Chemistry 101 Laboratory
Fall 2006
"Dr V" (Carl W. Vermeulen, PhD)
A.B. Hope College (Holland, Michigan) Chemistry major
M.S. Univ. of Illinois - Biochemistry (organic chemistry and radiochemistry, minors)
Ph.D. University of Illinois - Microbiology (Molecular Biology)
www.science-projects.com/biosketch.htm
757-508-0852 (phone)
ecoligist@yahoo.com (note: Ecoli + gist...)
WWW.SCIENCE-PROJECTS.COM/ChowanChem.html
LUNCH
Former students of Dr V recommend that you go to lunch with him as such times will likely be some of the most valuable times with him. They say that his middle name is "Jobs." Hundreds of students have taken his lunchtime advice and have gotten summer jobs that became stepping stones to their future careers. Just email Dr V and tell him you would like to meet him at a specified time at the door of the caf. Groups no larger than four are best. Of course, some students might like to eat off-campus before lab. You can meet him at his white van in the parking lot behind the science building at the emailed specified time. The van seats six students.
OFFICE HOURS
Of course, because Dr. V is a commuter from Williamsburg, VA, he doesn't really have office hours as do most other regular professors. But besides the LUNCH opportunities, there are also extensive opportunities for you to converse with him via email. He is used to that: he runs an international website that helps students and teachers do science projects and research. So email your questions to him, and you will likely get an answer back within 3 to 6 hours. Or you can phone him between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. for more immediate response.
Grading
Missed lab? Two percent of your overall grade will be deducted for each unexcused absence. Work can for the most part be made up by surfing to the proper webpage within www.science-projects.com/ChowanChem . Make ups? Yes, sort of-, because most things are due the next week or later. Of course, that 2% is not the only loss you suffer: you might have missed the quiz for the week, and there are no make-ups for that.
Quizzes - 40% of your grade. There will usually be a quiz each week. 60-80% of the quiz will cover the previous labs, and 20-40% the current week's lab (to encourage you to come to lab prepared!). Sometimes the quizzes will contain a question that actually tells you to show the instructor that you can do a particular sub-task in the lab. Thus do not sit back and allow your partners to do all the work. "Show-me" questions will be a significant portion of the quiz grade! For those who do the work in lab, these "show-me's" will be a "free gift", but will condemn those who sit back and let others do the work. Just remember that while most disciplines require only intellectual gymnastics, the sciences are sports that require mind-body control!
One other inducement to getting a really good grade: Get a 90 or above on a quiz, and you don't have to take the next quiz and you will automatically get a 90. But if you take the next quiz and get a less grade than 90, you are awarded that lesser grade! (For those less lucky, if those stars do opt for a free 90, that 90 will not be part of the curve, and thus it should be easier for the rest of the class.)
Reports - 30% of your grade. Several times throughout the semester, you will write up a "Research Report" in the style of a short scientific journal article. A prototype of such can be found at www.science-projects.com/Columbus.htm You will write this report as group (not as an individual author; you will share that grade). You will first submit a "rough draft," which will be commented upon by the instructor. Then you will rewrite it as many times as necessary to get a beautifully done product. To encourage originality, different groups in the class will often be working on different subjects. However, for the first time, all groups will work on the Density Experiment. Required length: long enough to say what is needed to be said. Scientists have millions of articles to read and don't want to waste their times reading a lot of empty blather. Probably two or three pages would suffice for this first report.
This will entail your using computers, so become friendly with yours! Hint: scientists like looking at graphs, diagrams and/or photographs.
Lab Notes - 10% of your grade. (Not to be confused with notes taken during the preliminary lab lecture/instructions.) While a bound lab notebook (with graphpaper pages) is preferred, you will at least have a looseleaf lab notebook in which you will write your basic ideas including hypothesis (if any), your data (on the data handouts), and your conclusion (you may also include the lab instructions, but this is not mandatory). (In the professional world, lab notebooks rarely leave the laboratory so as never to be misplaced or lost. You, of course, will be allowed to take yours to your room. See the handout on lab note formats.
Subjective opinion (20% of grade) of your lab deportment. You will start out with a perfect score, but if you are caught goofing off, making a nuisance of yourself, acting in a non-safe manner, etc., you will accrue demerits. Also 2% will accrue for each absence without a good excuse such as the White House needed you for a consultation. A major thing that the instructor will be observing is the student's participation in teamwork. Science is usually a team sport.
Group memberships need not be set in stone. You may switch groups, but only with the permission of the instructor. Because of limited space in the side-rooms, often the instructor will take aside one member from each group to show them how to do something, and then it is the responsibility of those persons to instruct the others. In the first couple of labs, for example, there will be a number of weighings. Each member of the group should weigh each thing. A major aspect of chemistry is dealing with mass.
Bonus items. The most common bonus items you are likely to come across are "Mary Lou Quizzes." These will be group quizzes, and will be due whenever the first ones are turned in that are correct. Yes, you can repeat and repeat and repeat: you will only be told that you are either right or wrong. But you will only get the bonus prize if you are the first of so-many-specified groups to hand it in correctly done. Answers must be in writing. The prize will be mentioned within each Mary Lou Quiz - it might be as little as a free 5 points on your next regular quiz, or as much as 5 points on your semester average.
About Mary Lou: There is a pretend group of students in a chemistry class. Mary Lou is a happy-go-lucky high school senior, whose other name might be Miss Fortune (or is it really Misfortune?-!). She bumbles around in lab, but invariably does something wonderful that the others in her group consider to be extremely insightful and important. Despite often not understanding what she did that was so great, she is happy to have the affection of her partners - and especially of handsome Jimmy. It is your group's responsibility to interpret the results and arrive at what that great insight was. Usually the answer can be stated in 20 words or less.
Extra-Credit? There will no extra credit in this course. BUT you can gain extra credit for your life by working on a project that you later present to some scientific forum. Go to lunch with Dr. V and learn about these prospects, which can be worth far more than a single course grade. Such a project is neither required nor for course credit, but may be the most important thing you do in college as it may give you a really big boost in your attaining a career in the sciences. For example, if you do the project mentioned here, there is a good possibility you will get accepted for presenting it at some national or international conference in chemistry or physics. That will look amazingly good on your resumé. It is about a force in nature that has been little studied UNTIL YOU STUDY IT. You will be among the very first in the history of the world to do it!
See: www.science-projects.com/Teflon.htm
"Groups? I thought working with others was cheating." Why is Science a social activity? We didn't get to the moon by one person's working alone. Within a group are individuals of differing experiences. By conversing, you each bring these differences to bear upon the problem at hand. Each of you has a different expertise from the others. It is thus much more likely that together you will crack the problem than by working alone.