BeckGroup Theoretical Chemistry: ESyl
Instructor: Thomas L. Beck
Class: 11-12:20 TTh Crosley 601
Office: 1301 Crosley
Phone: 513 556 4886
Office hours: after class and by appointment
Email: thomas.beck at uc.edu
Beck webpage: BeckHome
Course webpage: Energy
Also see backboard page (course documents) for a
link to this page.
Text: there is no assigned text. Much of the material will
come from two recommended books:
1) Energy for a sustainable world by N. Armaroli
and V. Balzani and 2) Renewable energy: power for a sustainable
future edited by G. Boyle. Both books are excellent: for this introductory
course the second one might be more appropriate. I'd highly recommend buying
one or both of these books online.
I will also provide links to a wide
range of online material. There is another very interesting book you might
like to read, The Sun's Heartbeat: And Other Stories from the Life of the
Star That Powers Our Planet, by Bob Berman. There are a couple
of interesting and helpful books on the larger problems of
transitioning away from fossil fuels: "A cubic mile of oil" by Crane, Kinderman, and Malhotra and "Powering the future" by Robert Laughlin. Both are excellent
and give a longer term view. A stimulating popular science
book on the fascinating
development of the battery is "The Battery: How Portable Power Sparked
a Technological Revolution" by Henry Schlesinger.
You should keep two notebooks for the course: one for in-class discussion and problem solving and one for your own problem solving. Also you should have a notepad with pages on which you can answer simple quiz questions and then tear out and hand in for grading.
I recommend you bring a laptop to class if possible. You will use the laptop (or potentially a phone) for the sole purpose of finding online information during the class. I expect all devices to be closed during class unless we are specifically searching for information pertaining to an energy topic. Thanks!
Each day you should come prepared with an interesting `energy-related fact' to share with the class. You should try to make this fact related to what we are discussing in class, but any interesting fact will do. These facts could come from your class reading, online searching, or the daily news. An excellent webpage for searching is phys.org.
This will get updated as the course progresses.
This will get updated as the course progresses.
This class will involve a variety of problem solving, projects, and
exams.
Attendance is required but I will not take full attendance each day;
however, I will call on people in class, and you need to be present
and prepared for discussion. If you are not there when I call your
name or are not prepared then I will record that.
Scores:
Hour exams are 100 pts each, 200 total for both midterms
Attendance, homeworks, in class participation, and projects 300
(500 total pts.)
1. No makeup exams will be given for the midterms. If you cannot make one midterm I will
need to see a doctor's report or say a police report for an accident. If you have an
excused absence then I will weight the other exams and not include the missed exam.
2. Absences from class will be considered justified with a written doctor's
excuse on official letterhead of the clinic.
3. The University Rules concerning academic integrity will be enforced. Any violation
of these regulations will be taken seriously and will be dealt with on an individual
basis according to the severity of the misconduct.
4. Full attendance means 3 or less unjustified absences.
If I am unable to make a class due to illness etc. I will send out an email to all of the registered students through Blackboard. I will also call the Dept. of Chemistry main office to let them know (513-556-9200).