General Information
Course Syllabus
Ch 1b, Winter 2015
Updated: 30-12-2015
Ch 1b General Information and Course Syllabus
Course Website: http://chemweb.caltech.edu/chem1ab
Course Instructors – Sarah Reisman
301b Schlinger Lab, x6044, [email protected]
Thomas Miller
124 Noyes Laboratory, x 6588, [email protected]
Professors Reisman and Miller will plan the curriculum, deliver the lectures, and oversee the writing of the problem sets and
examinations.
Course Coordinator – Emily Snell
[email protected]
The coordinator is responsible for all course logistics and website maintenance. Questions about adding/dropping, changing
sections, and other administrative issues should go to the coordinator.
Head Grader – Catherine Alvarez
[email protected]
The head grader is responsible for coordinating the grading for the course. Questions about correcting grading errors,
submitting late assignments and asking for extensions should go to the head grader.
Course Meeting Times
Lectures: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 11–11:55 AM, Baxter Lecture Hall
Recitations: Wednesday: 2–3 PM, 4–5 PM, 7–8 PM, 10–11 PM, various locations (see REGIS)
TA Office Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday—See course website for times
Professor Office Hours: (Take advantage of these!)
Prof. Reisman: Wednesday, 3–4 PM, 318 Schlinger
Prof. Miller: Wednesday, 3–4 PM, 124 Noyes
Texts
OGC: Principles of Modern Chemistry, D.W. Oxtoby, H.P. Gillis, & A. Campion;
Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing, 6th edition (2006)
RC: Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry, J.D. Roberts & M.C. Caserio, 2nd
edition (1977). Free download: http://authors.library.caltech.edu/25034/
Grades
7x Problem Sets
1x Midterm Exam
1x Final Exam
We will drop your lowest score
credit.
40%
30%
30%
from the problem sets. Problem sets that are less than 24 hours late can get up to 70%
Problem Sets
Problem sets will be made available on the course website (see page 4) on Fridays and you will have one week to
complete them. Selected solutions will be posted no earlier than two days after the due date. Turn in Problem Sets by
Friday at 4 PM in the drop-box next to Lloyd.
Late problem sets will receive reduced or no credit.
Exams
One midterm and one final exam will be administered for the course. Both will be take-home exams. The final is
comprehensive, although it will stress material presented after the midterm exam.
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General Information
Ch 1b, Winter 2015
Course Syllabus
Updated: 30-12-2015
Grades (continued from page 1)
Late Work
As previously mentioned, late work may be accepted, but your score will be reduced unless you have permission
from the head grader. Brief extensions will be granted only under extenuating circumstances.
Point deductions for unexcused late problem sets will follow this schedule:
 Between 5 minutes and 24 hours after the due date and time, your score will be reduced by 30%
 Beyond 24 hours, no credit will be given.
Point deductions for unexcused late exams will follow this schedule:
 Beyond 5 minutes, your exam will not be accepted and no credit will be given.
Submission of Work (Same policies as Ch 1a)
All problem sets and examinations should be submitted to the top cabinet of the Ch 1 drop-box, which is located
next to Lloyd House near the mailboxes. You must put your name, section number and recitation section teaching
assistant’s name on all work you submit and all work must be stapled. Please write legibly and solve problems in a
clear and logical manner, making sure to note your final answer – the graders reserve the right to not grade illegible
work. Also, please turn in problem sets in numerical order. Starting each problem on a fresh page and stapling at the
end is an excellent way to keep your work ordered and neat.
Resubmission of Work for Re-grading
If you feel a problem was graded incorrectly or unfairly, you may write a note on the front of your assignment
indicating the particular problem set/test question and your explanation for the re-grade request. Please reference the
solution key and grading scheme in your request. Then, resubmit it to the middle cabinet of the drop-box. You
should also notify the head grader by email when you have submitted your work to be re-graded. (The professors
and coordinator will not be involved in fixing grading errors.)
The Honor System
You are encouraged to help each other learn and understand the concepts of the homework material. However,
plagiarism of solutions from other students, textbooks, or any other source is a violation of the Honor Code. You
must personally complete all work that you submit, and you must be able to reconstruct this work on your own at the
instructor’s discretion. Consulting problem sets, quizzes, exams or their respective solutions from previous years is
prohibited.
Some questions on the problem sets may be designated as “no collaboration.” These specific problems must be
solved with no discussions whatsoever amongst students. You are not allowed to compare final answers, or notes
regarding any aspect of the problem with fellow class members or any other undergraduate at the institute.
Recitation Sections, Reviews, and Teaching Assistants
The recitation sections are discussion-oriented sessions where you may ask your teaching assistant questions about
the subject material of the lectures or any other relevant topics you may find confusing. Each section will also
address the types of problems you will encounter on problem sets, quizzes and exams. It is suggested that you do as
much of the homework as possible before each recitation so that the discussion can focus on topics of greatest
difficulty. Recitation sections are held on Wednesdays at various times; check REGIS and your course schedule for
the section that you are registered in. If you want to switch sections, you must see the course coordinator for a
signature. (Having an accurate roster in REGIS helps the TAs to keep you informed—they may send out messages
via email to the section rosters as listed in REGIS.)
The official review/Q&A sessions will be led by the faculty course instructors before exams are distributed. Please
see the website for announcements about the dates and times of these sessions.
Each teaching assistant holds office hours (see the website for the schedule). Here students may get informal, oneon-one help. Students are not restricted to see their specific section-teaching assistant – students may seek help from
any teaching assistant during regularly scheduled office hours. All office hours will be held in 20 Gates, unless
otherwise noted.
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General Information
Ch 1b, Winter 2015
Course Syllabus
Updated: 30-12-2015
Resources
The Ch 1 Resource Room
Room 20 Gates Annex is dedicated to Ch 1. Here students may meet with teaching assistants during office hours,
pick up graded work, and review reading material in addition to the required texts. The room is always open for Ch
1 use, although the Gates building may be locked after 5 PM. If you need access to the resource room after hours,
contact security. (x4701)
Library Reserve Materials
Two copies of OGC are available on closed reserve; you may use these for three hours at a time in the library and/or
check them out overnight after 10 PM, due back by 8 AM.
Ch 1 Online
The homepage for the class website is http://chemweb.caltech.edu/chem1ab (same as for Chem 1a), which allows
students to access useful information pertaining to the course. The syllabus, recitation section list, office hours,
lecture notes, and problem sets will be available online. Selected solutions to problem sets, quizzes and exams will
be posted, except when this interferes with the midterm and final exam period. All downloadable materials will be in
.pdf format.
Unlike Ch 1a, the entire set of lecture notes will not be posted at the beginning of the term.
Your Feedback
The Ch 1b Professors and coordinator are always looking for ways to improve the course. We want your feedback!
If there is something (good or bad) about any aspect of the course that you’d like us to know, feel free to talk to us or
email us. If you’d prefer to let us know anonymously, we will have eight course ombudsmen, who can give us your
opinions without your name ever being attached to them.
Course Schedule
Problem Set #1: Due Friday, January 16
Problem Set #2: Due Friday, January 23
Problem Set #3: Due Friday, January 30
Midterm Exam: Due Monday, February 9
Problem Set #4: Due Friday, February 13
Problem Set #5: Due Friday, February 20
Problem Set #6: Due Friday, February 27
Problem Set #7: Due Friday, March 6
Final Exam: Due Wednesday, March 18
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