TLC General Chemistry 2

Learning Strategies for General Chemistry 2 (CHM 1046)

The Center for Academic Success (CfAS) is piloting a new program called “Learning Strategies for General Chemistry.” Specific skills are necessary to be a successful student in chemistry. Reinforcing algebraic thinking and making connections between the mechanics of chemistry and the general concepts are integral to building a strong foundation in the physical sciences.

This new program is facilitated by tutors who have been very successful in general chemistry and are former students of chemistry faculty here at FIU. They have experienced the same frustrations as many general chemistry students and are excited about sharing the learning strategies they have identified as most successful for the course. The following are expectations for participants in this program.

The center will be eliciting feedback from you as students to refine the program to suit your needs as learners and the faculty’s needs as educators.

  • Workshop Expectations
    1. Be prepared. Bring your general chemistry textbook, syllabus, and any pertinent materials related to your class. Any forms of research material are extremely helpful.
    2. Be on time. Sessions are one hour in length. While workshops consist of 10-15 students, our tutors need all of this time in order to provide each participant with the necessary attention and detail to his/her progress.
    3. Be consistent. Your professor may provide an extra credit incentive. In order to receive the possible extra credit, be consistent in your session attendance. If you miss the first week or two consecutive weeks later in the semester without notifying your tutor, your spot in the session will be reopened to other students.
    4. Be receptive. You will receive a variety of strategies, organizers, handouts, and study rubrics throughout the sessions. Keep these in your ‘metacognitive bank’ and ask your tutor questions.
    5. Be responsible. Once you register for a workshop at the Center for Academic Success (CfAS), you are reserving a place that no other student can take. Be considerate of these workshops. Keep your Panther ID handy when you arrive to the center. You must enter your information at the front area of our center, and make sure that your tutor records your attendance. At the end of the semester these records will be submitted to your professor.
  • Workshop Syllabus

    Please note that the Workshop Syllabus is subject to change. 

    Session 1:Kinetics

    This workshop will introduce how to calculate rate laws by interpreting experimental data. Students will determine how fast chemical reactions proceed based on order of the reaction and classify reactions into zeroth, first, and second order.

    Session 2:Equilibrium

    Students will be introduced to the equilibrium constant, the equation used to determine equilibrium constants, the gas equilibrium constant, and applying Le Chatelier’s principle to equilibrium constants.

    Session 3 & 4:Study Hall/Exam Review

    Bring your study materials to prepare for your upcoming exams! Or bring your first exam to review the difficult problems!

    Sessions 5 & 6:Acids & Bases

    These workshops will review and apply equilibrium concepts, ICE tables, solubility, buffers, types of acids, ICF tables, and methods on how to differentiate between each topic.

    Session 7:Titrations & Buffers

    In this session, students will learn how to construct acid/base reactions through titrations and how to construct ICE tables to determine concentration of specific reactants and products. They will focus on identifying what a buffer is, when a solution is a buffer, and how to calculate the pH of a solution after titration.

     

    Session 8:Solubility

    Using the concept of equilibrium, this workshop will offer a comprehensive understanding of the common ion effect, selective precipitation, and solubility equilibria as it relates to the qualitative analysis of buffer solutions.

    Session 9:Exam Review

    Bring your second exam to review the difficult problems in preparation for the last few weeks of the semester

    Session 10:Solutions and Colligative Properties

    Colligative properties depend on the concentration of a solute rather than the identity. This session focuses on determining and converting between different concentrations, as well as applying these concentrations to each colligative property.

     

    Session 11:Electrochemistry

    This workshop will focus on the concept of redox reactions, galvanic cells will be used to derive cell potentials, and both reduction potentials and free energy changes will also be discussed.

    Session 12 & 13:Study Hall

    Bring your study materials to prepare for your upcoming exams!

On the registration page, select the topic(s) that interest you. Then enter all the fields of requested information.