Submitted by Madalyn Radlauer / San Jose State University on Wed, 05/27/2026 - 17:16
My Notes
Specific Course Information
Course Area and Number
CHEM 146
Institution
San José State University
Location
San José, CA/USA
Textbook
none
Course Meetings and Time
Number of meetings per week
1 meeting / week
Number of weeks
> 15 weeks
Lab Associated
Yes, required, concurrently
Average Class Size
5 to 15
Typical Student Population
This is a capstone course taken by chemistry majors.
Description

Application of advanced instrumental and preparative techniques to the study of structure, reactivity, and spectroscopy of inorganic and organic substances including materials. This is a capstone course and includes a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) that runs throughout the semester.

Learning Goals

The goal of this course is to introduce physical and inorganic methodology, preparing students to understand and pursue related laboratory research. As a capstone course, this class requires students to integrate principles, theories, and methods learned in previous courses throughout the major. It involves writing and presentations, developing students' ability to effectively communicate scientific data and ideas. To that end, the instructor provides extensive feedback on each assignment and part of students' success in the course is measured by their ability to integrate that feedback into later assignments.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • CLO 1: Make predictions in a laboratory setting based on concepts from general, physical, analytical, and inorganic chemistry courses. (Pre-lab and proposal assignments)
  • CLO 2: Determine, execute, and troubleshoot synthetic and analytical experimental procedures found in the scientific literature safely and efficiently. (Pre-lab and in-lab assignments)
  • CLO 3: Evaluate and discuss the results of a project. (Write-up and final report/presentation assignments)
  • CLO 4: Develop a short research proposal based on literature precedent, and persuade reviewers (the instructor and fellow classmates) of its merits through written and oral presentations. (Proposal assignments)
How the course is taught
This course runs nearly 7 hours every Friday starting with seminar, but >6 h each week are dedicated to lab time.
Evaluation
Grading Scheme
Graded work in this course includes Canvas discussion posts, assignments on two short projects, and assignments on the larger CURE proposal/project.
Canvas discussion posts account for 50 points (5%).
The quality of lab safety, technique, and notebook keeping is assessed for each project totaling to 150 points (15%).
Pre-lab notes for the short projects account for 150 points (15%).
Write-ups for the short projects account for 150 points (15%).
Proposal Assignments: Form, Presentation, Critiques, and Responses account for 250 points (25%).
Final Project Group Assignments: Report and Presentation account for 250 points (25%).
Creative Commons License
Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike CC BY-NC-SA