Chem 6AL Syllabus Winter 2021
Chem 6AL Syllabus Winter 2021
Chem 6AL Syllabus Winter 2021
Note: Given the rapidly evolving circumstances around the current COVID-19 pandemic, any plans laid out
in this syllabus (including the point values of gradebook items) are subject to change.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The purpose of Chem 6 series is to give students exposure to the techniques and principles used
in an organic chemistry laboratory. It is a practical application of many of the concepts learned in Chem
109. In Chem 6AL we learn the basic techniques of an organic chemistry laboratory such as distillation,
extraction, recrystallization, sublimation, filtration, and thin layer chromatography. We also learn
methods used by organic chemists to identify organic compounds including infrared and nuclear magnetic
resonance spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. We will also improve our scientific writing and critical
thinking skills. Although this course will be through remote instruction, we will have the same overall
expectations as if the class were held in person.
COURSE LAYOUT
Each week you will be expected to do the following:
• Prepare and submit a prelab for the week’s experiment
• Attend the lecture sessions and live prelab discussion held by your TA.
• Watch the week’s experiment and write a lab report.
• Take quizzes (administered through Gauchospace).
• Do recommended readings and homework problems.
For official class communication, I will use the ‘Announcements’ link in Gauchospace. If you follow
this link you will be able to see all emails I have sent out to the class. Missing a class announcement
because it was sent to an email account you don’t use or because it was sent to a spam folder is not a valid
excuse.
GRADING
You TA will keep grades updated on Gauchospace and does not have the ability to assign extra work. Any
concerns about grading must be brought to the instructor’s attention within one week after the work is
graded. These concerns are best discussed in person during the post-lab meeting with your TA.
Each week at your scheduled lab time your TA will hold a prelab lecture where the experiment will
be discussed. Attendance at these discussions is required and you must attend the discussion held by
your TA at your scheduled time. A pass for one missed prelab lecture will be given for valid excuses that
are cleared through Dr. Gainer prior to the lab period. Email both Dr. Gainer and your TA when asking for
an excused absence. Missing the prelab discussion (unless excused by Dr. Gainer) will result in a forfeiture
of the prelab points for that experiment. Three absences will result in a failing grade. You are required to
turn on your camera during the lab meeting. If there is a problem with your internet and you cannot
turn on your camera, you must take notes during the lab meeting, and send a copy of your notes to your
TA via email.
The prelab must be completed and uploaded prior to the beginning of the lab session. To submit it
you will take clear pictures of your prelab notebook pages and upload them to Gauchospace (for each
prelab, at least one of the pictures you upload must include a picture of you holding your clearly visible
prelab). It will be checked and graded by your TA. Its purpose is to help you prepare yourself for the day’s
experiment, including familiarizing yourself with the techniques used and procedures to be followed, and
allows you to understand what you will see performed in the experiment video. It should include the
following:
A. Title, date, name, student perm number and TA overseeing the experiment
B. Purpose/Objective
Give a brief introduction to the purpose of the experiment and the approach to be used.
Demonstrate that you understand the objective and the key concepts of the experiment. Do not
copy directly from the laboratory manual. Usually, one paragraph or less will be adequate (less
than 1/2 a page).
E. Procedure
This is where you lay out what you plan to do in lab. It should be sufficiently detailed so that you
can follow it during lab without referring back to the lab manual and that another student would
be able to repeat the experiment based on your procedure. Do not copy directly from the
laboratory manual. Leave room to make observations (see page Appendix A in the lab manual for
examples).
F. Prelab Questions
Most labs will have prelab questions in the lab manual. You should include these (questions and
answers) in your prelab.
LAB EXPERIMENTS
Videos will be posted each week of the experiments that you would have performed in lab. You
should watch these videos and extract the information from them needed to write you lab report. As you
watch the experiment have your notebook pages out to make observations, calculations, updates to
procedure, etc. Will you submit these updated notebook pages with your lab report.
LAB REPORTS
Lab reports are written without the help of other students. Lab reports should be typed in single
spaced-12pt. font with 1” margins. Maximum length is 1.5 pages not counting figures, mechanisms, which
should be at the end of the report. Your TA may ask you to use a double-spaced format, which would mean
a 3-page limit. For more guidance on writing the lab report, see ‘Tips for Writing a Lab Report’ on
Gauchospace. Starting with Exp 4a, you will also annotate and submit spectra as part of the lab report.
All lab reports are submitted online as a .txt file and .pdf file by the beginning of lab one
week after the prelab discussion with your TA about the experiment. The .pdf file should include
the updated pages of your notebook and any necessary spectra.
Work submitted late will be deducted points. The work will be graded, and then the appropriate
number of points removed from the grade (up to a score of zero). If you receive 3 zeros on lab reports due
to not submitting them within the allotted time (or not submitting them at all), you will automatically
receive a failing grade for the course. The point deduction for late lab reports will be as follows:
< 1 day late: 3 points off
1-2 days late: 5 points off
3-8 days late: 10 points off
> 8 days late: all points lost
Receiving a zero on 3 labs reports will result in a failing grade in the class.
Some experiments will feature a worksheet in place of a lab report. The timing and late
policies are the same between the two. You do not need to submit a .txt file for worksheets, just the
PDF. The PDF should also include the pages from your lab notebook.
You have one week from the time a lab report is returned to resubmit it for regrades or ask for
points back. This same policy is true for all work and quizzes in the class. The best time to ask for questions
regarding grading is at the end of the post-lab discussion or during your TA’s office hours.
There will be 6 quizzes administered through Gauchospace (see schedule). The quizzes are open
book and open notes, but your answers must represent your own work and you may not use other
individuals, homework solving websites, etc. Your lowest quiz will be replaced with your lecture points
(see below). If you need to miss a quiz because of illness or other matters, that will count as your lowest
quiz. The quiz topics may include: safety questions, general questions about the current week’s
experiments, in depth questions about the previous weeks experiment, and questions about other topics
previously covered in lecture and in the assigned reading. There are no make-up quizzes. Missing 3
quizzes will result in a failing grade for the course.
LECTURE POINTS
We will meet 6 times for an online discussion during the quarter. The purpose of these
discussions will be primarily to review and reinforce the material covered in the lecture videos. We’ll
use the online iClicker platform/REEF app to ask questions during these lecture meetings. If you fully
participate in these (measured by your participation in the iClicker questions) you will earn 20 points
that will go to replace your lowest quiz score. You will need to participate in at least 80% of the
questions to earn the full credit. This will be roughly equivalent to being able to miss one lecture but still
being able to earn the full 20 points.
.
FINAL EXAM
The final exam will open at the start time posted on GOLD. It will be a timed, 1-hour quiz that will
be open for 2 hours. This means you will have a two-hour window to take the final. At the end of the two
hours the final will close and all open finals will be submitted. Plan accordingly. There will be no makeup
exams and failure to take the final results in a failing grade for the course.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Lab reports and quiz answers will regularly be checked for plagiarism against current and
past lab reports, as well as various online sources. Any questionable results will be reported to the
Student Conduct Committee and will most likely result in a failing grade for the course
UC-Santa Barbara seeks to ensure that all students are granted equal educational opportunities
regardless of disabilities. As such, requests for special accommodations are submitted by the student to
the DSP office (http://dsp.sa.ucsb.edu/). The DSP office then notifies the class instructor of the requested
accommodations. To ensure that you receive the accommodations you require please submit your request
to the DSP office as soon as possible. Please note that an accommodation request is not the same as
the Instructors Letter. To receive extra time, you must submit an accommodation request.
COPYRIGHT
All course materials and the intellectual content (including recorded lectures) of the course are protected
by United States Federal Copyright Law. No student (and all other persons) shall give, sell, or otherwise
distribute to others, or publish any electronically available course materials or recordings made during
any course presentation without the written consent of the instructor. For example, you are not allowed
to copy quiz/exam questions and post them in public or private websites.