Chem1A Prep Course at SJSU – Summer 2021

We are offering a self-paced, free, VOLUNTARY Canvas course to help you get ready for
Chem 1A. Many students find Chem 1A to be a difficult, time-consuming course because it is material
they have not seen since high school chemistry and because the class is a five-unit class with three
components (lecture, lab and seminar). Chem 1A has weekly quizzes in seminar to motivate you to
stay up to date with the course so expect to start studying for the course the first week of school. Don’t
wait until the first test.

Chem 1A requires proficiency in high school chemistry. You have to remember the material
from your high school chemistry or be able to recall it quickly. This means you need to recall
significant figures, dimensional analysis, ion names, how to balance reactions, particle-mole-mass
conversions, stoichiometry, etc. The Chem 1A Prep is a review of many of these topics from high
school. The Prep course is set up as modules on Canvas. It has a set of handouts you should print out
and look over before you view the video on the topic. The video(s) is followed by a worksheet to help
you practice the material. The solutions are provided but we encourage you to not look at them before
trying the problems. A brief self-test is available for you to see if you have retained the information.
The course does not count for a grade.

Dr. Singmaster provides a photo of the boards in her videos. This is to increase accessibility to
the course BUT note, you should write your own notes. Get used to taking notes or you will find it
more difficult to recall material in your courses. Just sitting there viewing boring videos is not the way
to learn chemistry.

The Chem 1A Prep course is FREE but because it is funded in part with federal grant money
secured by Dr. Singmaster we have to collect information on students taking the course. This
information is in case we are audited so we can prove that we spent the funds properly, that real
students participated in this course, etc.

If you want to access the Chem 1A Prep you will need to

1) Complete the next page of this document.

2) Email the completed form to Brenda.Serrano@sjsu.edu Ms. Serrano will then add your name to
the course, which should automatically then send you an invitation.

3) Do the modules in the order they show up. PLEASE note that Dr. Singmaster is still constructing
this course. As of 6/21/21 the first three modules are done and she will continue to add more until she
hopefully gets to the concentration module. She thought it best to start advertising this now so that
students could start with the first modules now, early in the summer break. This would allow you to
pace yourself, completing one or two modules per week.
 Chemistry 1A Prep Course at SJSU – Summer 2021
Please write clearly and fill out completely!

Name: ____________________________________________________________
Last First MI

SJSU ID # __________________________________ (used to invite you to the course)

Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________________________

email address: _____________________________________ Phone: ________________________

High School: __________________________________________________

Have you had high school chemistry? _________ If yes, how long ago? ___________

Are you repeating Chem 1A? _________ Are you a community college transfer? ____________

What is the highest level math you have completed with a C grade or higher?

Algebra 2 Precalculus Calculus I Calculus II Calculus III Dif. Eq.

Declared major: ____________________________________________________________________

Career Goal: _______________________________________________________________________

The information below is required by the Federal Government who funds this program.

US Citizen or Legal Resident: ____ YES ____ NO

ETHNICITY (check one): __Hispanic or Latino __Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino __Decline to state

You must check one of these!

RACE (check all that apply):

__American Indian __ Alaskan Native __Asian __African American/Black __ Hawaiian /Pacific Islander

__ White __ Decline to state

LEVEL: __Fresh (0-29 units) __Soph (30-59 units) __Junior (60-89 units) __Senior (> 89units) __Other

EXPECTED DATE OF GRADUATION: __________________ (If not sure, take a guess.)

Month / Year

Some clarification: Asian includes persons of Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Indian descent. Hawaiian
and Pacific Islanders refer to persons descending from the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa and Tonga.

Your signature: _________________________________ Date: _______________