Thursday, June 20, 2013

Getting ready for Chem101 in Fall 2013

Welcome! I run this blog as a means for students to ask questions of me during the term. You can do so anonymously, but just as importantly (more, from my point of view!) it serves as a kind of FAQ that means I only have to answer questions once (whereas by email or in person, I might have to do so dozens of times). You can actually find this resource useful even if you never ask a question yourself. Previously, I've maintained this blog just for students in my own section; this time, I'm teaching two sections and I will be opening it further still to the whole course (so yes, if you're in Dr Briggs' section, you may ask me questions). All I ask is that you please check first that your question hasn't already been answered!

Occasionally, I will also post links that you may find helpful in your quest for understanding the course material.

How do you ask a question? It's easy - just click on "comments" and leave a note. It should appear on the blog promptly, and I'll generally answer within 24 hours. As the course goes on, I'll invite questions on the different chapters we cover.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, would you please post the course ID for registering for "mastering chemistry". I missed taking it down in class and I can't seem to find on the chem 101 site.

Scott McIndoe said...

It's MCCHEMISTRY83520 (in your lecture book on p viii)

Scott McIndoe said...

More info on the course website

Anonymous said...

I tried to enter the course ID you just wrote and it said it's closed for enrollment? I'm not on a waitlist or anything, why's this the case?

Anonymous said...

Also received the same message as another student mentioned above that the course is "closed for enrolment".

Scott McIndoe said...

Thank you both for the feedback. I checked with the course coordinator, and he tells me that the course has not been opened for access yet, but will be by the weekend.

Anonymous said...

Do labs start this week or next week?

Scott McIndoe said...

Next week

Scott McIndoe said...

Dr Briggs just circulated this message to the 101 class:

Chemistry 101 Students

You can now join the Mastering Chemistry site and access your
e-text(s) using the access code that is included in your textbook package.
http://www.masteringchemistry.com/site/login.html

You must do the Introduction to Mastering Chemistry exercise and you must do the Practice Quiz. These procedures ensure that your computer is working, that your link is working, and that your computer has the appropriate plug-ins and functionality for using the full suite of possibilities within the Mastering Chemistry platform. I am reluctant to answer inquuries about the function of the site from students who have not completed these exercises.

You are advised to used a wired connection rather than a wireless connection, and you are advised not to do the Graded Quizzes at the last minute before the due date.

Due dates are listed as midnight on Wednesdays. In practice this means 11:59pm.

The structure of Mastering Chemistry requires that all items have due dates, even the un-graded Homework Assignments. The due dates for these are generally set to be a few days before the due date for the Graded Quiz on the same subject material. This is because after the due date you have access to the answers, and these may be useful in preparing for the Graded Quizzes.

Missed Graded Quizzes count as zero. There are no make-up quizzes. In part this is because once the due date has passed, the answers are available and therefore are considered to be in the public domain.

Best regards,
Sandy Briggs

Anonymous said...

I have an access code but the MasteringChemistry website asks for a course code to access any course specific material, like quizzes...

Scott McIndoe said...

Yes - the course code is on page viii of your lecture book.

Anonymous said...

I cannot find the access code to use the mastering chemistry website. I bought the two book "chemistry 101: Properties of materials" as well as Chemistry 102. It was a package but I cannot find the access code. Help please!

Scott McIndoe said...

Sounds like it was missing from the package - you will have to take it back to the bookstore and swap it for a package that does have the access code.

Anonymous said...

What was the website address that we are supposed to register our iClickers at? Is it the one given to us when we buy the device?

Anonymous said...

Where on the Mastering Chemistry website do we find "Introduction to Mastering Chemistry" ?

Anonymous said...

I misunderstood Dr Briggs' email and thought it meant to take the Practice Quiz as soon as possible, rather than just some time before the due date. I know it does not count for marks, so I thought it would be silly questions to simply test that masteringchemistry would work on my computer. I found it was actually quite a long quiz on real chemistry. And I attempted to answer some of the questions, rather than close it and get 0 and did terribly. Does this matter at all for my future in the course? I see that there is some sort of follow up that is customized to me based on my quiz results. Should I have waited until after the first week of real lectures to do this one?

Mary said...

I just went into the MasteringChemistry and tried to the quiz, but it says the first one is due on the 15th, did I miss the deadline for the first quiz?

Scott McIndoe said...

332: see the clicker page on the website
Other MasteringChemistry questions: don't try any of the graded quizzes yet! We've only just started on the content. We will be going over MasteringChemistry stuff in class later this week

Scott McIndoe said...

If you have started the graded Quiz#1 already by accident, you should contact Dr Briggs directly and ask him to reset it for you.

Anonymous said...

I have a scheduling conflict with the midterm times - who should I contact about this?

Scott McIndoe said...

1043: I'm guessing it is with a Physics lab? No problem, we're used to people arriving up to 30 minutes late from that lab, and you will still get the same amount of time as everyone else.

Anonymous said...

re: midterm conflict
It is actually with an ENGR lab that ends at 6:20.

Scott McIndoe said...

Hmm, that's a new one to me, probably because most engineers take Chem150. Please contact Sandy Briggs and explain the scenario.

Anonymous said...

If I've got an even (B50) lab section, then I don't have to go to any labs this week even though its the introduction week for most labs? Is that correct?

Scott McIndoe said...

correct

Anonymous said...

On masteringchemistry the 2Practice Quiz 1 was due at 1:20pm today (Saturday) and the follow-up is due at 1:20pm on Monday. Would you be able to extend the deadlines?

Anonymous said...

For Mastering Chemistry, do the homework assignments posted online count as part of our grade or is it just for personal benefit? because we do get scores for the homework assignment recorded on the website. But I'm not sure if they count towards our report card grade? or is it strictly quizzes and midterms and exams that count for our grade

Scott McIndoe said...

821: do the practice quiz due Oct 6, it is the same.
1055: only the graded quizzes count towards your grade. The rest are for your learning benefit.

Anonymous said...

On the midterm, are we given formula's and the constants?

Scott McIndoe said...

You are given a datasheet, yes (you really should come to class occasionally...)