Agilent Technologies GC-MS

PerkinElmer Spectrum Spotlight 200 FTIR Microscope System

I have mixed feelings about smart devices - they can be a valuable educational resource, but texting, etc is discouraged. What's the point to coming to class if you aren't paying attention?

However, from time to time I will recommend interesting, educational, and fun app's and will use them in lectures and during the recitation. Feel free to download them at that time.

Cell phones need to be either turned off or placed in vibrate mode during lecture. If I see you using one of these devices during testing, I will consider it cheating and give you a zero.

You will learn how to write in the style of a technical journal article. Technical articles in chemistry commonly contain the following sections: (1) Abstract, (2) Introduction, (3) Experimental, (4) Results & Discussion, (5) Conclusion, and (6) References. You will receive handouts explaining the various sections. As shown in the table below, different labs have different sections as the formal writing component. In lab #9 - GC-MS - you will submit a complete formal writeup containing all sections.

There is also a 10 pt writing exercise that emphasizes style issues and illustrates some of the common writing mistakes that I have observed over the years.

All labs are due one week later at 5 PM (e.g. a Tuesday lab means due next Tuesday at 5 PM). The only exception is if there is a Ch 313 exam or university holiday on the due day, in which case the lab is due at 5 PM the next day the university is open.

All writing assignments must be written in Microsoft Word and submitted digitally via email. I then make editorial comments and email it back to you so you can see the changes.

When I give a grade on writing assignments, I give a subjective grade (A+ through F) where the point values are: A+ = 100%, A = 95%, B = 85%, C = 75%, D = 65%, F = write over

Here are the labs that have a formal writing component (see table below for dates):

Lab #1 - Monochromators - Abstract
Lab #2 - UV-Vis - Introduction
Lab #4 - Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy - Experimental Section
Lab #5 - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy - Results & Discussion, Conclusions
Lab #7 - Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - complete formal lab including references

The point breakdown for each lab is -

Labs must be turned in on time or else chaos ensues! The following "late fees" will be assessed starting at 8 AM the day following the due date:

1 day late = 1/4 off, 2 days late = 1/2 off, 3 days late = 3/4 off

You will receive a zero for all labs more than 3 days late. No labs will be accepted past the last day of classes.

SInce this is a writing-intensive course, failure to hand in any lab handout or writing assignment will result in failing the course.

There will be eight 10 min quizzes given at the beginning of each lab related to the lab topic that week.

Each quiz is worth 10 pts, and the questions are usually a reworked homework problem. Links to homework answer keys are available online as Adobe PDF files and can be found in the Syllabus section below.

Your lowest quiz score will be dropped. Since the lowest quiz score is being dropped anyway, there will be no make-ups on quizzes. If you miss three quizzes total (including the one you drop), then you fail the class.

There are no make-up exams except for University sanctioned events, in which case please see me a week in advance for an alternative testing time. In the event of an unexpected emergency, then -

Midterms: Family-related emergencies or deaths must be communicated through the Office of Student Affairs (838-8221) and broadcast to all your professors. Illnesses must be accompanied by a note from your doctor. Under these conditions there are two options for replacing the midterm score:

(1) If the exam hasn't been handed back to the class yet, then arrange a make-up time with me.

(2) If the exam has already been returned to the class, then I will replace the missing hour exam score by taking 30% of the percentage you receive on the final exam (since it is a 200 pt exam) and 40% of the other midterm score. This option can obviously only be used once.

Final exam: University policy states that the final exam time will not be moved for any reason. Please do not ask to take the final early because you want to leave for vacation early! There are humanitarian exceptions - see me if there's a problem. Again, if you miss the final and follow the same procedure listed above under midterms, then I will give you an incomplete and you can take the final in a future class section to make it up (see Incompletes section below).

Grading will be no harder than 90% A, 80% B, 70% C, 60% D, < 60% F

LAB DESCRIPTIONS - all labs involve heavy use of spreadsheets and word processors for data analysis and reports.