Fall 2015

Administrative Information

Class meets: TuTh 9:15-10:35am in ST 133
Class Text: Conceptual Chemistry, 4th ed. by John Suchocki, ISBN-10: 0136054536. A copy is on reserve at the Copley Library.

Instructor: Dr. Jeremy Kua
Office: ST 381
Phone: (619) 260-7970
E-mail:
Office hours: Mon noon-2pm, Wed noon-2pm, Thu 11am-noon

Course goals: To understand the fundamental principles of chemistry and see how it applies to everyday life.

Course requirements:
1a. There will be 5-minute in-class quizzes at the beginning of class most days. There will be 20-24 of these of which only your top 16 will count). Quiz answers are provided in class. Quizzes are graded on a simple scale of "mostly right" (full credit), "about half" (half credit), "mostly wrong" (no credit).
1b. There will be two in-class (80 minute) exams on Oct 13 and Nov 19, and one (2-hour) Final exam (on Dec 17 from 8-10am).
1c. There will be an Infographic Project that includes Peer Review due in early December. See link below for more information.
1d. Participation includes being engaged in the learning process, and completing small assignments that are not time-intensive but simply require your engagement.

2. There will be NO collaboration on any quiz or exam. You may collaborate on the Infographic Project.

3. Grade breakdown is as follows:
                16 Quizzes @ 1% each                16%
                In-class exams at 16% each         32%
                Infographic Project                      10%
                Participation                                10%
                Final exam                                   32%

4. Tentative Grading Scale (subject to change by the instructor at any time)
                A        85-100%
                B        70-84%
                C        55-69%
                D        40-54%
                F           0-39%
Appended + and - will approximately constitute 3% widths at either end of the scale for A-D grades.

5. There are no make-up quizzes or exams. If you have a very good reason for missing an exam you have to let me know beforehand. If I think your reason is valid, we will schedule an oral exam that week, where you show up at my office and I get to ask you anything I think you should know from class and give you a grade based on your response.

6. Students are most welcome to come in during office hours. My door is often open when I'm around even when it's not my office hours. in my office and not swamped with work outside of my designated office hours, I will be happy to answer questions and discuss coursework. I check my e-mail reasonably often during working hours so you can contact me that way too. (Don't expect replies on weekends and evenings.)

7. All students are expected to adhere strictly to the Academic Integrity policy. Violations will be dealt with through the Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, in accordance with the University of San Diego policy on academic integrity.