Welcome to CH 222!

CH 222 Announcements

October 21, 2024

Greeting to the Winter 2025 Chemistry 222 class! My name is Dr. Michael Russell and I will be your Chemistry 222 instructor this quarter. I think this will be an exciting term, and I look forward to working with you! You can call me Dr. Russell, Mr. Russell, Professor, Michael, Mike.... almost anything respectful is fine (*except* for "Mikey" - don't go there, I have bad memories from the brat kid in the 1970's Life cereal commercial! lol)!

Classes start Monday, January 6 at Mt. Hood Community College. What happens this week (and in subsequent weeks) depends on which section of CH 222 you are enrolled. There are three "types" of CH 222 this quarter:

  • Section 01 (which is mostly face-to face with on campus lectures and labs)
  • Section H1 (which has virtual lectures and a face-to-face on campus lab), and
  • Section W1 (which is 100% online for both lectures and labs.)

Information for each section on what is happening this week can be found below, followed by some general information for everyone about how to get started in this class.

Quick Links for Section 01, Section H1, Section W1 and General Information for Everyone


For Section 01:

Section 01 has a required on-campus and in-person lab each Monday from 1:10 PM until no later than 5 PM. In addition, Section 01 students should attend the on-campus and in-person lectures each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 AM.

  • The lectures will be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 AM until 9:50 AM in AC 1303. AC 1303 is located near the Planetarium on the lower level of the main campus.
    • Our first lecture will be Monday, January 6 at 9:00 AM in room AC 1303.
    • If you would like a printed copy of the Lecture Notes while I am lecturing, you can find it here, and future chapters will also be available at this location.
    • Purchase (or print) the Chemistry 222 Companion. The Companion is a collection of all the problem sets, labs, lecture notes and more that you will need this quarter. You can purchase the Chemistry 222 Companion through the MHCC Bookstore (direct link), but you can alternatively print this (large!) document yourself. You will need printed materials this quarter in CH 222!
    • A subscription to the iClicker Student App is an optional purchase if you will be attending lectures in CH 221. It is not required, but it is a fun item to have and worth some extra credit if you attend lecture.
  • The lab will be on Mondays from 1:10 PM until 5 PM. We will start in room AC 2501 then move to the actual lab room (AC 2507) around 3 PM.
    • Our first lab will be Monday, January 6 at 1:10 PM starting in room AC 2501.
    • For the first day of lab, please bring a printed copy of the "Chromatography" lab and your calculator. A pair of safety goggles will be useful as well, and I encourage you to bring your own pair.

For Section H1:

Section H1 has a required on-campus and in-person lab each Wednesday from 1:10 PM until no later than 5 PM.

  • The lab will be on Wednesdays from 1:10 PM until 5 PM. We will start in room AC 2501 then move to the actual lab room (AC 2507) around 3 PM. Both AC 2501 and AC 2507 are located near the "F" parking lot on the main MHCC campus.
    • Our first lab will be Wednesday, January 8 at 1:10 PM starting in room AC 2501.
    • For the first day of lab, please bring a printed copy of the "Chromatography" lab and your calculator. A pair of safety goggles will be useful as well, and I encourage you to bring your own pair.
  • Purchase (or print) the Chemistry 222 Companion.
    • The Companion is a collection of all the problem sets, labs, lecture notes and more that you will need this quarter. You can purchase the Chemistry 222 Companion through the MHCC Bookstore (direct link), but you can alternatively print this (large!) document yourself.
    • You will need printed materials this quarter in CH 222!
  • You will need to learn the lecture material on your own using one or more of these methods:
    • You can read the chapters in the textbook.
    • You can use my "Complete Lectures" for each section. Complete lectures include all the relevant information from each section, and most are split into two separate videos.
    • You can watch the recordings of the live lectures I offer section 01 of CH 222 this winter. These videos should be available by noon on the day they were given on our website and on YouTube.
    • You can view the Screencasts (i.e. mini lecture videos) for each chapter.
    • All of these methods are acceptable; you can also use the Internet to find your own preferred method of learning.

For Section W1:

Section W1 will never have on-campus meetings this quarter. This is a completely online and asynchronous class (ie no online live lectures, etc.) with assignment due dates described in the "What's Due This Week" portion of the CH 222 syllabus.

  • Your first lab assignment entitled the "Introduce Yourself Lab" will be due on Friday, January 10 by 9 AM. I want to "know who you are", so the first lab will give me a chance to "meet" you as you create a video on YouTube, Vimeo, etc. I also want you to complete the "Memorandum" and send it to me via PDF. This assignment will be due officially on Friday, January 10 at 9 AM via email, but you can turn it in early if you'd like... turning in assignments early is never a problem!
  • Purchase (or print) the Chemistry 222 Companion.
    • The Companion is a collection of all the problem sets, labs, lecture notes and more that you will need this quarter. You can purchase the Chemistry 222 Companion through the MHCC Bookstore (direct link), but you can alternatively print this (large!) document yourself.
    • This quarter, you can complete assignments by scanning "pencil and paper" work using a program like CamScanner and then emailing them to the instructor as a PDF file. You can also use a tablet (iPad, Surface, etc.) and a program similar to Goodnotes or Notability to complete your work and then email a PDF of the assignment when done... your call. I need you to show me hand-written work (nothing typed, except for the Class Presenations.)
  • You will need to learn the lecture material on your own using one or more of these methods:
    • You can read the chapters in the textbook.
    • You can use my "Complete Lectures" for each section. Complete lectures include all the relevant information from each section, and most are split into two separate videos.
    • You can watch the recordings of the live lectures I offer section 01 of CH 222 this winter. These videos should be available by noon on the day they were given on our website and on YouTube.
    • You can view the Screencasts (i.e. mini lecture videos) for each chapter.
    • All of these methods are acceptable; you can also use the Internet to find your own preferred method of learning.

General Information for Everyone:

All students of CH 222 are expected to know and use the following constants in these versions with these significant figures only:

  • Avogadro's number (6.022 x 1023)
  • the speed of light (c = 2.998 x 108 m s-1)
  • Planck's constant (h = 6.626 x 10-34 J*s
  • the heat capacity of liquid water (C = 4.184 J g-1 °C-1)
  • the "gas constant" (R = 0.082057 L atm mol-1 K-1), and
  • the "energy gas constant" (R = 8.3145 J mol-1 K-1)
  • 273.15 (to convert Kelvin to Celsius temperatures and vice-versa)

We will use these occasionally during CH 222 and I expect you to know them and use these values of the constants... using other versions (ie less sig figs, etc.) can result in point loss on assignments. Knowing common metric conversions is also expected in CH 222 (i.e. kilo, centi, milli, micro and nano.)


If you would like to start working on Chemistry 222 materials a bit earlier, then here are some ideas to get you started in the course successfully:

  • First, know that I am here to help you in any way that I can, and I encourage you to contact me any time you need assistance. Email is the best way to contact me (mike.russell@mhcc.edu); you can also use Discord (https://discord.gg/ZhrmjCS) or you can visit me during my office hours in room AC 2568 on the MHCC campus (located half way between the math and science departments.) Office hours will be held MW 10 - 11 AM, MW noon - 1 PM and F 8 - 9 AM in AC 2568.
  • Watch an introductory video from the instructor! Use this link to see who I am and learn about CH 222!
  • Look around the CH 222 website (http://mhchem.org/222) We will not be using the MyMHCC Portal or Blackboard this quarter, but you will find a variety of goodies on our website.... check it out!
  • View the CH 222 Syllabus and check out the 'Getting Started' guide (http://mhchem.org/Syl222/). This will let you know what the course is like, and be sure to check out the "What's Due This Week" Guide (both in the syllabus and here.)
  • Explore the Chemistry 222 Discord server (https://discord.gg/ZhrmjCS). Discord is a wonderful platform to share ideas and learning, and I will be posting there regularly. Check it out!
  • Start Problem Set #1 (https://mhchem.org/222/classroom/pdf/zPS1.pdf). Problem Set #1 covers Chapter 7 of our textbook, and it's officially due on: Monday, January 13 (section 01 in recitation), Wednesday, January 15 (section H1 in recitation) or Wednesday, January 15 by 11:59 PM (section W1 via email).
  • For Section 01 and Section H1 only: Print the Chromatography lab and bring it with you to the first lab (Section 01: Monday, January 6; Section H1: Wednesday, January 8.) We will complete the lab work during the lab period, then you will turn the completed lab in at the beginning of lab the following week (Section 01: Monday, January 13; Section H1: Wednesday, January 15.) (Note that the "Chromatography" lab is in the Chemistry 222 Companion.)
  • Look over Sample Quiz #1 (https://mhchem.org/222/classroom/pdf/QzSample.pdf). Sample Quiz #1 will be similar to the actual Quiz #1 which we will take during the second week. Section 01 and Section H1 will take the quiz in class during lab; Section W1 will submit a PDF of the quiz to me via email.

OK, I *think* that is is :), but I'm sure I missed something, so.... if you have any questions, on anything!, please contact me (mike.russell@mhcc.edu). There are no dumb questions!!! My answers might be dumb, but your questions are not, so please let me know if I can help.

Have a wonderful day, and I look forward to a great term with you! Peace, --- Michael


Dr. Michael A. Russell
Chemistry 222 Website
Office Hours: MW 10 AM - 11 and noon - 1 PM, F 8 AM - 9 in AC 2568 on the main MHCC campus


Back to the top

Video of the Week

A Video Welcome to the Winter 2025 Chemistry 222 class!

A Video Introduction to Chapter Guide One

A video greeting from your instructor Dr. Michael Russell

Back to the top


Podcast Corner


Apple Podcast | YouTube | RSS | Amazon / Audible | More Videos...

Back to the top


Questions? Contact me!