This information, specifically for my lab sections, supplements the "Organic Chemistry Laboratory Manual" and Blackboard. (If the information found in the Manual or textbook differs from that here, this information takes precedence.)

Attendance

Attendance at laboratory is mandatory. If you must be absent, please let me know as far ahead of time as possible so we can make alternate arrangements. There are several other lab sections and you may be able to make up missed work during another class in the same week. However, space in another class is not guaranteed (for safety reasons) and you should not rely on it. In order for you to attend another section, I must give you a Lab Permission form. I will not accept laboratory work that I have not authorized beforehand, even if another instructor allows you into the laboratory. Unexcused absences will result in a grade of zero for the lab missed.

Please come to class on time. After the quiz, I will use the next half-hour of recitation to explain procedures and to update or correct the assigned exercise. It is not efficient for me to have to repeat this information to late-comers. If you miss the quiz because of tardiness, you cannot take it late.

Check the chalk board periodically for information updates.

If you finish the assigned work before the end of the scheduled lab period, please let me know; there are many routine lab maintenance jobs that need to be performed.

Lab Maintenance, and Clean-up and Check-out

Notice the posted pictures of lab equipment at each bench. Each of the drawers will contain this equipment at the beginning of the semester. A drawer is assigned to be shared by you and students in other lab sections. The drawer is to be maintained in this condition throughout the semester. At the end of each lab, tell the assistant in the prep room that you want to check out. The assistant will check your drawer contents and initial your notebook. If you find the drawer to be in unsatisfactory condition (items missing or dirty), tell the assistant in the prep room. They will identify the student in the previous lab who used the drawer. Likewise, if a later student finds the drawer in unsatisfactory condition, I will be notified and your lab report grade will be reduced by 10%.

You are responsible for cleaning your own workspace and equipment, and properly disposing of all waste as directed. In addition, each week one or two students will assist in maintaining the common lab workspaces, such as the hoods, balances and instrument areas. This post-lab duty will be assigned on a rotating basis and each student will participate just once during the semester.

Grades

Course grading will be based on your performance in the laboratory, pre-lab quizzes, lab notebooks, reports, and a comprehensive final exam. The approximate weight given to each of these components is: Quizzes and other assignments and the Final Exam (50%), Notebook and reports (40%), Performance (10%).

The quiz at the beginning of each laboratory period will cover the assignment for that day, and in some cases the material from a preceding week(s) where it is relevant. The text pages in Mohrig et al., as well as occasional related readings in the Solomons lecture text, are also a part of your reading assignment. Videos may be part of the weekly assignment. You may use your laboratory research notebook during the quizzes. Use notebook pages to take notes on your reading preparation for the experiment but keep them separate from your experiment notebook pages. Duplicates of the notes pages are not turned in.

Other pages in the notebook are in preparation for the experiment itself ("Pre-lab") and should be completed before lab. (See the PowerPoint for the first experiment for more information.) During lab, you will make entries in your laboratory notebook regarding the procedure you followed and your results and conclusions. At the end of the period, you will turn in a copy of your day's work and keep a copy in your notebook. See the Lab Manual for guidelines on keeping a laboratory notebook.

At the conclusion of each laboratory assignment, you will turn in a lab Report, following guidelines in the Manual and on this chemistry lab web page. With the synthesis lab reports, you will also submit your product for grading. Reports and products must be turned in at the beginning of the lab period in which they are due. If you know that your report will be late, please tell me. No report will be accepted after I have graded the other students' reports.

The performance grade reflects your preparedness for the lab, neatness, efficiency, proper utilization of resources, and the ability to perform the experiments and use the equipment properly.

Computer Resources

This and all other information pertaining to the course is on the Organic Chemistry WWW page (accessed through http://mason.gmu.edu/~sslayden).

A direct link to my CHEM 315 and 318 lab web pages is http://mason.gmu.edu/~sslayden/Lab/sws/front.html.