Fundamentals of Chemistry
      1. Course Information
           
Required Skills and Materials

Fundamentals of Chemistry

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Skills:
Motivation:  To successfully complete an independent study type course you must be able to motivate yourself to study.  Procrastination is the single biggest reason for poor performance in these courses.  If you stick with this course, you will learn something more important than science.  You will be able to take control of your own learning.

Navigate the Internet and Web Sites:  You should be able to access a web site given its web address.  You should be able to explore a web site by clicking links and using the browser's forward and back buttons.

Send and Receive E-mail and Attachments:  E-mail is a critical means of communicating with your instructor.  You won't need to use attachments very often (maybe not at all).  But, they can come in handy in case there is trouble accessing a web site.  Your instructor can send critical files to you as attachments if you are having trouble accessing them through the web site.  When you send a email make sure write something in the subject line.  Emails without subjects are considered spam and automatically "trashed" .

Download and Install Programs from the Internet:  There are two programs that must be loaded on your computer to access necessary information.  You may already have one or both of them.  Adobe Acrobat Reader is used to access printable files such as the syllabus, quizzes, and tests.  Microsoft Power Point (or Power Point viewer) is used to access tutorials which contain much of the course content.  Both of these programs are available for free.  Look below under the materials section for links to these programs.

Materials
Worktext:  Fundamentals of Chemistry 1st ed,  by John W. Pluemer
available at the Southwest Tech Bookstore and Online directly from the publisher

Scientific Calculator:  Any calculator listed as a scientific calculator will work just fine.  You can find them at any discount store (K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc) from $10.00 to $15.00.

E-mail Account
E-mail is the primary means of communicating with your instructor.  When you complete the Initial Instructor Contact form, you will be prompted to include your email address.  Any email account will be fine.  Web accessible email accounts including free ones from Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. can be very valuable because they allow you to access you account from any computer with internet access.  That way, you can stay in contact from home, school, work etc.

Computer with Internet Access:  The best way to access the course content is through the Internet.  Parts of the worktext are supplemented by tutorials that are accessed through the Internet.  Quizzes, Tests, and Study Guides can be accessed through the Internet.  In addition, web assignments require access to various web sites.

Web Sites
The Fundamentals of Chemistry  Web Site (You're looking at it right now) contains the information students need to navigate through the course.

The Math/Science Resource Center a large collection of math and science materials developed by instructors at Southwest Tech including some materials that are required for this course.

Software:
Adobe Acrobat Reader - This is a program used to view "pdf" files on the Internet.  Saving files in "pdf" form is a very common way of making documents available online.  The syllabus, quizzes, study guides, and tests are all available in this format.  You may already have this software.  Click the following link Sample PDF file.  The file will appear if you have the software.  If you can't access the file, click the icon below and follow the directions to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 Link to Adobe Acrobat

Microsoft PowerPoint - This program is used to view the tutorials that accompany many of the sections in the worktext.  If you have the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Access, etc.), it is very likely that you also have PowerPoint.  To check, go to Start -->  Programs and check the list of installed programs for Microsoft PowerPoint.  If you don't have it, you can download a free PowerPoint Viewer.  Click the icon below, search for PowerPoint Viewer, and follow the directions to download a free copy of PowerPoint Viewer.

Link to Microsoft Powerpoint Viewer

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