Last updated August 20, 1999

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

University of Delaware

Goals: CHEM 100 is an introduction to chemistry designed for students majoring in non- science fields. After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Explain to others the chemical basis for environmental phenomena such as: clean air, pure water, and healthy life styles.
2. Read a detailed scientific development reported in the media and interpret it to a colleague.
3. Apply fundamentals of chemistry in forming your own decisions on matters concerning health issues.
4. Discuss the scientific merits of a particular point of view when considering a controversial environmental issue.
5. Identify some of the more human aspects of scientific research.
6. Use technological arguments to debate both sides of controversial subjects that are covered in this course.
7. Critically analyze a piece of environmental legislation in terms of the impact on your own life using scientific principles.
8. Construct a plan of action towards the solution of an environmental problem using the scientific method.

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Team Teachers:

Dr. Conrad N. Trumbore

029 Brown Laboratory (see map below)
Phone: 831-2906 (office)
Alternate phone: 368-3241
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday, 3:30 to 4 p.m., Monday/Wed/Friday 3 to 4 p.m., other hours by appointment.
e-mail:conradt@udel.edu

Dr. Virginia D. Ahrens

Phone: 368-0082
Office Hours by appointment
e-mail:ahrens@udel.edu

Ms Yisraela Myers

031 Brown Laboratory
Phone: 831-2906
e-mail:yisraelm@udel.edu

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Textbook: "Chemistry and the Human Environment," by C. Trumbore, J. Bobich, V. Ahrens and T. Brabner, 1997 Edition (NOTE: This is an improved, extensively revised edition with some reordering of the material.) Classes are based, in part, upon exercises and material in the text. Tests are open book, so it makes sense for you to obtain your own copy from the Bookstore.

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Course Description: Chemistry 100 demonstrates the relationships between chemistry and the greenhouse effect, the ozone layer, acid rain, sources of energy, toxic and solid waste. Medical problems such as inherited diseases and AIDS, and other topics of current interest to you will be investigated. Chemistry 100 begins with the proposed origins of matter and of "natural" environments (e.g., the unpolluted atmosphere) and then addresses the ways in which those environments have been perturbed, causing environmental and health problems.

Chemistry 100 is designed for non-science majors and assumes no background in chemistry. However, it is thorough in its non-mathematical treatment of the subjects chosen. Topics discussed introduce nearly all of the chemical principles covered in more traditional one semester courses. Some of these principles will be covered in less and some in more detail than in other courses. The material included will be related directly to some aspect of your own environment. The course demonstrates how chemistry works in practice and how chemists think about the problems that affect you. That means that formal lectures are not organized around basic principles of chemistry, but around those environmental problems that concern you. Chemical principles are introduced both in class and in the text on a "need to know" basis.

The success of CHEM 100 is critically dependent upon feedback. Classroom discussion is useful in identifying those areas where you and your classmates may have concerns or problems. We need this feedback to find those subjects that are of current interest to students. In addition, you are encouraged to talk with any of us privately about possible alternative or additional subjects that should be brought up in class. Our textbook and class formats allow us to address topics that are currenly breaking in the news. As they mature, such topics may become future topics in CHEM 100.

Enrollment: There are no prerequisites for this course. Whether or not you have completed a high school chemistry course is irrelevant here. You are encouraged to take this course regardless of your earlier chemistry background. However, if you have completed one or more semesters of a college level chemistry course, you would be well advised to discuss with an instructor the wisdom of taking this course.

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This old proverb gets to the core of the educational philosophy behind this course. Research has shown that we learn best when the subjects are linked to our own lives. The student-generated topics in Chemistry 100 are designed to address this need.

  We also know from the research that effective, long lasting learning can only take place if we are actively involved in acquiring that knowledge. Education is not a passive sport. We know this intuitively. Can you imagine trying to learn a new software application solely through lectures or text? How about learning to ride a bicycle by merely reading an instruction manual?

  In order to involve our students, we will be employing the "Think, Pair, Share" concept (TPS). Because we are meeting in a TV classroom this semester, we are already linked in pairs to a TV monitor. Hence, you and your partner become a "pair." If you don't have a partner, find one.

  Step 1. (Individuals) THINK. For every problem we pose, we will ask you to first spend a few minutes considering the elements of the problem. What do we know? What have we yet to learn?

  Step 2. (Partners) PAIR. Discuss the problem with your partner for the allotted time. Share what you have been thinking. Listen carefully. Often your partner will have viewed the problem differently.

  Step 3. (Full class) SHARE. At this point, the discussion will turn back to the entire class, with one member of the pair prepared to report.

The Think/Pair/Share method will be used during the semester to meet several objectives. For example:

• Introducing a new subject. The "Need to Know" approach assumes that we do not know the answers yet. By working through the TPS method, we gain critical thinking skills that will be of use to us in similar situations in our future.
• Summarizing what we have learned so far. This is an essential part of the task and keeps us from getting too far astray.
• Graded quizzes will be given at the end of each class period. You will first answer the questions yourself and write down the answers on the answer sheet provided. You will then discuss your answers with your partner, or anyone else around you. Write down your answer as modified by your collaborations. Only the last set of answers will be graded. Team teachers will be available for clarification, but will not give direct answers to the questions. Comments on the back of the answer sheets will be welcomed about any aspect of the course.

Reading and problem assignments are made from the new text ahead of the class discussions of the topic. Since the class time will be spent in discussing and working with the assigned topics, it is imperative that you prepare prior to coming to class.

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Other Policies: While it is understood that students will treat one another with the respect that they would wish for themselves, there are a few disruptive behaviors that we find particularly annoying. These include talking during a lecture and arriving late or leaving early. Please consult with one of the team teachers if you find a disruption unavoidable. We would prefer to find an alternate accommodation.

Attendance: Attendance in this class is preferable, but not mandatory. However, the TPS activities require the input of all members of the class. If an absence is unavoidable, you should contact your partner and make up the lost work.

Academic Dishonesty: Cheating in any form (plagiarism, copying, altering information, storing information in calculators, using cribs on exams, etc.) will result in judicial proceedings in accordance with the University's policy on academic dishonesty. Even if you believe that you would never cheat, you can save yourself a lot of unnecessary trouble if you familiarize yourself with the University's brochure on "Academic Honesty and Dishonesty." It is also available in the Dean of Students' Office.

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GRADING:

  You will have frequent feedback on your progress in this course. We have already described the forms of in-class exercises and discussions; both graded and ungraded. In addition, there will be three major hourly exams as well as a final exam (see schedule).

  The tentative grading scheme is as follows:
 

The best three out of (three or four)** hourly exams	25% each:	75%
Final examination (comprehensive)*		25%
		100%

 * A three point bonus will be added your final examination score if you hand in a completed, comprehensive course survey made available in class a week before the examination.

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Success in CHEM 100:

This is your course. You help to design it for yourself and for the Chemistry 100 students who come after you, just as the topics we address this semester were chosen by CHEM 100 students who preceded you. You may find some subjects difficult to grasp that others students find easy, and vice versa. This should not concern you unduly. This could be because of your individual interest in the subject, your background, or any of a number of reasons, none of which have anything to do with your "native intelligence." The range and number of subjects included is such that some subjects are bound to pique your interest more than others.

  How you go about mastering learning in this course will ultimately be up to you. You are unique in the manner in which you arrive at an understanding of new material. Traditional science texts are usually rich in symbolism. That is, each symbol represents a very large concept. What this means is that it may take you more time to master the content and to allow the concepts to coalesce. On the other hand, you may be one who learns best through this kind of symbolic representation. The text used in this course is more descriptive in its treatment of chemistry fundamentals than is true for traditional textbooks.

  You may be one who learns best by pausing to think about new ideas before incorporating them into your own knowledge base. Others might find that working with friends and bouncing ideas around is the best way to understand new concepts. There are as many learning styles as there are people. We hope to be able to facilitate your learning in the most comfortable way possible-while keeping in mind that future success may depend upon your developing many different learning strategies.

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A Final Word:

 This course is meant to be both educational and fun. We hope you do enjoy it and that years from now you will find that the skill you developed in this course will aid in your understanding of issues which you encounter in your individual human environment. Good Luck!

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