Syllabus components:

 

Welcome to CH111/181 Intensive General and Quantitative Analytical Chemistry Lab. This is the first semester of a year-long laboratory course intended for chemistry concentrators, biochemistry concentrators, physical/biological science majors, and interested students who require a one-year intensive course in chemistry.

By the end of this course students will (i) be able to properly use analytical glassware and associated lab equipment, (ii) understand the basic principles and operation of absorption spectrophotometers, (iii) be able to use basic statistics and graphing software to analyze experimental data, (iv) start developing an understanding of the chemical principles behind various analytical methods (such as gravimetric analysis and titrations), and (v) be introduced to concepts that are part of the process of scientific communication – preparing tables and figures, outlining an argument, and preparing a scientific report.

This syllabus is designed to answer many questions you may have. Please read it through and then keep it bookmarked to reference throughout the semester.

 

Course staff

This course is given by Dr. Binyomin Abrams:

The lab teaching fellows (TFs) and learning assistants (LAs) for this course are:

        
  • Sandy Zhang (L1 and L3)
  • Alexander Hino (L2 and L4)
                  
  • Jacqui Thiesen (L1)
  • Kathleen Snook (L2)
  • Linda Zuckerman (L3)
  • Annelise Hushka (L4)

All members of the course staff are available for consultation during their office hours and by appointment. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend any of the office hours listed to discuss lab work and ask questions about the lab portion of the course (questions about the lecture/discussion portions of the course should be directed to those instructors).

Emergency questions that you may have about the lab portion of the course can be sent to ch111-questions@bu.edu. E-mails sent to this address will reach all of the course staff simultaneously.

Personal and sensitive matters should emailed directly to the course instructor.

 

Texts and equipment

Required materials

The required materials for the course are available at the Boston University Bookstore:

  1. Abrams, B. Analytical Chemistry Lab Manual (2017-2018 ed.); Kendall-Hunt: Dubuque, IA 2017.
  2. Laboratory notebook, Hayden McNeil Publishing, ISBN 1-930882-23-8.
  3. Lab coat
  4. Approved face-forming safety goggles (UVEX Futura). Safety glasses are not acceptable.
  5. Scientific (non-graphing, non-programmable) calculator (recommended: http://goo.gl/uRZQ8K).
  6. Top Hat account (see below)
  7. Recommended, but not required: Harris, D. C. Exploring Chemical Analysis, 5th ed.; W. H. Freeman and Company.

All of the above items are required by all students, except for Harris. You must have procured these items before the first lab session. Harris is a good reference for analytical procedure and is highly recommended (either the 4th or 5th edition).

Classroom response system and other electronic devices in lecture/discussion

We will be using Top Hat for in-class quizzes, pre-lecture work, and other assessment.

You will be able to submit answers to in-class questions using Apple or Android smartphones and tablets. You can visit the Top Hat Overview within the Top Hat Success Center which outlines how you will register for a Top Hat account, as well as provides a brief overview to get you up and running on the system. The course join code for the lab portion of CH111 in Fall 2017 is 412165, and your account for Top Hat must use your BU email address (ending in @bu.edu) in order for you to get credit for your work on Top Hat.

We have arranged a special discount for students buying Top Hat through this course: a lifetime Top Hat license is discounted for you to $60. If you plan to take Organic Chemistry next year, this is likely the most economical choice.

We will use Top Hat for classroom engagement, periodic attendance, and some quizzes; that said, recent studies (click here) have shown that taking notes with electronic devices (computers, tablets, etc.) leads to lower performance by students on exams. For this reason, we require that you take notes using the traditional pen and paper mode. Similarly, while you will use your cellphones or tablets for answering Top Hat questions, make sure to keep them down when they are not in use so that you might best benefit from the lectures.

 

Important Information

Communication

Periodic e-mails will be sent to the entire class using the BU-link (registrar’s online information system). Make sure that you check your BU e-mail address regularly so that you do not miss any important messages.

Schedule

The detailed course schedule can be found here and at the end of this document. The course consists of two required components:

  • Pre-lab lecture: Mondays 12:20pm-1:10pm in LAW Auditorium
  • Lab:
    • L1: Wednesdays 12:20-4:20pm in SCI 153
    • L2: Wednesdays 12:20-4:20pm in SCI 160
    • L3: Wednesdays 5:30-9:30pm in SCI 153
    • L4: Wednesdays 5:30-9:30pm in SCI 160
  • Writing conference (not yet on your schedule; this is scheduled with your writing fellow) – this component is mandatory given that CH111/112 counts for WR150.

Students are required to attend all of the lab meetings of their registered section and all lab lectures (where important details that will not necessarily be disseminated at any other times will be discussed). Make sure to plan holiday (Thanksgiving, spring break, etc.) travel so that you don't miss any scheduled course meetings. Some recorded lectures will be posted to the Echocenter in the course blackboard website.

Safety, course policies, and academic conduct

A discussion of lab safety guidelines, the course pedagogy, and course-specific policies can be found in the Course Policies section of this website and in the first part of your lab manual. All students are required to read through those sections before the beginning of the first experiment. Additionally, helpful guidelines for preparing course assignments and laboratory notebooks are presented in the Resources section of the website and in the Appendix of the lab manual. All students are responsible for following the course policies and regulations at all times.

All students at Boston University are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity. Details about academic integrity, including specific details about laboratory courses, are presented in the Course Policies section of this website and the first part of the course lab manual. All students are required to read through those sections before the beginning of the first experiment.

 

Lab components and assessment

Pre-lab assignments

Pre-lab assignments are at the end of each lab in the lab manual. The completed sheets are removed from the lab manual and must be submitted to the supervising TF before the beginning of the lab section. Late pre-labs are not accepted. In general, pre-lab assignments will typically consist of a few calculations, or questions, that are relevant to the lab that is about to be performed. Doing well on these assignments is a good indicator of preparedness for the lab - make sure to work on them in advance (and it is advisable to keep copies of your work for reference when doing the post-lab).

Lab notebooks

Use of the lab manual in the lab is not permitted; students arriving without an appropriately-prepared notebook will not be allowed to complete the lab. All work in the lab must be done directly from your notebook – the correct academic, and industrial, lab practice. The duplicate notebook pages must be submitted before leaving the lab, and the use of proper lab notebook technique will be part of your assessments. Detailed instructions for preparing lab notebooks to be used in lab can be found in the Resources section of the website and in the Appendix of the lab manual.

Quizzes

There will be unannounced quizzes given at the start of some labs, and clicker quizzes will be given in pre-lab lecture. They will test you on the labs that you’ve just completed or are about to complete (based on the pre-lab lecture material). Late arrivals will not be allowed extra time for quizzes. Quizzes are only given at the scheduled time -- a missed quiz counts as a 0.

Post-lab assignments

Post-labs are submitted on Blackboard and are due 2 hours before the beginning of your scheduled lab period. In some cases, the system will take submissions after the due date. Late submissions will either not be graded or will receive a substantial penalty.

Receipts from Turnitin: Turnitin will send a confirmation email that your submission has been received. Make sure that you've received this email, or your assignment has not been received. Also, make sure to only submit PDF files or Turnitin will cause major (bad) structural changes to your paper -- submitting a PDF makes it so that the instructor will evaluate the paper as you intended them to see it.

These assignments will be either (1) a series of questions related to the lab and your data, or (2) a scholarly paper with related data analysis. Detailed instructions and guidelines for preparing post-lab assignments can be found in in the Resources section of the website and in the Appendix of the lab manual.

Students names and section numbers need to be included on all pages of the submission.

Writing Scholarly Papers

A detailed guide to writing successful science research papers is found at the end of your lab manual. We will not use the entire guide, but will reference individual sections in the first several chapters as the course proceeds. The remaining chapters are useful reference, but will not be assigned.

Lab material on exams

There will be a significant number of lab questions on all lecture exams, and they will cover the material covered in pre-lab lecture, the lab manual, and in the laboratory (including post-lab assignments).

BU Chemistry Writing Program

Through a joint initiative of the Chemistry department and the CAS Writing Program, students completing the CH111/112 sequence will receive equivalency for the WR150 course - research based writing. The writing assignments are an integral component of the CH111 course and students are required to complete them in order to pass the course.

 

Grading

Overall lab grade

In addition to the lab material that will be featured in the exams, the lab is worth 25% of the overall CH111 course grade. The approximate breakdown of the points is:

Component Points
Labs and Writing 750
Quizzes and Participation 150
Performance 100

Letter grades are not assigned to individual labs or to the lab component of the course. Course letter grades are assigned based on your total score for the course (lecture and lab). As this is a more advanced freshmen chemistry course, do not expect “High School”-type scores; in other words, an “A” is not a 93, an “A-” is not a 90, etc.

Moreover, there can be a relatively steep learning curve when starting quantitative analytical chemistry. The most important thing is that you should work as hard as you can and strive to continually improve your learning and performance throughout the course. In the lab, an “A” grade would represent excellence and consistently meeting the expectations of the lab portion of the course on assignments; a “B” corresponds to a good mastery of the material and mostly meeting the course expectations; a “C” represents being consistently below expectations; and a “D” corresponds to insufficient mastery of the course material.

Individual labs

Typical experiments will be graded based on some, or all, of the following components: pre-lab assignment, notebook pages, data, and post-lab assignment. Exact breakdowns will be lab-dependent.

The lab practical is a special in-lab exercise designed to evaluate you on your learning of proper lab techniques, basic statistical analysis, and analytical thinking. Details will be supplied at a later date.

Performance

Your performance during the labs will be evaluated by your lab instructor (TF). These assessments will include proper lab etiquette, following course policies, demonstrating proficiency with techniques that are taught, and instrumentation use. It is important to remember that you should work efficiently and safely at all times. Exceptional performance will lead to an increased assessment score. Infractions in lab safety and etiquette will result in a lowered assessment score. Repeated infractions may result in your ejection from the lab.

Note: not following explicit instructions of a TF or LA, or talking back to them, is completely unacceptable. Students not following the instructions of their TF will be ejected from the lab. This is unsafe and irresponsible. If you feel that your TF is wrong/incorrect: have them contact the course instructor immediately.

Questions regarding grades

Any question concerning the grading of a lab must be brought to the attention of the grading TF within a reasonable amount of time (usually 1 week) of when it is returned to you; material will not be accepted for regrading after a long delay. If, after having met with grading TF you are still uncertain about your grade, you should bring the graded work to the lab course instructor. Be sure that you have made no alterations in your work.

 

Tips and hints

While many students enter college already well-versed in chemical theory, they often find themselves lacking in some of the fundamentals of experimental techniques. This course is designed to walk a student through the basics of analytical chemistry. There is no pre-requisite knowledge of lab techniques, but they will build-up quickly.

Make sure to use the course staff (and their office hours) and study groups to get the answers to any questions that you have. The best approach is to always make sure that you know what you are doing, and why you are doing it, and if you don’t understand something then ask questions.

In the past, students have best been able to manage their workload with good time management. Students should be reading the textbook and lab manual before their lecture on Mondays. Pre-lab assignments, and notebook pages, are best completed soon after lecture in order be prepared for lab. Break-up working on the post-lab assignment: consider doing the data analysis in the day or two after the lab period, and then polishing/completing the assignment (sometimes with help at office hours) later in the week.

Tutorial sessions (a.k.a. office hours)

You are strongly encouraged to attend office hours frequently. They are a great opportunity to work through problem in groups, get support from course instructors, and ask questions. Note: you do not need to have a question or an appointment to attend these open hours. Rather, come frequently and maximize your effort by getting support. These tutorial sessions are helpful for all students.

An important note about getting answers to your questions: e-mail is not a replacement for office hours. While instructors will certainly respond to personal, private, and urgent matters by email, they will not be regularly answering content-related questions by email. To get answers from instructors, please attend any of the office hours.


This is a tentative syllabus and is subject to change at any time. Students are expected to conform to these instructions and any other instructions given throughout the semester.


Updated Monday, October 23, 2017 9:57 AM