Welcome to CH101 General Chemistry. This is the first semester of a year-long course intended primarily for science majors, pre-medical students, engineering students who require a one-year course, and other interested students.
The course is given by Prof. Binyomin Abrams (A1), Dr. Klaudja Caushi (A2), Prof. Xi Ling (A3), and Prof. Keying Chen (A4).
Discussion sections are led by a talented team of discussion leaders with the support of undergraduate learning assistants.
Prof. Keying Chen (SCI 452B) is in charge of the laboratory portion of CH101 as well as section scheduling. The labs are led by a talented team of graduate teaching fellows.
Getting answers to questions:
All members of the course staff are available for consultation during their office hours. Attending office hours is the best way to get answers to your questions and get support in CH101. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend any of the office hours listed to discuss questions about the lecture/discussion portion of the course (questions about the lab portion of the course should be directed to the lab instructors).
Content-related questions, and logistics questions not answered in the syllabus, can also be posted to the Piazza online discussion forum. Piazza is a great way to collaborate with your peers and get support during times when there are not office hours (nights and weekends). The Piazza forum can be accessed at: https://piazza.com/bu/fall2023/casch101
All course content questions (i.e., problem solving and concepts) are answered in office hours, discussion, lecture, or on Piazza.
If you have questions of a personal or private nature, please send them to ch101-questions@bu.edu E-mails sent to this address will reach all of the course instructors simultaneously, and the appropriate instructor will respond as soon as they are able. We ask that you please do not email course staff individually.
Please note: e-mail is not a replacement for attending office hours, and e-mail is not an effective way to get answers to content or logistics questions. While instructors will certainly respond to personal, private, and urgent matters by email, they will not answer content or logistics-related questions by email. Questions about content or logistics should be posted on Piazza or brought to office hours.
The following materials are all available at the Barnes Noble @ Boston University.
All of the above items are required by all students. You must have procured them before the first lecture.
A student solutions manual is available from the same sites as above. That said, we do not recommend purchasing the solutions manual for two reasons: (1) data collected from previous years has shown that students who use the solutions manual for studying score lower in the course(!) and (2) it contains numerous errors that can be very inconvenient. The solutions manual is a very ineffective, and potentially harmful, study tool. If you do choose to purchase it, suggestions for how to get the most out of the textbook and solutions manual are here. Instead of using the solutions manual: we highly recommend working in study groups and attending any of the many course office hours (i.e., free tutoring!).
The course consists of five required components:
Completely optional (but highly recommended) component of CH101:
Office hours (i.e., free tutoring): are a great way to get support in your work, learn more about chemistry, and get to know your peers and instructors. You never need an appointment or even a question, and all students are invited to attend any of the posted office hours (even with other instructors). Click here for the complete schedule of office hours.
Students are required to attend all of the sections (lecture, discussion, pre-lab lecture, and lab) for which they are registered. Unfortunately, given the large size of the course (more than 700 students!), we do not have the flexibility to allow students to switch between different sections. If you are registered for a section that conflicts with your schedule, please immediately correct your schedule so that you are able to attend all required sections.
Important note: if you are currently registered for a section that does not work with your schedule (due to conflicts), please unregister from that section to make room for students who can take that section. If all of the sections that work with your schedule are currently full, please add the appropriate waitlist section: AX is for lecture, BX is for discussion, MX is for lab, or PX is for pre-lab lecture. We will do our best to accommodate all students in these sections (though we cannot guarantee it).
Questions about scheduling should be addressed directly to Professor Chen at ch101-questions@bu.edu.
There will be a total of six quizzes, roughly every 2 to 3 weeks throughout the semester. The quizzes will be given on Monday evenings at 6:30pm. The quiz schedule includes the dates of the quizzes. The final quiz will be given during the final exam period (details are below). The final quiz will be on Tuesday, 19 December 2023 at 6pm. The final quiz will only be given at that time.
Chemistry is a cumulative discipline, which means that the ability to learn later topics in the course (and in subsequent courses) is strongly tied to mastering prior topics. As such, each quiz will be cumulative, though most of the questions will be based on new material since the previous quiz. Do expect, however, that roughly 10-15% of each quiz (after quiz 1) will be cumulative material. The exact topic cutoff for each quiz will be posted at the end of the preceding week.
Your quiz score will be the average of your six quizzes. That said, no one is perfect; moreover, there are many reasons why someone might have to miss a quiz (emergencies, close family events, illness, etc.). We get that! So please do not worry about missing (or doing less than great on) one quiz: for all students in the course, the score on their "final quiz" (cumulative final quiz given during the final exam period) will replace the one lowest (or missed) quiz grade. What that also means is this: if you are happy with your course score before the final quiz, and you have not missed any quizzes, then you do not need to take the final quiz!
A few example scenarios:
We have designed the course as an introduction to general chemistry that integrates laboratory explorations with the development of the analytical tools necessary to understand and guide those explorations.
Our goal is to help you share in our excitement for and the wonder of science, to challenge you to excel, to give you a sense of empowerment about science, and to encourage you to continue studying in science and chemistry. We intend to focus especially on what are the core ideas of chemistry.
The primary goal of the lab is to develop the skills necessary for work in upper-level science labs and research. Additionally, the experiments will highlight the concepts and ideas taught in the lecture and help students deepen their understanding of general chemistry.
In this semester we cover McQuarrie et al., chapters 1 through 14.
The complete schedule lecture topics and assigned homework problems can be found here.
The detailed schedule of the laboratory component of CH101 is posted on Blackboard under "Lab Content."
The laboratory part of the course will let you see the chemical principles and processes in action. It will also give you experience with some of the methods scientists use to do chemical research.
The course grade is based on your overall course score; we do not assign letter grades to quizzes, labs, or any course component. The components of the overall score are shown below.
| Component | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Preparation for lecture with assigned pre-lecture videos | 5% |
| Lecture engagement based on clicker responses | 5% |
| Discussion engagement and participation | 5% |
| Laboratory | 20% |
| Quiz score | 65% |
Course grades are assigned based on the overall scores at the end of the course. The following (tentative) grading scheme will be used to assign course grades based on your score in the course. Please note that we reserve the right to lower cutoff numbers (making achieving a grade easier) but we will not raise them. However, please do not count on them changing.
Starting after quiz #2, we will provide each student with their "overall score so far." These overall scores so far will take into account all of the scores on the work completed so far (pre-lecture videos, participation in lecture, engagement in discussion, quizzes, and lab) following the percentages listed above. In this way, you will have a measure of how you are doing at that point in the course.
Your overall score so far will be available on Blackboard
Please note that the overall score so far will not take in account dropping of the lowest lab, accommodations for absences from lectures or discussion, or any bonus points. This will all be done only at the end of the semester.
Example calculation: Consider, for example, a student with the following scores at some point during the course: 100% pre-lecture video completion, 100% lecture participation and engagement, 100% in discussion participation, 80% quiz average, and 90% lab average. The overall score so far for this student would be:
(Note about the above example: if this student missed one quiz, then their non-missed quizzes will be used for the quiz average. This student will have to take the "final quiz" to replace their missed quiz.)
Quizzes are graded and returned to the class immediately through Gradescope. We highly recommend that all students review their graded quizzes right away so that they can identify areas that still require improvement. As we said above, Chemistry is a cumulative discipline and so it will be important for students to attend office hours to address any areas of needed improvement!
Since the quizzes are returned immediately, unfortunately that means that makeup quizzes are not possible. Please make sure to note the dates of quizzes in your calendar and make plans accordingly. Of course, it is perfectly reasonable that there may be a circumstance beyond your control that necessitates missing a quiz (emergencies, close family events, illness, etc.). We get that! So please do not worry about missing one quiz. If you miss one quiz then the score on the cumulative "final quiz" will replace your missed quiz.
Grading mistake? We do our best to make sure that all quizzes are graded fairly and accurately, though mistakes can occur with a class of this size. All of the grading rubrics will be visible on Gradescope so that you can check your work. To ensure fairness, all quizzes are graded with same rubrics, so requests for additional credit (beyond what is on the rubrics) for incorrect answers cannot be entertained. If you review your quiz and you believe that you answered a question correctly, but credit was not awarded: please print a copy of that quiz, annotate the question that you believe was graded incorrectly based on the rubric, and submit the printout to your teaching fellow (TF) at the conclusion of your discussion section the same week as the quiz. Regrade requests are only handled in writing and in this manner, and they are not accepted after the allotted time.
A missed lab counts as 0. The lowest lab score will be dropped at the end of the semester.
If, due to unusual circumstances, such as a documented prolonged illness, you miss more than one lab, please contact Professor Chen (ch101-questions@bu.edu) as soon as possible so that special arrangements can be made to catch up with your work.
Regrades on lab work: Any question concerning the grading of laboratory assignment must be brought to the attention of your laboratory teaching fellow during the next lab session after it was returned to you; material will not be accepted for regrading afterwards. Print out your graded worksheet (from gradescope) and annotate the questions you wish re-graded and your reasons for believing that they were graded incorrectly. The entire work will be re-graded.
Learning chemistry — the molecular basis for life — is a very rewarding endeavor, but also one that requires persistence, diligence, and hard work. The single most important thing you can do is to diligently work out answers to as many problems in the textbook as you can. At a minimum, we highly recommend that you complete all of the assigned problems, recording your work as you go. While these problems will not be collected, a good portion of each quiz will be comprised of problems from the assigned homework.
Participation and engagement in the classes, which counts for 10% of your course grade (plus the opportunity for bonus points - see below), is a good start towards your goals of learning chemistry, but it will also be crucial that you plan to spend a significant amount of time outside of class time solving problems. In general, instructors recommend that you spend about 2-3 hours outside of class for every hour of instructional time solving problems. That means approximately 8-12 hours per week over and above the scheduled class contact hours.
Studying in groups has been shown to be very productive in courses like Chemistry. Working through problems with peers around is a great way to learn. If you get stuck, you have a friend to help you; and helping to teach others is one of the best ways to master the material. We highly recommend forming study groups and working together frequently on the problems. There is no competition for grades in CH101 - every student can get the highest possible grade (A). That means that working together can only ever help you and your peers.
If you are willing to devote this time, and you spend it wisely and effectively, you will be able to perform your best. The course teaching staff will hold office hours throughout each week. These office hours are a great place to work on problems with the support of instructors and peers. You never need an appointment to attend an office hour, and all students are invited and welcome to all of the scheduled hours. The schedule of office hours is here.
Chemistry is a quantitative science and understanding of its concepts is cemented by solving problems. The text offers many problems for you to attempt. For success you should do as many of these as you can. If you run into trouble with the problems (which is completely normal), you should come to office hours or work with your study group to get support.
Each chapter will have a minimum number of assigned problems. Completing these is a top priority in order to make sure that you've learned the material and are ready for the quizzes. A good portion of the quiz questions will come directly from the assigned homework problems.
Important note about using solutions manuals (or sites): a significant amount of evidence has shown that using resources like the solutions manual, online sites that provide worked-out solutions, etc., leads to worse outcomes in courses like general chemistry. While it may be tempting to refer to solutions provided to you, doing so does not let you build the necessary problem-solving skills that you will need to master General Chemistry! It is for that reason that we strongly recommend that you avoid using the solutions manual (or sites that provide solutions). Remember: you're not being graded on your homework, so it is counterproductive to use these resources to get answers. (Also, the solutions manual and all of these sites have many, many mistakes! They will lead you down the wrong path.)
So what should you do if you get stuck? Here are a few suggestions:
Chemistry is cumulative discipline - the concepts and skills learned early in the course will continue to be revisited throughout the course (and subsequent courses). Learning later topics will necessitate mastering earlier concepts. To that end, all of the quizzes are cumulative; while most of a quiz will be focused on new material, you should expect about 10-15% cumulative material on each quiz (after quiz 1).
But it's never too late to master the material! The "final quiz" is designed to give you the opportunity to demonstrate that you've mastered the material, even if you struggled at first. That means that your lowest quiz score (or a missed quiz) will be replaced by your score on the final quiz.
So if you find that you haven't mastered a concept yet - that's ok! Please join us at any of the office hours and we are happy to work with you to master the topics! The schedule of office hours is here.
All students are responsible for following the course policies listed in this syllabus.
It is the responsibility of all members of the Boston University community to ensure that every individual is treated with respect. In the Chemistry Department and CH101 we are committed to ensuring an inclusive and diverse community of learning. Diversity can refer to multiple ways that we identify ourselves, including but not limited to race, color, national origin, language, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry, belief, veteran status, or genetic information. We must work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion not only because diversity fuels academic excellence, but because our community must be committed to the pursuit of justice. Each of us is responsible for ensuring and promoting a diverse and inclusive learning environment.
Recent studies have shown that taking notes with laptops or having your cellphone out in class leads to lower performance by students in classes and on quizzes and exams. Moreover, the presence of these devices has also been shown to negatively impact neighboring peers. For this reason, we do not permit cell phones or computers in any component of CH101 (lecture, discussion, pre-lab lecture, or lab). Instead, it is strongly recommended that you take notes using the traditional pen and paper mode.
Make sure that your cell phones are kept in your bags at all times during class (lectures, discussion, pre-lab lecture, labs, and quizzes) so that you are able to get the most out of class time and that you do not negatively affect your learning. Taking notes with tablets (iPad, Surface, and equivalent devices) is permitted provided that they are set in airplane mode before class.
We realize that some of you may want to use cameras to make images of the lecture slides, etc. However, since all lectures are recorded, you have full access to everything that is being presented. Moreover, since all of the lectures are recorded and posted, you can take the lecture time to take notes, solve problems, answer questions, and ask questions; if you miss something, you will always be able to go back and re-watch that part of lecture.
Effective preparation for lecture is crucial for gaining the most benefit out of class time. For that reason, we have developed a series of question-embedded videos (QEVs) to help you prepare for lectures. All of these pre-lecture video assignments will be posted on Blackboard.
A portion of your course grade (5%) will be awarded based on the on-time completion of the assigned videos, so make sure to work through the videos ahead of the assigned lectures! Do not worry if you don't get all of the embedded questions right - your thoughtful effort will get you full credit, even if you get some questions wrong!
Please note: you need to watch the video all the way to the end to get credit (until the video says that you're done), otherwise Blackboard won't give you credit!
The full schedule, including what videos are due before which lectures, can be found here.
In addition to traditional lecture presentations, lecture time will also include interactive group-based problem solving. Students will use Point Solutions clickers to answer questions in class. A portion of your course grade (5%) will be awarded based on your participation in lecture through PointSolutions. You are not graded on answering these questions correctly, but on your effort and engagement.
Bonus points with clickers: the 5% of your course score for clickers in lecture is only for participation. You could get every question wrong all semester (which we hope is not the case!) and still get full credit in the course as long as you've answered them all. But working hard to answer these questions (in collaboration with your peers in lecture) is an important part of learning the material. As such, you will get bonus points on your overall course score for the percent of questions that you answer correctly (up to 2% of the course score)!
Cell phones and computers are not permitted in lecture. Tablets may be used in Airplane mode only.
All students will participate in their scheduled discussion sections each week. Each discussion will primarily involve small group problem solving. During the small group work, students will work in groups (of 3 or 4 students) on problem solving (selected book problems and other problems), interactive exercises, and class-wide discussions. The discussion leader and undergraduate learning assistant (LA) will be facilitators and mentors in discussion, working with groups to help them on their work.
Students are expected to arrive on time and to actively participate in all of the lecture and discussion sections. A portion of your course grade (5%) will be awarded based on your discussion work, including (on-time) attendance and engagement (in group work and class-wide exercises) in discussion.
Cell phones and computers are not permitted in discussion. Tablets may be used in Airplane mode only.
All students at Boston University are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity. The Chemistry Department treats cheating with zero tolerance. Here, cheating refers to any violation of the student academic conduct code. There are no small infractions. All instances of misconduct will be reported to the Dean's office. It is the responsibility of every student to be aware of the Academic Conduct Code’s contents and to abide by its provisions, as detailed at:
http://www.bu.edu/academics/resources/academic-conduct-code/
Please note: using another student's clicker, or giving your clicker to another student, is a violation of the Academic Conduct Code.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and resources are becoming more common and accessible. Nevertheless, all students in Chemistry are expected to refrain from use of AI (e.g., GenAI, Chat GPT, etc.) for all work in this course. Any work written, developed, created, edited, or inspired by AI is considered plagiarism and will not be tolerated. While the evolving and exciting new developments with AI will certainly find their place in our future work lives, they do not belong in fundamental education at this point in time. College is a space for learning to think and developing skills, and this course is specifically a space for learning the skills related to chemistry, which includes writing and argumentation; AI tools can only serve to rob you of the opportunity to learn these critical skills.
Students at Boston University are required to abide by all of regulations regarding academic integrity and conduct, including the proper use of technology and digital resources. Course materials are provided by faculty for your personal use in the course only. Any other use of these materials including, but not limited to, posting of materials online in forums or websites, is a copyright violation and a violation of the academic conduct code. Additionally, materials submitted for course credit (papers, quizzes, exams, etc.) are similarly not permitted to be used or posted.
Attendance at all lectures, lab lectures, discussions, and labs is mandatory. Students must attend their assigned lecture, lab lecture, discussion, and lab, and are expected to arrive on-time. Unfortunately, the large size of this course (>700 students) makes it impossible to allow students to attend other sections. Lecture and discussion participation and engagement will count for 10% of your course grade.
Your participation grade will be based on your engagement, prompt attendance, and contributions in lecture and discussion. It is completely understandable that some students may miss a lecture, lab lecture, or discussion due to unforeseen circumstances. As a result, we will make the following adjustments for all students in CH101:
In this way, all students will be able to succeed in the course. Missed classes due to religious observances will never affect your score adversely.
If you become ill, we require that you follow the protocols mandated by the University under those circumstances. The course attendance and engagement policies already reflect substantial flexibility to allow for absences of short to moderate length due to illness. Please make sure to contact the course instructors immediately (ch101-questions@bu.edu) about any prolonged absences that are not already covered by the course absence policy (above). In such cases, we will work with the CAS Dean's office to determine the best course of action for any given student.
Absences for documented religious observances will be excused according to the specifications of the University Policy on Religious Observance. If you might be absent due to a religious observance, make sure to communicate by email to ch101-questions@bu.edu about religious observances as far in advance as possible (and no later than one week before the observance, per university policy) so that accommodations can be arranged.
The Office of Disability and Access Services (25 Buick street, Suite 300) is responsible for assisting students with disabilities. If you have a disability, you are strongly encouraged to register with this office. Lecture hall and discussion rooms are accessible and ADA compliant.
Learning and testing accommodation: Boston University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability, you must present your letter of accommodation from the Office of Disability and Access Services directly to the course instructors as soon as possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations, contact the Office of Disability and Access Services. Letters of accommodations should be presented by e-mail to ch101-questions@bu.edu as soon as possible to ensure that student needs are addressed from the start of the course. At a minimum, they must be submitted at least one week before any assessments to which they will apply. Instructors are not able to provide accommodations without documentation from Boston University's Office of Disability and Access Services.
The syllabus, course descriptions, lab manual, and all handouts and assessments created for this course, and all class lectures, are copyrighted by the course instructors. The materials and lectures may not be reproduced in any form or otherwise copied, displayed or distributed, nor should works derived from them be reproduced, copied, displayed or distributed without the written permission of the instructors. Infringement of the copyright in these materials, including any sale or commercial use of notes, assessments, summaries, outlines or other reproductions of lectures, constitutes a violation of the copyright laws and is prohibited. Please note in particular that distributing, receiving, selling, or buying class notes, assessments, lecture notes or summaries, lab reports or related materials, or similar materials both violates copyright and interferes with the academic mission of the College, and is therefore prohibited in this class and will be considered a violation of the student code of responsibility that is subject to academic sanctions.
If you are experiencing difficulty, please contact your course instructor without delay.
During the semester we will provide each student with an updated overall course score so far, on a 1000-point scale, that reflects their work completed in the course so far (quizzes, labs, and participation). In this way, you will have a measure of how you are doing at that point in the course.
If dropping the course appears to be in your best interest, we still would like to work through the decision with you. We are also happy to advise you on appropriate choices for your academic program. If you drop the course by Tuesday, 10 October 2023, no record of it will appear on your transcript. After that date, until the end of the day Monday, 13 November 2023, you may drop the course but with a W grade (withdrawn). If you must drop the course, note that CH101 will be given during the Spring, Summer, and Fall sessions of 2024.
The Chemistry department has a Digital Suggestions Box. If you have suggestions, feedback, or concerns that are best addressed directly to the department, please go online and leave your anonymous feedback here.
Students will identify and apply major concepts used in the natural sciences to explain and quantify the workings of the physical world. These concepts include the following: matter is composed of atoms; elements form \families"; bonds form between atoms by sharing electron pairs; shape is of the utmost importance; molecules interact with one another; energy is conserved; energy and matter tend to disperse; there are barriers to reaction; and light and matter can exchange energy. Students will learn about the process by which scientific theories are developed, refined, refuted, and confirmed.
Students will demonstrate their understanding of core conceptual and theoretical tools used in quantitative reasoning, particularly mathematics, as a tool for the exposition and manipulation of chemical concepts and for formulating a connection between microscopic models of matter and its macroscopic properties.
Students will interpret quantitative models of how energy and light interact with atoms or molecules and understand a variety of methods of communicating these, such as graphs, including spectra, tables, formulae, and chemical symbols.
Students will communicate quantitative information about chemical and physical objects and their properties us- ing chemical symbols, visually with sketches, numerically with estimated or computed values, and verbally using appropriate chemical nomenclature.
Students will recognize and articulate the capacity and limitations of quantitative methods such as dimensional analysis and the risks of using it improperly.
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