CHEM 1523 is divided into six units and subdivided into sections as follows:

Learning Activities

Throughout each unit, you will be directed to readings, videos, examples, and practice exercises. The nongraded practice exercises allow you to practice applying the concepts you learn and check your understanding. Answers are provided for each practice exercise question, but you will gain more knowledge if you attempt to answer the questions yourself before consulting the answers.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Working Through the Course

1. Turn to the first course section, Section 1.1, and work through the section. Each section has a checklist to direct your work. Read through the reading portion, which contains the mandatory concepts to learn in CHEM 1523. Browse through the supplementary resources and supplementary activities to experience alternative learning opportunities to improve your knowledge.

2. Work on the practice questions in Section 1.1. Chemistry can only be learned by practice. Learning is not a passive activity. Be sure to work through the examples in the reading portion, self-check question, and practice exercise questions yourself. Also, it is actually beneficial to be stumped at times and to have to think hard about a problem. When this happens, you will remember the problem and its solution better. Solutions to self-check questions and practice exercises are provided. You can use them to check your results or to obtain help when you have no idea about how to proceed. However, don’t look up the solution before you have seriously attempted to solve a problem. The practice questions are designed to train you to answer the Unit Assignments.

3. Proceed to the next section in Unit 1. Each section is designed to guide you smoothly through the subject. You should study the sections and units in the suggested order to get maximum benefit from this course.

4. Complete the graded Unit 1 Assignment on Moodle.   This step is only available to registered, TRU CHEM 1523 students.  When you have worked through all the sections in Unit 1, complete the Unit 1 Assignment. You may contact your Open Learning Faculty Member whenever you need help.

5. Work unit by unit through the course. The suggested schedule may be helpful to pace your learning, but you can adjust the schedule to fit your needs.  If you are registered, TRU CHEM 1523 student, carefully consider any feedback from the Open Learning Faculty Member as you progress through the course.

6. Upon completion of the last unit, review the whole course and prepare for the Final Exam.  This step is only available to registered, TRU CHEM 1523 students.  The Final Exam will consist of problems similar to those in the practice exercises and Unit Assignments. You might also find it helpful to rework some of these questions.

Suggested Schedule

Chemistry 1523 is designed for independent study, and you have up to 30 weeks to complete this course.  The following schedule shows how you can complete your course in 12 weeks, the time normally available for a traditional semester-long university class.  You can stretch or condense the suggested schedule to suit your context.

Learning Outcomes

Upon the successful completion of CHEM 1523, students will be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of:

• The microscopic differences between solids, liquids and gases
• The origins, definition of and measurement of gas pressure
• The relationship between macroscopic gas properties, the Ideal Gas equation
• Calculations and stoichiometry involving gases
• Mixtures of gases and the relationship between mole fraction and partial pressure
• The distribution of speeds for a gas sample and the effect of mass
• The postulates of the Kinetic Molecular theory of gases
• The terms effusion and diffusion of gases and their applications
• The reasons for the corrections applied in the van der Waals equation for gases
• The microscopic and macroscopic equilibrium state and the equilibrium constant and reaction quotient
• The algebraic manipulations of a chemical reaction and its equilibrium constant
• Le Chatelier’s Principle and its application to a chemical system at equilibrium
• Solving equilibrium problems, given either initial concentrations and the equilibrium constant and finding equilibrium amounts, or given equilibrium amounts and finding the equilibrium constant
• The Bronsted acid and base definitions and the relationship between conjugate acid-base pairs and their equilibrium constants for reaction with water
• The relative strengths of acids and bases determined by their equilibrium constants, including polyprotic acids
• Solving weak acid-weak base equilibrium problems
• The pH scale and the acidity or basicity of aqueous solutions
• The acid-base properties of salt solutions
• The common ion effect and buffer solutions, buffer capacity and buffer pH range, how to prepare buffer solutions, and how buffer solutions react to additions of acid or base
• The general form of acid-base titration curves, the significant regions, including indicator selection
• The acid-base properties of amino acids
• The fundamental processes involved in oxidation-reduction reactions
• The concept of half-cell reduction potentials, the standard hydrogen electrode, and cell potentials
• Standard conditions and the cell potential under non-standard conditions, the Nernst equation
• Fundamental properties of batteries
• Heat capacity, the first law of thermodynamics and calorimetry; exothermic or endothermic reactions
• The application of Hess’ Law to chemical systems
• The use of enthalpies of formation to predict enthalpy changes for other reactions
• The concept of spontaneous reactions and the importance of entropy
• The second and third laws of thermodynamics
• Free energy changes and the relationship with an equilibrium constant

Assessments

Unit Assignments (65%)

Unit Assignments are only available to registered, TRU CHEM 1523 students.  Unit Assignments, submitted on Moodle, are based on the concepts in each unit.  The Unit 1 Assignment is worth 10% of the course grade, and Units 2-6 Assignments are each worth 11% of the course grade.  The Open Learning Faculty Member will mark the assignments and return them to you as quickly as possible. Non-completion of an assignment will result in a mark of zero for that assignment.

Note: Always keep a copy of your responses to each assignment you submit so that you have a copy to refer to in the event of a technical breakdown.

Final Exam (35%)

The Final Exam is only available to registered, TRU CHEM 1523 students.  The mandatory, invigilated Final Exam is 3 hours in length and covers all the topics in the course. Please log into Moodle for instructions on arranging to write the Final Exam. To complete this course successfully, students have to achieve a passing grade of 50% or higher on the overall course and 50% or higher on the mandatory Final Exam.

The following table illustrates how the final grade will be determined for this course.

Grading Scale

The official grading scale for all Open Learning courses are noted in TRU’s Grading Systems and Procedures.

Academic Integrity

Appropriate academic conduct requires that students complete their assignments and exam independently, honestly, and without misrepresentation or plagiarism. Typically, plagiarism occurs in three forms: when a writer uses someone’s exact words or ideas as if they were their own, paraphrases someone’s ideas without acknowledgement or identifying the source, or simply does not include the proper citations. Be sure to cite all sources of direct quotations and borrowed ideas. If not, students could fail their assignments and, potentially, the course.

Note: Citing facts, statistics, or other illustrative materials deemed to be common knowledge is not considered to be plagiarism.

Each assignment is inspected for academic integrity. Please be aware, if students choose to submit multiple assignments at the same time and if an academic integrity violation is discovered in more than one of those assignments, that each assignment submission will be viewed as a separate offence and sanctions will be applied accordingly.

It is the students’ responsibility to ensure that students are fully familiar with the “Forms of Academic Dishonesty” section of the TRU Student Academic Integrity Policy.

TRU Library also provides the valuable resource Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Avoid It.

Resources to Help You Through the Course

Required Hardware, Software, and Computer Skills

• Technical Basics lists the hardware, software, and computer skills requirements for the course.
• A nonprogrammable scientific calculator is required.

Open Learning Faculty Member

An Open Learning Faculty Member (OLFM) is only available to registered, TRU CHEM 1523 students. Your OLFM will guide your learning in this course, mark and comment on your assignments, and provide you with whatever assistance you need with your coursework. You are encouraged to contact your OLFM early and often; for example, when:

• You wish to discuss any ideas about the course content.
• You do not understand some aspect of the course instructions or assessments.
• You have difficulty with any of the assigned readings.
• You have a question or a problem arising from your OLFM’s comments or grading of your assignments.

Your OLFM’s contact information is in your CHEM 1523 Moodle shell.

TRU Library

TRU Library provides registered TRU students with access to online, print, and audiovisual resources to successfully complete assignments, and for further reading on any topic discussed in this course.

The Distance, Regional, and Open Learning (DROL) services include the direct delivery of library materials at no cost to online students, and one-on-one research assistance.

Use the Discover search box to search for the library’s resources. You will be prompted to log in using your TRU network account. You may need to change the default password to your network account before you will be able to access the library’s resources. See Student Network Account for information.

You can request assistance by email (library@tru.ca) or phone 250-852-6402 (Kamloops, British Columbia) or 1-800-663-1699 (toll-free in Canada).

Writing Centre

The Writing Centre can help registered TRU students with feedback on their writing skills. Students can request help with any stage of the writing process, including: understanding assignment requirements; tips on brainstorming and idea generation; feedback on organization, sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation; resources for academic citations and avoiding plagiarism; and strategies for effective revision. Students may ask for help with a specific writing problem or for general feedback. Open Learning students can get support online or in person on TRU’s Kamloops campus.

Science Help Centre

CHEM 1523 has many mathematical formulae and equations to solve. The Science Help Centre is a free service for registered TRU students. Face-to-face help is available on TRU’s Kamloops campus.

Note: Check the hours of operation before visiting.

Technical Support

If you have problems using the tools or features of Moodle or Pressbook, check the Technical Basics web page to see if you are using the correct hardware and software required for your course. If you still experience problems, go to the IT Service Desk.

For help, email the IT Service Desk (ITServiceDesk@tru.ca) or call 250-852-6800 (Kamloops, British Columbia), 1-888-852-8533 (toll-free in Canada), and 1-250-852-6800 (international).