Welcome to Chemistry Teacher’s Name: Dr. Gary Lutz You may call me Dr. Lutz or Mr. Lutz

Three Things About You Name: __________________________________ Please list three things that you think are interesting about you (to be turned in at the end of the class period for participation grade). 1) _____________________________________________________________________ 2)______________________________________________________________________ 3) _____________________________________________________________________ My wife is from Ecuador and I lived in Ecuador for 2 years. I like hiking in the mountains. I have a PhD in Organic Chemistry and I taught at Longwood for 6 years. (These are things about me that you might find interesting.) On the same sheet of paper as your interesting things, please write any questions that you may have for me. I will try to answer these question anonymously during future classes.

Grades Tests: 30% Quizzes:25% Class work:20% Homework:15% Participation:10% Example: Assume you have the following grades. Calculate your actual grade average. Tests: 84%, 93% Quizzes:75%, 88%, 93% Class work:95%, 92%, 97%, 94% Homework:85%, 92%, 98%, 100% Participation:95%, 95%, 95%, 100% Grading Scale: A B C D FBelow 64.5

Tests (Average) = (84% + 93%)/2 = 88.5% Quizzes (Average) = (75% + 88% + 93%)/3 = 85.3% Class work (Average) = (95% + 92% + 97% + 94%)/4 = 94.5% Homework (Average) = (85% + 92% + 98% + 100%)/4 = 93.75% Participation (Average) = (95% + 95% + 95% + 100%)/4 = 96.25% Needed Calculations (Averages) Needed Calculations (Weighted Average) Grade Average = 0.3*Test *Quiz + 0.2*Class *Home + 0.1*Participation Grade Average = 0.3*88.5% *85.3% + 0.2*94.5% *93.75% + 0.1*96.25% = % Please note!!! Atomic masses of elements on the periodic table are also calculated by using a weighted average.

Tests: 84%, 93% Quizzes:75%, 88%, 93% Class work:95%, 92%, 97%, 94% Homework:85%, 0%, 0%, 0% Participation:95%, 75%, 75%, 75% Impact of Missing work on Grades (only changes are: 3 missing homework grades and 3 lower participation grades because of missing homework) Old Grade Average was % New Grade Average ( %) 3 missing homework scores caused the grade to drop from an A to a C. In reality, the drop in grades because of missing homework is often even more because most students that do not complete the homework can not perform well on quizzes and tests.

Discipline Philosophy Think of me like a policeman sitting in his car at the bottom of a hill with his lights on. When you drive over the top of the hill at 75 mi/hr (past a 55 mi/hr speed limit sign), you have a choice. Since you clearly see him sitting there and you know the law, you could: 1)fly right by and force him to write the ticket you have earned; or 2)slow down and drive past at 55. Part of the policeman’s job is to enforce the law, and he should write a ticket when we break the law (we pay him to do that as part of his job). In this classroom, part of my job is to maintain order (enforce the rules). If you get a referral from me, please remember that I tried to warn you first (like having the lights on in the car at the bottom of the hill). At some point, you chose to break the rules anyway and essentially asked me to write you a referral.

1)All rules in the student handbook apply in this room. 2)In order to be “on time” for class, students need to be in their assigned seats and need to be getting ready for class when the bell to begin class rings. 3)Students will come prepared to every class (bring paper and pencil, read the book, etc….). 4)Passes will only be given after the first 15 minutes of class. 5)Only one person at a time will be allowed to have a pass out of the classroom. 6)At the end of class, students will remain in their assigned seats until I release you from class when the bell rings.

Books: When books are assigned, take your book home and plan to use it at home to complete homework and to study. Classroom Books: there will be a set of classroom books on the shelf by the door. These books are only to be used in room 209 and no one has permission to remove any of these books from the room. We will use these books in class as needed. See the White Board on the right hand side of the room for the assignments for chapter 1 (use the handouts provided)

Teacher Web Please look for my name on the Teacher Web Website to download documents that you may find useful.