Instructor Contact

Torrey Glenn

• Canvas Inbox is preferred.
• Email: tglenn@ccsf.edu
• CCSF Phone: (415) 239-3893
• Office Hours:  W 1:30-2:30pm (in-person, S241), Th 5-6 pm (via Zoom), F 9-10 am (via Zoom), or by appointment
• Office Location: Science Hall 241
• I will respond to all course email within 48 hours Monday-Friday, exclusive of school holidays. Once the course begins, I prefer to get messages through the Canvas "Inbox."
• You can also visit my CCSF instructional website outside of Canvas

Communication Plan

• I will respond to your messages within 48 hours during the work week (Monday-Friday), excluding holidays, or if you are notified otherwise.
• Your work will be reviewed, and I will comment on it within one week of the due date unless you are informed otherwise. Please note that you may receive private comments on your discussion posts, your problems sets, and your exams. Your self-check quizzes  often contain automated feedback for your own self-assessment. 
• If you do not log in to the course,  you will receive a message from our early alert system, "Starfish," to remind you to come back to the course. It is best to keep up as the semester goes quickly and because life happens!
• I will be available for questions during my office hours. If you are unable to come to my regular office hours, or you would like to meet privately, we can schedule a meeting via Zoom video-conferencing.

Building Community

• Each week you and your classmates will participate in a discussion focused on problem solving or issues related to the week's material. 
• Each time this class is offered, I am humbled by the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of all of you and your discussion posts. Your responses to each other and to me inform my teaching. We learn from each other, from our varied experiences, from our different world views. I look forward to participating in discussions with you.

Instructor Announcements 

I will frequently post announcements on the “Instructor Announcements” page in Canvas throughout the semester. Canvas notifies students according to their   Notification Preferences.   It is best to set your preferences such that you are notified  as soon as I create an announcement! That way you'll receive my announcements in a timely manner. 

General College Chemistry (CHEM 101A) (Links to an external site.)  covers stoichiometry, aqueous solutions and aqueous reactions, gas behavior, thermochemistry, atomic structure and periodic properties, chemical bonding, molecular structure, condensed phases and intermolecular forces, and an introduction to equilibrium.

Prerequisites

Students must have passed Chemistry 40, or obtained a passing score on the Chemistry Advanced Placement test; students must have passed intermediate algebra or higher. 

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Solve quantitative and qualitative problems involving matter and energy in chemical and physical changes.
2. Predict and write chemical equations for common reaction types.
3. Apply modern models of atomic structure to predict the formation and properties of bonds and molecules.
4. Relate the physical properties of chemical substances to interparticle interactions and relevant statistical models.
5. Obtain and analyze experimental data using accepted laboratory procedures and equipment.

Class Meetings

Laboratory activities will be carried out in person at the time and location indicated in the class schedule:

• CRN 31804, Section 861 - M/W  10:10 AM -  1:00 PM   Science Room: 201 
• CRN 31698, Section 862 - T/Th  10:10 AM - 01:00 PM  Science Room: 201 
• CRN 30952, Section 863 - M/W 2:10 PM - 5:00 PM  Science Room: 201 

Course Web Site

Students will use the Canvas Learning Management system for assignment instructions, submitting assignments, participating in class discussions, sharing resources, and viewing grades. To learn more about using Canvas, visit Canvas Student Support.

I also maintain a CCSF instructional website outside of Canvas which provides basic information on the courses I teach.

Textbooks

• We are using a free online textbook for this course. All of your reading assignments will be from  Chemistry 101A - LibreText  (Links to an external site.)

Canvas

Students will use the Canvas Learning Management system for assignment instructions, submitting assignments, viewing classmates' work, sharing resources, and viewing grades.  I can help with the course material and with some Canvas issues. But, if you need help uploading an assignment or with the mechanics of Canvas, Canvas help is the number to call.

For 24/7 help with Canvas, call 1-833-249-3993. To learn more about Canvas or find answers to frequently asked questions, visit Canvas Student Support.

Zoom Video Conferencing

Office Hours will be held via CityZoom. We will meet at the scheduled office hours times, or by appointment. 

Required Software

• Adobe Reader (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site.
• Update your browser (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site.

Key Enrollment Dates

• Instruction Begins: Tuesday, January 17, 2023
• Instruction Ends:  Wednesday, May 24, 2023
• Last Day to Add:  Friday, February 3, 2023
• Last Day to Drop with a refund: Friday, January 27, 2023
• Last Day to Drop without a 'W' symbol:  Friday, February 3, 2023
• Last Day to Drop with a W: Thursday, April 20, 2023
• Final Exam - Wednesday, May 17, 1:30-4:30 PM, Room TBA

Drop/Withdraw

If you decide to discontinue this course, it is your responsibility to officially drop the course via myRAM portal to avoid getting no refund (after 10% of course length), a W symbol (after 20%), or a letter grade (after 75%). Refer to this semester's important dates for withdraw deadlines, transcript notations, refunds, etc. If you are considering withdrawing, here is a resources about what it means to drop a class and how to decide:

• Should I withdraw from the course? How to decide...

Please contact me if you have questions or concerns. I am here for you.

No Show Policy

Active Participation

You should expect to log in to Canvas five times or more each week. Participation will be regularly monitored. Students who are inactive will be considered non-participants and may be dropped from the course.

A student is considered inactive if they:

• • do not log in to Canvas for one week or more, OR
  • are absent from two consecutive lab periods, OR
  • miss an exam and do not contact me.

If you are worried that I might drop you due to inactivity, the best thing to do is send me a message via Inbox! Let's get you back on track!

Late Work Policies

• Lecture: late submissions for self-checks, discussion posts, and problem sets will be accepted with a point penalty. The point penalty is set as an automatic deduction of 1% per hour within the Canvas system. If you have a concern about meeting a particular due date, please contact me. We may be able to work something out, so that you can keep on track!
• Lab: the late policy for laboratory assignments is addressed in the syllabus for your specific laboratory section.

Exam Attendance Policy

Exams and quizzes will be completed in person at the dates and times indicated in the course schedule. Please plan accordingly. Make-up exams are not offered.

Although, make-up exams will not be offered, I understand that "life happens" and, if you must miss one exam, you will still have an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the material! If you miss a midterm exam, that score will remain "blank" in Canvas until the end of the term. After you have completed the comprehensive final exam, you will then be assigned a “make-up” score based on your performance on the relevant material on the comprehensive final exam. You may not miss two exams.

Please contact me as soon as possible if you must miss a midterm exam. Missing an exam is a big deal, but it's not insurmountable. The earlier you contact me, the better. We can figure out the best strategy to keep you on track in the class! 

The course calendar provides an overview plan for the entire semester. Refer to this calendar for exam dates and topics, an overview of the weekly module topics, and laboratory topics. Dates may be changed, if necessary.

Spring 2023 Calendar Chem 101A 

Spring 2023 Calendar (pdf version, may not be up-to-date) 

Methods of Evaluation

• Weekly Problem Sets: Problem sets are due at the end of each week. You will need to write your answers out on a separate sheets of paper and upload those sheets (as one file) to our Canvas site so I can grade your work.
• Participation: You will be awarded points for active participation in the course. Participation takes the form of many different activities including: self-check quizzes, discussion posts and responses, ungraded surveys, etc. There will be many participation assignments throughout the semester.  
• Laboratory Activities: Laboratory is a required portion of this course. Attendance at the laboratory sessions is required. Laboratory policies and grading requirements will be detailed in the laboratory syllabus for each section.
• Exams: Exams and quizzes will be completed in person at the dates and times indicated in the course schedule. Please plan accordingly. Make-up exams are not offered.
  • Although, make-up exams will not be offered, I understand that "life happens" and, if you must miss one exam, you will still have an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the material and to earn those points! If you miss a midterm exam, that score will remain "blank" in Canvas until the end of the term. After you have completed the comprehensive final exam, you will then be assigned a “make-up” score based on your performance on the relevant material on the comprehensive final exam. You may not miss two exams.
  • Please contact me as soon as possible if you must miss a midterm exam. Missing an exam is a big deal, but it's not insurmountable. The earlier you contact me, the better. We can figure out the best strategy to keep you on track in the class! 

Overall Grades

Your overall letter grade in the course will be determined by a weighted average based on the following approximate weighting:

Assignment Grading Policy

Visit the “Grades” in Canvas to keep track of your grades. I hope to grade weekly and post grades and comments on the online Canvas grade book. Note that individual assignments are given point scores. They are not assigned letter grades. Please review the scores and comments on all your graded material in a timely manner. Report any questions or any perceived grading error to me as soon as possible.

  How do I view my grades and teacher comments as a student?

Assignment Late Policy

Late submissions for problem sets, self-checks and discussion posts will be accepted with a point penalty. The point penalty is set as an automatic deduction of 1% per hour within the Canvas system. 

Final Course Grades

At the end of the semester, your overall weighted average score will be assigned a letter grade according to the following tentative grading scale:

The tentative grade scale may be lowered, if appropriate; it will not be raised. The grading in this course is not on a curve (your grade depends on your scores, alone, not on the "class curve”). A midterm grade update will be provided in order to help you evaluate your progress in the course.

Note: an “F” grade indicates that a student attended, participated and completed the course but failed to master the course curriculum. An “FW” grade indicates the student stopped attending a course after the “last day to withdraw” deadline and subsequently did not submit any work or participate in any exams. Please check with your counselor and financial aid advisor for possible implications of the FW grade on residency and financial aid status.

If you need classroom or testing accommodations because of a disability, or have emergency medical information to share with me, or need special arrangements in case the building needs to be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. My office hours are by appointment either on the Ocean Campus (9-4 p.m., Monday through Friday) or by Zoom video-conferencing.

Students seeking disability-related accommodations are encouraged to also register with Disabled Students Programs and Services located in Room 323 of the Rosenberg Library (415) 452-5481. Please see the DSPS website for more information and alternate locations.

Students who register in CCSF classes are required to abide by the  CCSF Student Code of Conduct. Violation of the code is basis for referral to the Student Conduct Coordinator or dismissal from class or from the College. See the Office of Student Affairs.

Collaborating on or copying of tests or homework in whole or in part will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and result in a grade of 0 for that test or assignment. I encourage students to share information and ideas, but not their work. See these links on Plagiarism:

Encourage Academic Integrity and Prevent Plagiarism

Citing Information Sources

Here is what I expect from you...

• Read all Instructor Announcements in a timely manner.
• When you have a question about the course material or otherwise ... please ask! 
• Help each other out on the problems sets and lab assignments.
• Complete the assignments within the given window of time. 
• Think critically about the material (don't just try to "get through it"). 
• Work independently when you are taking the midterm and final exams. 
• Respect that this class was never intended to be an online course. We (as a department) have made many changes to our curriculum in an attempt to adapt to this remote format. The course that you will be taking this semester is not the same as the one you would have during a normal semester, but... it will be just as challenging!  

Here is what you can expect of me...

• I will provide a rigorous and challenging course. You will be well prepared for your future course work.
• I will respond to your Canvas Inbox messages within 24 hours during the week unless I inform you otherwise. I will respond to your chat messages throughout the workday.
• I will treat you and your ideas with respect.
• I will grade your assignments within one week. (If you have posted late work, it may take longer.) You will see your grades in the Canvas Gradebook.
• I will work to keep things organized and accessible.
• I will help you understand the material as much as possible! (This class is challenging, but you are not expected to tackle it alone! I'm here to help.)