Gen Chem III Spring 2021

General Chemistry III

Welcome! General Chemistry III is an expansion and continuation of the topics covered
in your previous chemistry classes with a focus on advanced kinetics, different types of
equilibria, acid-base chemistry, buffers, solubility, complex ions, hybrid orbital theory,
and molecular orbital theory contextualized with the major sub-disciplines of chemistry.

Core Instructors:
The faculty listed below comprise the Spring 2021 General Chemistry III Team. Each
instructor has different roles in the course, but we are all here to help you be successful
in this course. Your Chemistry Learning Community (CLC) leader will be your primary
contact for the course.

Dr. Tsvetan Aleksandrov Email: taleksan@calpoly.edu

Dr. Jay Erker Email: erker@calpoly.edu
Dr. Jennifer Retsek Email: jretsek@calpoly.edu
Dr. David Zigler Email: dzigler@calpoly.edu

Additional CLC instructors:

The faculty listed below will only be responsible for their Chemistry Learning Community
(CLCs)
Dr. Chad Immoos Email: cimmoos@calpoly.edu
Dr. Bradley Moran Email: bmoran06@calpoly.edu

Office hours:
The schedule for office hours and the Zoom links are posted in Canvas.

Course Materials and Resources:

 Computer – If you would like to rent one through Cal Poly, go here:
https://techrentals.calpoly.edu/.
 Reliable Internet Access - For information on this go here:
https://coronavirus.calpoly.edu/student-technology and read the WiFi Service
Options section.
 Zoom Video Communication: https://calpoly.zoom.us/. Zoom resources for Cal
Poly students through CTLT: https://ctlt.calpoly.edu/zoom-for-students
 Textbook: The text for the course is “Chemistry Atoms First 2nd ed.” from
OpenStax College. ISBN-13: 978-1-947172-63-0. Electronic copies are available
for FREE at https://openstax.org/details/books/chemistry-atoms-first-2e
 Calculator
 A Cal Poly email account: To receive class announcements and to access
Canvas and LabPal.
 Canvas Course Page: Course materials, videos, reading assignments, Mastery
Questions, laboratory activities, assessments and other important
announcements will be posted on Canvas and accessible through the Cal Poly
portal at my.calpoly.edu. You should refer to the course page daily, which will be
updated frequently with content and information relevant to the course.
Gen Chem III Spring 2021

 LabPal: A platform for providing feedback and working collaboratively that will be
utilized for performing portions of the laboratory activities and for the weekly
Mastery Questions. Details about how to join LabPal are posted in Canvas.
o Mastery Question: You can check solutions to problems from the Mastery
Questions on LabPal.
o Lab Activities: You will use LabPal to check your understanding, answer
questions, verify your calculations, record information and acquire your
experimental data. Portions of your lab reports may be submitted using
LabPal.
o Discussion Forum: The discussion forum will be available for students to
ask other students questions about the course, Mastery Questions, labs
etc. Both instructors and the LAs will also be moderating and answering
questions in the forum. The forum is to help build community, foster
discussion and consensus about the ideas of the course, and get help or
assistance outside of class time.
 Access to Microsoft Excel (or something similar): A portion of the lab
assignments and activities will require the analysis of data using graphical
methods. Excel is one of the easier programs to use; and as a Cal Poly student,
you are able to download a FREE copy of Excel and Word (not just the simplified
online version through the portal). To obtain your free versions, select the
following
link: https://calpoly.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPKB/pages/2425049/Install+Office
+Desktop+from+Office+365
 Cal Poly Cares:
o If you need financial support for acquiring necessary resources, including
internet fees, please apply for a Cal Poly Cares grant, found here,
basicneeds.calpoly.edu/calpolycares; or contact the financial aid office
here, www.calpoly.edu/financial-aid/contact.

Grading: 
Letter grades are the chosen mechanism for recording subject mastery. To obtain the
highest grade possible, you need to be able to demonstrate proficiency with respect to
all of the course learning objectives listed on Canvas and be able to apply them in
practical settings without outside help. There is no curve to the final grade. We will
follow the traditional scale of A/A- is 90% and above, B+/B/B- is 80% and above, etc.
This scale may be adjusted at the end of the quarter.

Gen Chem III Spring 2021

The final grade for the course will be determined by the distribution shown below:

Item Total
Exams (3 at 10% each) 30%
Quizzes 30%
Activities 15%
Graded Mastery Questions 20%
CLC Participation 5%
TOTAL 100%

Scores will be posted and updated in Canvas throughout the quarter. Please
verify your progress there and contact your CLC instructor if there are any mistakes or
questions.

Exams: There will be three exams given on the dates below. Each exam will cover
material from lecture, CLCs, activities, Mastery Questions, videos, and assigned
readings. No make-up exams will be permitted unless you have permission from the
instructors well before the day of the exam. All exams will be given during the large
lecture portion of the course and proctored over Zoom.

Exam Dates: (These dates may change, but for now we will stick with these.)

Exam 1: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 Exam 2: Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Exam 3: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 1:10 pm (during our final exam time slot)

Quizzes: There will be several LabPal quizzes (30 minutes long) throughout the
quarter given on the weeks without an exam. The quizzes will be available in LabPal on
Monday afternoons between the hours of 4-8 p.m. Please note that you will need to
COMPLETE your quiz by the 8 pm deadline, so you need to start the quiz by 7:30
p.m. (If your schedule does not allow you to take your quiz during this time please
contact Dr. Erker to schedule your quiz during an alternate quiz time.) There will be a
Review quiz (Quiz 0) given the first week of the course to allow you test your prior
knowledge while taking a practice quiz in LabPal to see the formatting and design. This
review quiz will NOT count toward your overall grade but is there for a sample, practice
quiz.

The quizzes will consist of ~5-6 questions and can include multiple-choice, true-false,
and numerical calculations. Quizzes are open-book, and open-note. You are not
allowed to use the Internet or consult with your peers during the quiz. The quizzes will
be structured so that the first page will be the shorter questions (multiple-choice, true-
false, short calculations, etc), and then second page will be the longer
calculations. There is no backtracking allowed between the two pages of the quiz.

The quizzes are designed to help you keep up with the material. They will be based
predominantly upon material covered during the previous week in lecture, that week’s
Gen Chem III Spring 2021

lab activities and Mastery Questions. Please note that the content in Gen Chem III
builds from one week to the next. Some material from week 3 will still be in use during
week 4 or even week 7 and may show up on the quiz within the new material. As you
work through the lab activities and Mastery Questions, it should be apparent what
material from prior weeks is still required for the current week.

Quiz dates: 4/5, 4/12, 4/19, 5/3, 5/10, and 5/24

Activities: The bulk of the activities will come from assignments posted in
LabPal. These activities are to help simulate experiments and data analysis. There will
be a lab activity every week that will be graded. Lab assignments may potentially
consist of graphical analysis, question analysis and a written portion. Topics from the
lab activities will also appear on the quizzes and exams. Submissions will be done via
LabPal and are to be completed by 11:59 pm on Friday at the end of the
week. Meaning the lab activity assigned during the first week of class will be due on
Friday of Week 1 on April 2nd.

Mastery Questions: The best way to learn chemistry is to complete a variety of

practice problems over the variety of topics. All of the problems are provided as a “help”
in understanding the key concepts and in preparing for the quizzes and exams. Any
difficulties with the problems should be addressed by either posting a question in the
discussion forum in LabPal or visiting an instructor in office hours. All Mastery
Questions will be posted in LabPal.

Each week, a sampling of Mastery Questions (~5-10) will be graded. These graded
Mastery questions will count toward 20% of your course grade and are due by Friday at
11:59 pm of a given week. For these graded mastery questions, the automatic feedback
will be turned off until after the deadline. As a student, you will attempt the problem (as
many times as you wish before the deadline) and enter your final answer. Similar
(ungraded) problems will give immediate feedback so you can check your
understanding before submitting your final graded answer. Over the weekend, the
Mastery Questions will be graded and students will be able to see the graded results for
these questions.

During the week, students are encouraged to try the other non-graded Mastery
Questions with automatic feedback for some relevant practice for the graded Mastery
Questions. After receiving feedback on the graded Mastery Questions, students are
encouraged to work on these problems again to fix their understanding and seek help in
the discussion forum or office hours to learn from the mistakes.

CLC Participation: Each week you are scheduled to meet for two hours in a Chemistry
Learning Community (or CLC). This shows up as “Chem 126 Lab” on your class
schedule. During these smaller group discussions, you will primarily work with your
peers, an instructor, and a learning assistant on practice problems and lab activities.
Part of your course grade will come from participation in these CLCs. Your participation
can include the following items: attendance to the CLC, active participation in the
Gen Chem III Spring 2021

discussion or activities, completing assigned tasks before attending and/or during your
CLC, etc.

General Course Structure:

The material in General Chemistry III builds as the course progresses, so it is VERY
important that you keep up with the work and get help early when you are having
difficulties in the course.

Monday:
 Quiz primarily covering previous week’s material opens at 4 pm and closes at 8
pm in LabPal
Tuesday:
 Synchronous Zoom Webinar from 1:10 – 2:00 pm
 Covers course content and sample problems
Thursday:
 Synchronous Zoom Webinar from 1:10 – 2:00 pm
 Covers course content and sample problems
Friday:
 Graded Mastery Questions over that week’s material due by 11:59 pm in LabPal
 Lab activity for that week’s material due by 11:59 pm in LabPal
Either MW or TR:
 Synchronous Zoom Chemistry Learning Community (or CLC)
 Listed as Chem 129 Lab or Chem 126 Lab on your Spring 2021 schedule
 Smaller group settings to work through material and practice problems
 Attendance and participation required and counted toward your course grade
Throughout the week:
 Work through Mastery Questions both graded and non-graded
 Checking feedback once graded Mastery Questions are released
 Work on lab activity
 Watch any relevant and supplemental videos
 Read or review relevant sections of the text
 Attend office hours (students are welcome to attend any instructor’s office hours,
not just your CLC instructor)
 Posting and answering questions in the discussion forum in LabPal
 Re-writing or reviewing your notes
 Self-quizzing
 Participating in a study session
 Participating in a workshop

Zoom Etiquette:

Netiquette, also known as “net etiquette,” refers to using respectful and inclusive
language with proper tone and mechanics (including full sentences), as well as courtesy
and respect for others’ opinions, when you are communicating in online discussion
Gen Chem III Spring 2021

forums. Instructors may interpret breaches of netiquette as disruptive behavior.

Communicating effectively in an online class can help build community and
engagement. Please keep the following guidelines in mind:
 Identify yourself by your real name. Never use private information about other
individuals and be sensitive to the information you share about yourself.
 Write in the first person.
 Use humor, joking, or sarcasm with caution. Non-verbal cues are not always
clear in an online environment.
 Be professional, clear and respectful. Use a positive tone and adhere to the
same rules you would follow in face-to-face communications. As well, use proper
grammar, spelling and formatting, and check all communications before sending.
 Read and formulate communications carefully. Take the time to think about
the information contained in all of your online communications before sending or
submitting. Avoid emotional statements and keep communications meaningful
and succinct.
 Be tolerant and cooperative. Address the idea or concept, not the person.
Keep an open mind and focus on the goal of learning. When adverse
communications or conflicts arise, try to help rather than hinder.

Other Business:

If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to check on announcements made
while you were away.

Please note that if you are a DRC student, coordinate your accommodations with the
DRC and then follow-up with Dr. Erker to ensure your accommodations are taken into
account properly in our class.

Cal Poly considers the diversity of its students, faculty, and staff to be a strength and
critical to its educational mission. Cal Poly expects every member of the university
community to contribute to an inclusive and respectful culture for all in its classrooms,
work environments, and at campus events. For more information on resources related
to diversity and inclusion, please visit the Office of University Diversity & Inclusivity
website at diversity.calpoly.edu.

Academic Integrity Policy:

As quoted from the Cal Poly Academic Senate resolution on Academic Dishonesty, “Cal
Poly will not tolerate academic cheating or plagiarism in any form.” The Department of
Chemistry & Biochemistry does not tolerate cheating or plagiarism, nor do your 129
instructors. To clarify our policy on this, we further quote to define the terms “cheating”
and “plagiarism”:
Gen Chem III Spring 2021

Cheating on any quiz, exam, or copying another’s work will not be tolerated. The
penalty for cheating is an automatic F in the course and proper disciplinary action (see
Student Handbook), which may include expulsion from the University.

“Cheating is defined as obtaining or attempting to obtain, or aiding another to

obtain credit for work, or any improvement in evaluation of performance, by any
dishonest or deceptive means. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: lying;
copying from another's test or examination; discussion at any time of answers or
questions on an examination or test, unless such discussion is specifically
authorized by the instructor; taking or receiving copies of an exam without the
permission of the instructor; using or displaying notes, "cheat sheets," or other
information devices inappropriate to the prescribed test conditions; allowing
someone other than the officially enrolled student to represent same.”

“Plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons
as if they were one's own without giving proper credit to the source. Such an act is not
plagiarism if it is ascertained that the ideas were arrived through independent reasoning
or logic or where the thought or idea is common knowledge. Acknowledgement of an
original author or source must be made through appropriate references; i.e., quotation
marks, footnotes, or commentary. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to
the following: the submission of a work, either in part or in whole completed by another;
failure to give credit for ideas, statements, facts or conclusions which rightfully belong to
another; failure to use quotation marks (or other means of setting apart, such as the use
of indentation or a different font size) when quoting directly from another, whether it be a
paragraph, a sentence, or even a part thereof; close and lengthy paraphrasing of
another's writing without credit or originality; use of another's project or programs or part
thereof without giving credit.”

For more information, consult the Academic Senate Resolution AA-722-10.

Campus policy requires, at a minimum, that, for an incidence of cheating or plagiarism,

a student must receive an “F” on the assignment, and that a grade of “F” may be
assigned for the course as well. Regardless of the action taken, the Instructor must also
report the student to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.