If you treat it as just a number you should do fine.

To do dimensional analysis (unit conversions) you need to understand that conversions are just a matter of using a conversion factor to get from one unit to another. Start with what is given and use the conversion factor to cancel out what you started with and end up with what you want.

If you have two moles of oxygen atoms and want to know how many grams that would be you need a conversion factor going between grams and moles. Conversion factors are usually given to us or we look them up in a table. In this case we can use the conversion factor for oxygen atoms from the periodic table (the atomic weight), 16 g/mole. When you multiply two moles times 16 g/mole the moles will cancel out leaving you with grams. Multiplying these numbers gives 32 grams for the answer.

If you had a dozen eggs they would weigh a certain amount. A dozen apples would weigh a different amount. The periodic table tells us how much a mole of each element weighs (the atomic weight). A mole of oxygen weighs 16 grams (from the periodic table), so oxygen has an atomic weight (molar mass) of 16 g/mole. Half of a mole of oxygen would weigh 8 grams.

A balanced chemical equation has the same moles of each element on both sides of the equation. We often use the smallest whole numbers to write the balanced equation, but they can be any ratio that works and they don't even need to be whole numbers to be balanced. I have given a detailed example on the webpage.

Let me know if you have more questions or would like more examples.

24 July 2020

We now turn our attention to what most people think of when they think about chemistry: chemical reactions.

With this new focus it would be a good time to get caught up with any missing homework.

Take care.

21 July 2020

Good Morning! Another beautiful day! A little hot maybe, but lots of sunshine!

I have eaten most of the peas out of my garden. They are delicious, but I never have enough! The pole beans are coming and I'll be able to munch on them while I'm out and about. I also have two red tomatoes that I will eat soon.

Note that there are some extra review quizzes that will take a little more time due this Friday. The 60-point quiz will be given one question at a time, but you will still have two opportunities to do the quiz. This is more like how they do the standardized exams that some of you are preparing for.

Try to stay cool and enjoy your day!

17 July 2020

We now turn our attention to intermolecular forces. This is a very important concept in our every day lives!

The content homework for Tuesday next week is a little light, but there are some extra review quizzes that will take a little more time and be due next Friday.

Try to stay cool and have a great weekend!

14 July 2020

Good morning everyone! Another beautiful day today. I hope you can enjoy some of it. I have been munching on peas from my garden. Unfortunately I eat them faster than they get ready, so they will be gone before I know it. I have a couple of very large tomatoes, so I'm looking forward to some good tomato sandwiches!

Those who are keeping up are doing great, with most students earning an A so far. Good job! Keep up the good work.

I hope you enjoy learning or at least reviewing some of the basic chemistry that we see all around us.

Continue to let me know if you have questions.

Stay safe!

10 July 2020

Hello everyone! It looks like hot and muggy with a little rain for the weekend. It is good for the lawn and garden, but hopefully you have a cool place to enjoy some of your day.

It looks like most of you have figured out how to take the quizzes that were due this morning. Good job! In case you missed it you can retake the pre-quizzes as many times as you want to, but you only get two tries for the actual quizzes.

We will next look at making compounds and then start thinking about how you make molecules. One of the things that students don't realize is that compounds stay together for very different reasons compared to molecules. By the end of this section you will know the difference and be able to predict some properties.

Let me know if you have questions.

Continue to be vigilant in trying to stay away from the covid-19 virus!

7 July 2020

Good Morning! It seems to be cool and cloudy right now, but it should be a great day. I have a little garden that should do well in this weather if we can just get a touch of sunshine for a while. I'm looking forward to checking my peas this morning. I think there are a couple of pods that are ready. I love to eat them right in the garden. They are so good that none of the peas ever make it into the house!

Most of the class seems to have figured out how to get and do the homework. That is a good sign! A couple of students didn't complete the homework, but it is the first day so it is understandable. The general procedure is that for those students who don't complete the homework on time I put a zero into the page homework and the other homework is marked as late. When the homework is submitted I will replace the zero with your score and then we go from there. These 7-week classes go fast, so don't let yourself get behind. It is acceptable to work ahead, but do the pages in order. Some pages require information from previous pages.

The class is set up to be self-contained, but if you have questions start with an email putting CHE102 in the subject line. If you would like a more direct interaction we can set up a session using the default Canvas discussion board. Just let me know.

I hope you enjoy the class.

Stay safe and healthy!

Chemistry at Work!

Welcome!

Congratulations on signing up for the most interesting class on campus! Where else can you study the principles that govern every physical thing that you interact with? We will be answering one of the most fundamental questions: "Where does everything come from?" Aren't you excited!

I am Dr. David Burgess and I have been guiding students along this path for several years. It is always interesting and fun to do! Together we can see new things and discover some of the hidden treasures of the world around us.

I hope you enjoy the class!

This a completely online course and you have online homework due on the first Tuesday of the second summer term! You may want to get a head start before classes begin by getting through the first homework and the Introductions as soon as you can. Start with the Navigation Page in Modules and use the Next button at the bottom of the pages to proceed through the course. Don't skip any pages!

One question that often comes up after the first homework is: "I have completed all the homework for this week, however I am wondering why on the "To-Do" list it still shows I need to do it? I have received emails for all the homework I have done."

Answer: "There are two general kinds of homework: Page Homework and Quizzes. The page homework isn't automatically put into Canvas. It has to be manually put in and that will usually happen at the time it is due. If you receive a return email, you can assume the instructor also got the email and that it will be put into Canvas as soon as he can get to it. All of the quizzes will go directly to Canvas and should show up soon after you complete them."

Click here to begin!

Even though many students complete this course completely online, even when offered as a hybrid course, if you are concerned about not meeting face-to-face and only communicating through email, consider dropping this online class and taking the hybrid version of the class during the second term in the fall or spring.

Useful links:

Course Navigation and Technical Details for working in Canvas.
The full Syllabus in a new window.
The Academic Policies page for our class in a new window.
The expanded course content outline in a new window.
An optional online Chemistry Textbook, Introduction to Chemistry by Mark Bishop.
The Information Page for students considering this course.
Content pages are also available directly from the Principles of Chemistry Website.

For some of the pages it may ask you to log on to see the homework page. This is normal and necessary to be able to correctly assign you to your homework. The username to logon is your first initial and last name, all lower case and no spaces. If you have trouble logging on to one of our pages or have any other questions contact Dr. Burgess using your Rivier email right away (don't use the Canvas conversation tool).

Introduction Video