CHM 101 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric Overview The final project for this course is the creation of a report that discusses a chemical compound of your choice. You must select a compound through...

CHM 101 Final Project Guidelines and Ru
ic

Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a report that discusses a chemical compound of your choice. You must select a compound through
ainstorming with your class peers and with approval of your instructor. You must provide your motivation for choosing the compound,
information about the compound, and at least one reaction involved in its production or use. You must also apply ideas learned throughout the
course to provide insights about the properties and uses of the compound.

The project is divided into two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality
final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three and Five. The final submission will occur in Module Seven.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

 Describe energy flow, both kinetic and potential, in chemical systems
 Identify states of matter
 Explain chemical changes and bonding in relation to molecular behavior and energy
 Classify matter, elements, compounds, and energy
 Describe the properties of matter, including mass, solubility, and density


Prompt
In the final project, you will create a report about a compound that is of interest to you and explain the importance, properties, production, and
other aspects of the compound. Ideally, you will choose a topic of interest drawn from your own real-life experiences. Include relevant tables and
charts either in-text or as appendices. You must collect information about the compound from citable sources and complete the following:

 Identify your motivation for choosing this compound (importance in a particular career, curiosity about an everyday compound, etc.)
 Provide information about the physical properties of the compound
 Provide information about the cost, extent of production, and use
 Provide information about at least one chemical reaction involved in the production or use of the compound (type of reaction, heat of
eaction, catalysts, safety considerations, etc.)
 Include an analysis and interpretation of at least three aspects of this compound and/or its reactions with specific references to the class
esources

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Introduction:
a. Include your choice of compound and why it was chosen.
. Make a connection to your experiences.
c. Include a preview of what you hope to convey to the reader (this will include showing how the concepts in the class help you
understand the information).

II. Compound Description:
In this section, describe the compound you have chosen. You must include the following information:

a. Physical description—State of the compound and identifying characteristics.
. Molecular description—Provide molecular weight, constituent elements, types of bonding, and polarity.
c. Properties description—Provide relevant properties such as solubility, density, state, and boiling/melting point.
d. Usage—Describe the usage including relevant energy flows.
e. Economic importance—Include at least three years of recent information on the production and cost of the compound and indicate
any trends.

III. Reaction Description:
In this section, you will describe a reaction related to the production or use of the compound you have chosen. You must include the
following:

a. Type of reaction—Describe the general class of reaction (combustion, acid
ase, redox, etc.).
. Heat of reaction—Provide the amount of heat that must be added or removed from this reaction at the relevant temperature and
whether this reaction is exothermic or endothermic.
c. All products, reactants, and catalysts – Include a balanced equation with all states of participants.
d. Special considerations—Document the safe operating range of this reaction, safety considerations, and side reactions that may
produce unwanted products.
e. Summary of other possible reactions – Provide either another reaction to produce the compound or an alternate use and its
eaction.

IV. Class Connection:
Using some of the ideas from the class resources and textbook, make quantitative/qualitative comparisons of the compound and/or the
elated reaction described earlier. These comparisons can be to different compounds
eactions or to the same compound
eaction at a
different condition. Include references to the specific class week
esource or textbook section/chapter as appropriate. Include at least three
such comparisons. This should include at least one comparison for the reaction and one comparison for the compound to allow you to
demonstrate the mastery of all of the course outcomes. The following are ideas onlycontact your instructor if you are unsure of the
applicability of a comparison:

a. Difference in state—How does the compound’s use change in a different physical state or when mixed with other compounds at
different concentrations?
. Difference in the reactivity of the compound with the reactivity of a similar compound—Does more or less reactivity change the way
in which it is used?
c. Change in the heat of reaction—Discuss the effects of changing the reaction temperature; for example, would the change make it
unsafe, too slow, unstable, etc.?
d. Difference in the molecular weight of this compound compared to similar compounds—How does this difference affect properties
(e.g., solubility) to change the range of uses?

V. Conclusion:
Summarize the key aspects of the properties/insights based on the content of your paper.

Milestones
Milestone One: Introduction (Section I)
In Module Three, you will submit a draft of the Introduction (Section I) for instructor approval and feedback. Your draft should include all of the
critical elements as listed above for the Introduction. Your introduction should be between ½ and 1 page in length. This milestone is graded with
the Milestone One Ru
ic.

Milestone Two: Compound Description, Reaction Description, Class Connection (Sections II, III, and IV)
In Module Five, you will submit a draft of the Compound Description (Section II), Reaction Description (Section III), and Class Connection (Section
IV) of the critical elements as listed above. The submission should be 4 pages in length (3 pages if tables and figures are omitted). This milestone is
graded with the Milestone Two Ru
ic.

Final Submission: Report
In Module Seven, you will submit your report. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It
should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded using the Final Product Ru
ic.

Final Product Ru
ic
Guidelines for Submission: Your report should be at least 5 pages (plus a cover page and references). This total includes tables and figures, but there should be a
minimum of 4 pages if tables and figures are omitted. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. References should be cited in
APA format.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Introduction:
Choice of
Compound
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
ideas are substantiated with
specific and relevant examples to
support rationale
Identifies compound chosen and
uses specific details in
explanation to support why the
compound was chosen
Identifies compound chosen but
lacks details in explanation to
support why the compound was
chosen
Does not identify compound 8
Introduction:
Personal
Experiences
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
ideas are substantiated with
specific and relevant connections
to personal experiences
Identifies personal experiences
that contain relevant connections
Identifies personal experiences
ut connections are i
elevant
Does not identify personal
experiences
5
Introduction:
Preview
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
ideas are substantiated with
specific and relevant preview of
what is conveyed to the reader
Identifies a specific preview of
what is conveyed to the reader
Identifies a specific preview but
connections are i
elevant
Does not preview what is
conveyed to the reader
5
Compound
Description:
Physical
Description
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
physical description is
substantiated with specific and
elevant information
Accurately provides a physical
description of the compound
using specific details
Provides a physical description of
the compound, but description is
inaccurate or lacks details
Does not provide a physical
description of the compound
5
Compound
Description:
Molecular
Description
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
molecular description is
substantiated with specific and
elevant information
Accurately provides a molecular
description of the compound
using specific details
Provides a molecular description
of the compound, but description
is inaccurate or lacks details
Does not provide a molecular
description of the compound
5
Compound
Description:
Properties
Description
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
properties description is
substantiated with specific and
elevant information
Accurately provides a properties
description of the compound
using specific details
Provides a properties description
of the compound, but description
is inaccurate or lacks details
Does not provide a properties
description of the compound
5
Compound
Description:
Usage
Meets “Proficient” criteria and a
description of usage is
substantiated with specific and
elevant information
Accurately provides a description
of usage of the compound using
specific details
Provides a description of usage of
the compound, but description is
inaccurate or lacks details
Does not provide a description of
usage of the compound
5
Compound
Description:
Economic
Importance
Meets “Proficient” criteria and a
description of economic
importance is substantiated with
specific and relevant information
Accurately provides a description
of economic importance of the
compound using specific details
Provides a description of
economic importance of the
compound, but description is
inaccurate or lacks details
Does not provide a description of
economic importance of the
compound
5
Reaction
Description:
Type of Reaction
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
ideas are substantiated with
specific and relevant examples to
support rationale
Accurately describes the general
class of reaction
Describes the general class of
eaction, but description is
inaccurate
Does not describe the general
class of reaction
5
Reaction
Description:
Heat of Reaction