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Chemistry "FYI" Thread...
If you're new to SFU and/or you're coming into the first-year chemistry classes, please pay attention to the course websites link. There is information you need to pay attention to, such as whether a lab course that you're enrolled in will start the first week of classes or not.
SHOW UP for your lab or you may be dropped from it (this applies if you're on the waitlist only).
Specifically for Chem 126:
If you've gotten your lab book already take note of the pre-lab questions in the back. I believe we have a LON-CAPA this semester but you are advised to work the pre-lab problems on your own, by hand, so you can identify your strengths and weaknesses before you come to class and/or office hour.
Asking your TA (me or someone else) to just work the problem for you on the board in which you then slavishly copy it down is not the best way to learn the material.
If you are taking 126 and took Chem 122 some time ago, for God's sake please get the lecture notes off the 122 website and look at them. Don't expect the 126 instructor or the TA(s) to be your hand-holder while you try to remember things you last did a year or more ago. I had students like that in my section and I repeatedly said, "get the 122 notes". :tongue:
If you ARE taking 122 this semester there IS some coordination with the lab, but you are advised to read the lab theory portions well before you start so that you can brush up your knowledge.
A lot of the stuff in this lab is basically high school chem + some added material. It really isn't that hard as long as you don't blank out on the basic concepts involved.
Some of the stuff said above also applies to the 111/121 labs as well, though not to as great an extent.
Ass-covering Note: I will not directly answer LON-CAPA or homework problems in this thread. I may give general hints, but I will not work answers out for you here. That's what an office hour is for.
Ass-covering Disclaimer: None of the above is a final-word, authoritative statement and should not be taken as such. What you are told in lab, and what is put on the website, is the final word.
SHOW UP for your lab or you may be dropped from it (this applies if you're on the waitlist only).
Specifically for Chem 126:
If you've gotten your lab book already take note of the pre-lab questions in the back. I believe we have a LON-CAPA this semester but you are advised to work the pre-lab problems on your own, by hand, so you can identify your strengths and weaknesses before you come to class and/or office hour.
Asking your TA (me or someone else) to just work the problem for you on the board in which you then slavishly copy it down is not the best way to learn the material.
If you are taking 126 and took Chem 122 some time ago, for God's sake please get the lecture notes off the 122 website and look at them. Don't expect the 126 instructor or the TA(s) to be your hand-holder while you try to remember things you last did a year or more ago. I had students like that in my section and I repeatedly said, "get the 122 notes". :tongue:
If you ARE taking 122 this semester there IS some coordination with the lab, but you are advised to read the lab theory portions well before you start so that you can brush up your knowledge.
A lot of the stuff in this lab is basically high school chem + some added material. It really isn't that hard as long as you don't blank out on the basic concepts involved.
Some of the stuff said above also applies to the 111/121 labs as well, though not to as great an extent.
Ass-covering Note: I will not directly answer LON-CAPA or homework problems in this thread. I may give general hints, but I will not work answers out for you here. That's what an office hour is for.
Ass-covering Disclaimer: None of the above is a final-word, authoritative statement and should not be taken as such. What you are told in lab, and what is put on the website, is the final word.
Comments
- Brush up on your Excel skills. Even if you only have Excel 95 or 97, try to get used to how formulas work and things like that. Almost forgot - one thing we insist on is the use of North American fonts. If you set your spreadsheets up at home and then e-mail them to yourself or bring them in on floppy disk, do them in Arial or Times New Roman!
- Some students get confused when we discuss 'endothermic' and 'exothermic' processes with respect to the temperature changes involved. My hint to you here is to carefully consider what actually constitutes the system and the surroundings.
- Make sure you have a lab notebook (spiral-bound or hard-back, but a three-ring binder is NOT acceptable) with you to the first week. It is always good to cultivate proper lab habits even if you're not a chemistry major and do not plan to go on past 126.
See y'all in lab.
- Don't forget to write your name and other appropriate info on your lab reports each week.
- Also, don't forget that we often ask for a Purpose or Objective on those self-same reports. Don't neglect this.
like what you learn in lab.. is it going to be on the finals & midterms?
or is the lecture & lab two separate things
For the 126 people -
Again, learn how to use Excel and be confident with cell references and basic formula entering. You'll need this skill throughout the course. If you still have trouble, come to our office hours. That's what we're paid to do - facilitate your understanding of this course.
The week coming up is lab techniques. Read the manual, and watch the TAs (including myself) as we demonstrate how to use various pieces of equipment.
You may even want to get a head start by reading the theory for Experiments three and four. They're broadly similar in that they examine features of chemical kinetics and involve the preparation of several solutions to do reactions with. In addition there is a spreadsheet for one of them (I believe experiment four). Try to make the spreadsheet; if you have trouble, come to office hour. I personally don't mind helping people who are ahead of the normal weekly material. :teeth:
It's pretty straightforward as far as chemical kinetics goes since you'll just be studying the same reaction under different concentration conditions. As usual, read the theory section on pages 33-34, look at the Powerpoint, read the experimental section on pages 35-39. A caveat: When the lab manual talks about a linear curve, just look for the most linear one when you do the experiment; we're not looking for picture-perfect results here.
If you don't understand chemical kinetics you can read a textbook, re-read the 122 notes or start at Wikipedia's entry. Note, PS, that any second+ year students reading this should not take this post as licence or permission to use Wikipedia as a reference on a lab report. Ask your lab professor and/or TA first before you do so, since some universities are cracking down on this and have zeroed out peoples' reports, etc for this practice.
Read Appendix 13 and the theory section of the experiment, and if you have problems with Excel, there's google and/or TA Office hours. The above will assist you in ensuring that you get your spreadsheet together for the lab.
Definitely read up on it and understand it, since you will need to make several solutions in a row so if you mess up, you'll lose time very quickly. Also, look at the Powerpoint for it and look at the yay pretty pictures 'n stuff.
http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtext/virtualtextbook.html
For 126 specifically:
This week's lab is about equilibrium. This means you should pay attention to the concentrations of the reactants and how these will affect the concentration of the product. In particular, note that when you have a large excess of reactant, you can force a reaction essentially to completion.