Chemistry 1423.002, Honors General Chemistry
Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas
Spring 1999
Listed below are announcements which originally appeared as announcements on the Chemistry 1423 home page.
I must say that I was discouraged and depressed to see how much trouble some of you were having with the exam this morning. I think it should have been straight-forward and if anything, probably too easy. After talking to some of you and then seeing how few of you bothered to show up for recitation, I am even more concerned, discouraged, and depressed. I know that some of you had conflicts this afternoon. If you are among those with such conflicts and you did not let me know, I urge you contact me, rthomas@.unt.edu .
The exam, as always, is available from the exams and quizzes page. However, because most of you did not come to recitation, I am afraid many of you think you missed certain problems (like the lead-acid battery problem) because you did not "memorize" some particular facts....which is still a high school approach to learning science. I am trying desperately to break some of you from this approach, with obviously less than complete success!! You can brute force your way through an introductory course such as this and do pretty well by such mere memorization. However, by doing that, you are missing the whole point of some of these problems. More than that, you will probably not be very well prepared for later science classes. The reason that I spend an entire hour of scheduled class time (recitation) to go over the strategies of these problems for each exam is so that by this time in the class you will have developed these problem solving skills. Unfortunately, I can not help you if you do not show up.
Take the lead-acid battery problem as an example. What is the most important thing you needed to know if you didn't remember the equations (which I would not have expected you to remember---I certainly do not have them memorized)? That one fact is that insoluble PbSO4 is produced at both the anode and the cathode. That is something we discussed in great detail and was reinforced on one of your quizzes. Why is that important? To be rechargeable, you have to have solid products from the discharge of the battery that will still be in electrical contact with the electrodes. That is the reason why lead is used, despite its environmental and health problems, because it produces insoluble compounds (Remember solubility of ionic compounds earlier in the semester?? Lead, silver, and mercury (+1) were the common exceptions to most of the solubility rules.) Now, what if you forgot the electrode materials? Well, they were listed in the second part of the problem....in case you needed a hint. You probably needed to remember that sulfate ion was the other reactant in each case....but you might well have figured that out if you remembered that sulfuric acid was the electrolyte. It is about the only reasonable thing that you could guess would react with Pb to give PbSO4, particularly if you remembered that the electrolyte was sulfuric acid. That sulfuric acid is "battery acid" has been included in our discussions both when we studied acids and bases and again when we studied the lead-acid battery. Did I ask you to know the details of the lead-acid battery? Yes, I did....on at least three different occasions, on at least two different days. I confirmed that with your classmates today. But my point is that even if you didn't know all of the details, the least that I would have expected you to remember is that insoluble PbSO4 is formed at both electrodes. You can figure out everything else. If you didn't know at least that, then what did you think were the important things to know about this battery? I don't ask that facetiously. I am serious about wondering what you thought I expected you to know, given that we spent such a large amount of class time on it.
I can make similar statements about each of the other problems on the exam. I urge you to go over these carefully and think about not only how the problem is done on the answer key, but also how you could solve the problem if you did not remember some key fact. How could you have figured out the forgotten fact from other things that you know or that were given in the problem? Was there an alternative way to do the problem? Those may be the most important things you learn from an exam....things which some of you are not yet learning because you are not coming to recitation when I go over the exams.
If you have questions about your exam after I return them, please come and see me and I will try to help.
Week 15
The reading assignment for Tuesday, May 4, and Thursday, May 6, are the Cumulative Exercises at the end of each chapter we have studied this semester (Chapters 8-14). We will go over these exercises in class. Be prepared to ask questions about the exercises or about other material in the chapters.
There will be an optional quiz on Thursday, May 6, during recitation. It will be based on material covered in class on Tuesday, May 4, (i.e. primarily material related to the cumulative exercises we discuss). This quiz, plus the pH project, make 11 "quizzes". I will drop the lowest quiz score in computing your quiz grade. If you do not take this quiz, it will count as a zero and will be the quiz that is dropped.
Final Exam, Thursday, May 13
The purpose of the final exam is to test your understanding of the material covered in the course and your ability to apply your knowledge both qualitatively and quantitatively. It is not meant to be a test of how well you memorize equations. With that in mind, I will allow each person to use a 3x5 card during the exam containing any information you want. The following rules apply:
- Your name must appear on the top left hand corner of the card. Keep that area free of other information so I can clearly read your name.
- The card must be handwritten (no computer print-outs pasted to the card, etc.)
- The card must be turned in to me no later than the end of recitation on Thursday, May 6.
If you decide to hand in a 3x5 card, I will return it to you the morning of the exam.
The Comprehensive Final Exam is Thursday, May 13, 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Grades
I will ask you on your exam if you wish to have your exam score and your course letter grade posted on the web by exam booklet number. If you answer yes, your exam score and final course grade will be posted on the website as soon as the grades are ready (probably no sooner than about Monday, May 17). Check back here for the appropriate link.
Yes, I curve....I always have. The cut-offs for the final letter grades will include some type of curve.
Week 13, April 19-23
This week we will begin study of Nuclear Chemistry, Chapter 14.
Exam III has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 29. This will cover Chapters 12-14
See the schedule/syllabus page for details.
Week 11, April 5 - 9
Since we did not finish Chapter 12 during lecture on April 1, I will do that first thing on Tuesday. Be sure and read the rest of this chapter before class. As I indicated in class, I expect you to know more about batteries and fuel cells than what is in your text. If you would like additional reading, please see the web page on electrochemistry and the links on that page.
This week we will start Chapter 13, Chemical Kinetics. The assigned reading for each lecture is on the Lecture Schedule Page. I strongly urge you to read this material before lecture. Problems for both Chapters 13 and 14 are now on the Assigned Problems Page.
Attention TAMS students: The ACS Chemistry Olympiad exam will be Saturday, April 10. All TAMS students are eligible. Contact me if you would like additional information. I am willing to go over old exams if there is interest.
Week 10, March 29-April 2
We will finish Chapter 12 this week. For details on the reading assignments, see the syllabus. The assigned problems are on the Assigned Problems page.
There is additional information, including an animation of the demonstration I attempted last week, on a separate web page on electrochemistry. This also includes links to information about fuel cells.
The ACS Chemistry Olympiad exam will be Saturday, April 10. All TAMS students are eligible. Contact me if you would like additional information. I am willing to go over old exams if there is interest.
Week 9, March 22-26
Welcome Back!! I hope you had a great break!!
1. This week we begin Chapter 12, Electrochemistry. Please note: I have changed the syllabus slightly. I inadvertently left off Section 12.7. I think most of you will enjoy this chapter. It has a a lot of practical applications in everyday life, such as batteries. There is additional information and links on a separate web page on electrochemistry. The assigned problems for Chapter 12 are on the Assigned Problems page.
2. The answer key for Exam II is available. A number of people have yet to pick up there exams. (Some of you have yet to pick up Exam I.) See the Missing Assignments and Absences Page for details.
3. 
The
T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project, is an absolutely wonderful spoof on
scientific research by two very creative Rice University
undergraduates. I thought it was lost forever when they
graduated, but I found it again. For the link, as well as some
other crazy things, go to the bizarre
things section of the Cool Stuff page.
Week 8, March 8-12
1. We will finish Chapter 11 on Tuesday and also discuss the Agatha Christie novel. Come prepared to discuss the facts relating to the murder in this book and how the chemistry fits or does not fit with the facts. Problem Set 2, which is based on the novel, is due Tuesday.
2. Exam II is Thursday, March 11. This will cover Chapters 10-11 and the Agatha Christie novel.
3. The Study and Problem Solving Guide which accompanies your text is on reserve in the Chemistry Resource Center, Chemistry Room 119. This has detailed solutions for the odd-numbered problems. The tutors on duty should be able to help you. Please also feel free to stop in and see me for help.
4. Your corrected copies of quiz 4 are in the cubbyholes. Many of you did very poorly on this quiz. It relates to the pH at the equivalence point of a titration. Please note: Calculating the pH at various points of a titration will be at least 50% of your exam on Thursday.
If you would like to see the molecular model of strychinine that I had in class last Tuesday, please come to my office.
Week 7, March 1-5
1. 
This week we will start
our study of solubility equilibria, Chapter 11. I spent
more time reviewing titrations on Tuesday than I had intended,
but I thought it was useful. However, that means that we
will probably move quite quickly through Chapter 11. Check
the lecture schedule
page for details about your reading
assignments (which are to be completed before I
lecture!) and assigned problems.
2. You should also be reading the Agatha Christie novel. Problem Set 2, which is based on the novel and on material from Chapter 11, is due Tuesday.
3. The Study and Problem Solving Guide which accompanies your text is on reserve in the Chemistry Resource Center, Chemistry Room 119. This has detailed solutions for the odd-numbered problems.
4. Exam II is Thursday, March 11. This will cover Chapters 10-11 and the Agatha Christie novel.
5. Corrected quizzes and problem set 1, including your Lewis dot structures of strychnine, are in the cubbyholes.
If you would like to see the molecular model of strychinine that I had in class on Tuesday, please come to my office.
Week 6, Feb. 22-26
1. This week we will continue
our study of acids and bases. As you can probably tell, I really
like this material. I hope you will find the next few lectures
particularly interesting and useful. A major portion of the next
exam will be over this material. Check the lecture schedule page for details about your reading assignments (which
are to be completed before I lecture!) and assigned
problems.
PLEASE NOTE: Thursday's
lecture pulls together everything we have studied thus far on
acids and bases. For that reason, over half of
the next exam will be based on Thursday's lecture.
2. Problem Set 1 is due Thursday, during recitation. Answering these questions will help you as you read the Agatha Christie novel. This requires a trip to the library, so do not put this off until the last minute.
3. The Study and Problem Solving Guide which accompanies your text is on reserve in the Chemistry Resource Center, Chemistry Room 119. This has detailed solutions for the odd-numbered problems.
4.
I have finished grading the first exam. The grades are pretty abysmal, although
comparable to the first two quizzes. If you have questions
about your exam, please do the following: (1) look at
the answer key, available from the Exams and
Quizzes page, then (2) come and see me if you have questions.
Week 5, Feb. 15-19
1. We will begin Chapter 10 on Tuesday. Check the lecture schedule page for details about your reading assignments and assigned problems. Note in particular two additional problem sets which will be due before Spring Break: Problem Set 1 and Problem Set 2.
2.
In
response to your requests at recitation, I have put the Study
and Problem Solving Guide which accompanies your text on
reserve in the Chemistry
Resource Center, Chemistry Room 119. This has detailed
solutions for the odd-numbered problems. Please let me know
if you find this useful.
3. 
Please note: For
Thursday's recitation you will need to bring something to be
tested for pH. See the pH project page for details. You
might also be interested in the results
from last year.
4. 1999 American Chemical Society Chemistry Olympiad. The Dallas Fort Worth Local Chemistry Olympiad Exam will be Saturday, April 10, 1999, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m., Brookhaven College, Farmers Branch, TX. Students may qualify for future competition, including membership on the U.S. team and a trip to Bangkok, Thailand. See my main courses page for more information.
Week 4
1. Graded copies of Quiz 2 will be in the cubbyholes later this afternoon. The grades on these were pretty bad. I urge you to look over these carefully. I will also go over this first thing in class on Tuesday.
2. We will finish Chapter 9 on Tuesday. Check the lecture schedule page for details about your reading assignments and assigned problems.
3. EXAM I (Chapters 8-9) is Thursday.
4. 1999 American Chemical Society Chemistry Olympiad. The Dallas Fort Worth Local Chemistry Olympiad Exam will be Saturday, April 10, 1999, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m., Brookhaven College, Farmers Branch, TX. Students may qualify for future competition, including membership on the U.S. team and a trip to Bangkok, Thailand. See my main courses page for more information.
Week 3
1. The answers to quiz 1 are available here or through the exams and quizzes page. The first problem was similar to information in the notes. The second problem was Problem 14 from your text. Please note that it was nearly identical to Problem 13, which was one of the assigned problems. The graded quizzes should be available in the cubbyholes outside of room 121 sometime Monday. We will go over the quiz at the beginning of class on Tuesday.
2. We will start Chapter 9 this week. Check the lecture schedule page for details about your reading assignment for each lecture and assigned problems.
3. In response to your request for an information sheet about me, I have put together a website of information.
4. I am still missing a few information sheets. Please check the list on line for those I am still missing. I will also be using this site to check my attendance records. More about that later.
Week 1
Welcome to Chemistry 1423!! I am excited about the new semester and I hope you are, too. Please note the following assignments:
1. Learn how to access and use this course web site. Hopefully it will be a continuing source of valuable information. If you have questions or experience any difficulty, please ask. Check this "spotlight" section often for new messages or announcements. As part of your exploration of this site, go to the lecture schedule page and find the reading assignments for each day and the suggested problems for each chapter. Material should be read prior to my lectures. Problems pertaining to the lecture material should be completed by the following lecture.
2. Review Chapter 7 and read Sections 8.1-8.3. Assigned problems are on the assigned problems page.
3. Note that on Tuesday, January 26, you are to bring a completed information sheet with your picture to class.
Written and maintained by R. D. Thomas---Last update January 19, 2001
Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 305070, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203