5.111/ES.5111 Principles of Chemical Science
Spring 2013
Instructors: Matthew D Shoulders, Troy Van Voorhis
TAs: Andrew Stephen DiChiara, Tsehai Ariane Grell, Elizabeth Catherine Hocking, Zeyang Li, Christopher Lawrence Moore, Sarah Sunah Park, Elizabeth Charlotte Wittenborn, Hyunsuk Yoo, Yoseob Yoon
Lecture: MWF12 (32-123)
Subject Description:
Introduction to chemistry, with emphasis on basic principles of atomic and molecular electronic structure, thermodynamics, acid-base and redox equilibria, chemical kinetics, and catalysis. Introduction to the chemistry of biological, inorganic, and organic molecules.
Announcements
Equation Sheets and Instructions for Final Exam
Dear Class,The equation sheet for the final exam is available on Stellar as of yesterday https://stellar.mit.edu/S/course/5/sp13/5.111/courseMaterial/topics/topic5/exam/Equation_Sheet_for_5.111_Final_Exam_2013/Equation_Sheet_for_5.111_Final_Exam_2013.pdf
Also, check out the instructions for the final exam here: https://stellar.mit.edu/S/course/5/sp13/5.111/courseMaterial/topics/topic5/exam/pdc.5.111.final_instruct_F2013/pdc.5.111.final_instruct_F2013.pdf
The TAs are holding a review session/office hours in 4-257 until 8 PM tonight. See you tomorrow!
--Matt
Announced on 22 May 2013 12:21 p.m. by Matthew D Shoulders
Resources to Help Prepare for the 5.111 Final Exam
Dear Class,I want to bring to your attention some resources to help you prepare for the 5.111 final exam below:
(1) Video tutorials for the 5.111 final exam are now available on the MITx site for 5.111 https://lms.mitx.mit.edu/courses/MITx/5.11x/2013_Spring/courseware/examFinal/. Some practice problems are also available on the MITx site, and we hope to upload a few more soon.
(2) I am holding office hours in 16-573A from 4-5 PM on Tuesday and am available by email if you have a question or want to schedule an appointment at a different time.
(3) The TAs will hold a marathon office hours/review session in 4-257 from 12-8 PM on Wednesday.
Finally, I have extended the deadline to answer the final pre-lecture question of the semester through tomorrow afternoon. It so happens that this pre-lecture question just encourages you to complete the 5.111 course evaluation (of course, if you put in an answer for the pre-lecture question you still get credit even without completing the course evaluation). This is because we really do want your evaluations -- based on your comments, we will keep what you like and try to improve what you don't like in future iterations of 5.111.
Thanks and happy studying,
--Matt
Announced on 19 May 2013 1:11 p.m. by Matthew D Shoulders
Solutions to Problem 6a in PSet 10 Revised
Dear Class,I just posted a revised version of the solutions to problem 6a in PSet 10 in which a math error is fixed thanks to a member of the class pointing it out. If you downloaded the old solutions make sure to use the revised 6a solution when you check your work. Thanks,
--Matt
Announced on 19 May 2013 11:27 a.m. by Matthew D Shoulders
End-of-Term Announcements
Dear Class,Below are a few announcements as we come up on the end of the term, as well as some information on course grading:
1: There is one more pre-lecture question for you to answer (free points!) at this link on the MITx website https://lms.mitx.mit.edu/courses/MITx/5.11x/2013_Spring/courseware/week14/prelec35_seq/
2: Remember that we DO have lecture at 12:05 PM in the usual room this Friday May 17. We will be discussing catalysis, which is a topic covered on the final exam.
3: Problem Set 10 on kinetics is available on Stellar. While this assignment is ungraded, please be sure that you both complete and understand the problems on this PSet as kinetics constitutes a very significant portion of the 5.111 final exam.
4: We will hold a rolling office hour/review session from 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM on Wednesday May 22 in Room 4-257. At least two TAs will be present throughout that time.
5: Prof. Shoulders will hold his regular office hours on Tuesday May 21 from 4:00 – 5:00 PM in 16-573A.
6: Course Grading: 5.111 is not graded on a curve. We would be happy to assign A’s to everyone in the course if you demonstrate that level of understanding of the material. To help you in understanding where you currently stand in the course, some information is provided below (identical information on exam letter grades was also given out in lectures following exams throughout the term and has not been adjusted since that time). The letter grade cutoffs are not written in stone but are intended to give you an idea of where you stand. Recall that each midterm is worth 100 points, the homeworks collectively are worth 100 points and course participation collectively is worth 50 points.
Most importantly, remember that the final exam constitutes 300 points out of 750 possible points in the class and that roughly 30–40% of the final exam will focus exclusively on new material from lectures 28–35.
Exam 1:
A-ish: 85+
B-ish: 70–84
C-ish: 50–69
D-ish: 37–49
Exam 2:
A-ish: 81+
B-ish: 67–80
C-ish: 53–66
D-ish: 39–52
Exam 3:
A-ish: 91+
B-ish: 78–90
C-ish: 61-77
D-ish: 48–60
Problem Sets:
A-ish: >90%
B-ish: 80–90%
C-ish: 70–80%
D-ish: 60–70%
Course Participation (Clickers and Pre-Lecture Questions):
A-ish: >85%
B-ish: 75–85%
C-ish: 65–75%
D-ish: 55–65%
Announced on 15 May 2013 8:58 p.m. by Matthew D Shoulders
Extra Lecture on Friday at 12:00 PM in 32-123
Dear Class,This is a reminder of an announcement in class at the last two lectures:
To help make up for all the missed lectures earlier in the semester, we will be holding 5.111 lecture on Friday May 17 at 12:00 PM in 32-123. We will discuss the topic of catalysis during that lecture, which is relevant to the final exam. Pre-lecture questions and clickers will be provided as usual for this extra lecture. Thanks and enjoy the weekend!
--Matt
Announced on 11 May 2013 10:05 a.m. by Matthew D Shoulders
