Villanova University Chemistry Department
Chem 1151 (01-03)   CRN 25026,-7,-8            General Chemistry I            Fall 2010

Instructor: Dr O G Ludwig, 214E Mendel Hall, phone 519-4USE
oliver.ludwig@villanova.edu        http://www.homepage.villanova/oliver.ludwig

Lectures MWF  12:30-1:20, TBA
Recitations: Thursdays: 
    Section 01 10:00-10:50, TBA
    Section 02  11:30-12:20, TBA
    Section 03 1:00-1:50, TBA
Text: Chang, Chemistry, 10th  Edition, McGraw-Hill (2010), ISBN 978-0-07-351109-2

Syllabus: We shall start at Chapter 1 in the text and hope to get through Chapter 11 or so by the end of this first semester. The text's sequence of topics will be followed, at least for this first semester..

Office Hours: Make an appointment (with me) for a mutually agreeable time. My class schedule is posted on my office door and on my web page. We shall see each other in class four times a week and I am usually in my office every day (Mon-Fri) from about 8:30 AM. Alternatively, use email to schedule a visit or ask a question.

Examinations: We shall have a 15 minute quiz every week (except immediately after a break) at the beginning of class. The lowest one (at least) will be skipped. The subject will usually be fairly close to material we have recently covered.  (The 2½ hour Final Exam is scheduled by the Registrar. All examinations will be problem-solving, never essay or multiple guess. The use of the course textbook, your own notes, and a calculator are permitted. Note that, since the quizzes are open book, it would not make sense for me to ask you to repeat class or homework problems. I will expect that you will use the principles illustrated in class and homeworks to new situations: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." (W.B. Yeats)  "Science is built with facts as a house is with stones--but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house." (Jules Henri Poincaré)

Recitations: We shall meet in these smaller groups on Thursdays. Here I will outline how to attack any requested homework problems which you should have already looked over in preparation for the class. Then I'll get groups of three to work on problems; these meetings are an integral part of the course.

Grading Policy: Each of the quizzes is worth roughly 8% of the grade; the final exam, less than 30%. There is no particular cut-off for letter grades, nor is there a quota. Your rank in class will be posted - anonymously - outside my office after each quiz.

Homework: Several problems at the end of each chapter will be recommended via email after most lectures. You may be asked to turn in this work on occasion, attesting that it is substantially your own work. I recommend that two to four students form a study group, taking turns showing the others how to attack a problem, but then each should write individual homeworks in his/her notes for reference during quizzes and possible collection. I shall give hints on homework questions submitted via email.
        Be ye doers, not just hearers of the word. James 1,22.

NOTE: The first words out of my mouth each class are "What questions do you have?". Be prepared to take advantage of this opportunity.                                                                                                                             OGL June 2010