AP Chemistry Course Syllabus
Course Description:
The purpose of Advanced Placement Chemistry is to provide a college level course in chemistry and to prepare the student to seek credit and/or appropriate placement in college chemistry courses. This course meets five times per week for the entire school year in a block scheduling format. A total of 92 minutes per day is spent on AP Chemistry. Laboratory periods are floating rather than scheduled so that there is ample opportunity for students to see content in multiple formats as well as ask questions. There is time spent in a lecture format to introduce new topics however there are numerous alternative formats which are utilized throughout the course. Students will be engaged in hands-on laboratory work, integrated throughout the course that accounts for approximately 25% of the class time, working in teams to complete problem sets, and asked to create their own ‘teaching materials’ throughout the course. Emphasis is placed on depth of understanding of a topic, rather than breadth of topics. Generally to begin each class there is an individual warm up question which mirrors AP multiple choice questions; on Fridays, we complete 6 similar problems as a group so that students may share problem solving strategies and ask one another questions. Two days prior to each exam is spent in study groups/review lecture formats, using old AP Chemistry Free Response questions/Study Guides for review.
Objectives:
Students Will Be Able To:
1. Learn the inquiry process through numerous laboratory investigations.
2. Gain an understanding of the six big ideas as articulated in the AP Chemistry
Curriculum Framework.
3. Apply mathematical and scientific knowledge and skills to solve quantitative,
qualitative, spatial, and analytic problems.
4. Apply basic arithmetic, algebraic, and geometric concepts.
5. Formulate strategies for the development and testing of hypotheses.
6. Use basic statistical concepts to draw both inferences and conclusions from data.
7. Identify implications and consequences of drawn conclusions.
8. Use manipulative and technological tools including the Texas Instruments Nspire CAS
CX Handhelds (or an equivalent calculator they may own), Pasco Probes, and
Pasco’s DataStudio software.
9. Measure, compare, order, scale, locate, and code accurately.
10. Do scientific research and report and display the results of this research.
11. Learn to think critically in order to solve problems
Textbook, Laboratory Manual, and Study Guides:
· Zumdahl, Steven S., et. al., Chemistry, 7th Edition. Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007.
· Hall, James F., Experimental Chemistry, 7th Edition. Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007.
· Zumdahl, Stephen and Susan Zumdahl, Fast Track to a Five, Evanston, IL, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
Note that the ‘laboratory manual’ is altered to fit our school’s equipment, chemical stock, and safety requirements.
Laboratory Work:
All of the laboratory experiments in this course are hands-on. Students work individually or in a group of two depending upon the lab. They collect, process, manipulate, and graph data from both qualitative and quantitative observations. Inquiry is emphasized in many of the experiments that students complete. The laboratory work requires students to design, carry out, and analyze data using guided inquiry principles. For all labs, students are required to report the purpose, procedure, all data, data analysis, error analysis, results, and conclusions in a lab report that is submitted for grading. All laboratory experiments are intended to be completed in one double period (92 minutes) except the following guided-inquiry labs that require two days of work or two double lab periods:
1. Determination of the Formula of a Compound
2. Finding the Ratio of Moles of Reactants in a Chemical Reaction
3. Progressive Precipitation
4. Hess’s Law
5. Relationship Between the Spectrum and Absorbance of Light
6. Conductivity of Solids & Metals
7. Factors that affect reaction rates and determining reaction rates and reaction mechanisms
8. Equilibrium Position
9. Hydrolysis of Salts
10. Electrochemical Cells
Technology:
Students are expected to have their own and use Texas Instruments NSpire CAS CX Handhelds in both their class work and laboratory work. Students use Pasco’s DataStudio for graphing purposes and probes in laboratory work to gather data (when applicable).
Laboratory Notebook:
A laboratory notebook is required for the course. Labs which are not listed as part of the guided experiences will have accompanied handouts to be completed for review and assessment. Experiments which fall into the guided experience category will need to be recorded in the notebook and submitted one week after the completion of each experiment. For each guided laboratory exercise, students are responsible for completing pre-lab questions, a lab summary (including the protocol for the experiment), and any questions they have about the procedure or the chemistry. A formal lab report is expected for each of the guided exercises which must include an abstract, introduction, methods and materials, results (organized graphically when applicable), data analysis, and conclusion.
Tests:
At the completion of each chapter, there will be an exam. Exams in this class will be cumulative. For example, chapter one’s exam will consider chapter one, chapter two’s exam will be regarding chapters one and two, and so on. The AP examination is cumulative so students should be in the habit of reviewing the entire course’s material throughout the course rather than simply at the midpoint and final portions, respectively. Assessments which consider a single chapter at a time will come in the form of a quiz. There will be one to two quizzes per chapter, depending on how students perform. A comprehensive, standardized semester exam is administered at the end of 1st semester and a final exam at the end of the year.
AP Exam Review:
The final month of full class days (depending on course/school scheduling) before the AP Chemistry Exam are used for exam review and practice tests using old AP Chemistry exam materials. Students work in cooperative groups to solve a packet of free response problems from previous exams. Moreover, students
practice net ionic equations and are quizzed on their progress. It is planned that between four to six practice AP Exams are administered as part of the review prior to the AP Chemistry Exam.
Laboratory Work:
All of the laboratory experiments in this course are hands-on. Students work individually or in a group of three to four depending upon the lab. They collect, process, manipulate, and graph data from both qualitative and quantitative observations. Inquiry is emphasized in many of the experiments that students complete. The laboratory work requires students to design, carry out, and analyze data using guided inquiry principles. For all guided labs, students are required to report the abstract, introduction, methods and materials, results (organized graphically when applicable), data analysis, and conclusion. For the remainder of the experiments, students are expected to complete the requisite handouts which accompany the lab. All laboratory experiments are intended to be completed in one double period (92 minutes) except the following guided-inquiry labs that require two days of work (approximately 180 minutes):
1. Determination of the Formula of a Compound
2. Finding the Ratio of Moles of Reactants in a Chemical Reaction
3. Progressive Precipitation
4. Hess’s Law
5. Relationship Between the Spectrum and Absorbance of Light
6. Conductivity of Solids & Metals
7. Factors that affect reaction rates and determining reaction rates and reaction mechanisms
8. Equilibrium Position
9. Hydrolysis of Salts
10. Electrochemical Cells
Course Outline
Respective Chapters in Zumdahl AP Chemistry Topic Addressed AP Big Idea
1. Chemical Foundations / N/A / N/A2. Atoms, Molecules, and Ions / Atomic Theory and Atomic Structure / 1, 2
3. Stoichiometry / Stoichiometry / 3
4. Reaction Classes and Solution Stoichiometry / Reaction Types and Stoichiometry / 3
5. Gases / Gases / 1, 2
6. Thermochemistry / Thermodynamics / 5
7. Atomic Structure and Periodicity / Atomic Theory and Atomic Structure / 1, 2
8. General Bonding Concepts / Chemical Bonding / 1, 2
9. Covalent Bonding and Molecular Orbitals / Chemical Bonding / 1, 2
10. Liquids and Solids / Liquids and Solids / 1, 2
11. Properties of Solutions / Solutions / 2
12. Chemical Kinetics / Kinetics / 4
13. Chemical Equilibrium / Equilibrium / 6
14. Acids and Bases / Equilibrium / 6
15. Applications of Aqueous Equilibrium / Equilibrium / 6
16. Spontaneity, Entropy, and Free Energy / Thermodynamics / 5
17. Electrochemistry / Reaction Types / 3
18. The Nucleus – A Chemist’s View / Nuclear Chemistry
19. The Representative Elements: Groups 1A through 4A / Descriptive Chemistry / 2
20. The Representative Elements: Groups 5A through 8A / Descriptive Chemistry / 2
22. Organic and Biochemistry / Descriptive Chemistry / 2
AP Chemistry Review / All Topics / 1-6
Assignments:
Chapter 1: Chemical Foundations (10 days)
Read: Pages 1-30
Problems: 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 28, 30, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 46, 50, 52, 56, 59, 60, 64, 66, 70,
and 75.
Labs:
Safety/Lab Skills/Lab Preparation
Ion Chromatography (SP 6.1; LO 2.18)
Kool Aid Chromatography (SP 1.4, 6.4; LO 2.13)
Fractional Distillation (SP 4.2, 5.1, 6.4; LO 2.10)
Activity: Based on the Kool Aid Chromatography lab, students write an analysis on the
GRAS (generally regarded as safe) requirements, the use of, the chemical structure of, and problems associated with certain food dyes.
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 1
Chapter 2: Atoms, Molecules, and Ions (8 days)
Read: Pages 39-69
Problems: 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 30, 32, 34, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 60, 62, 64,
70, 72, 74, 77, and 82.
Labs:
Determination of Avogadro’s Number (SP 2.2, 6.1; LO 3.6)
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 2
Chapter 3: Stoichiometry (9 days)
Read: Pages 77-115
Problems: 24, 26, 28, 30, 36, 38, 40, 50, 52, 54, 58, 62, 65, 70, 72, 74, 76, 80, 82, 84, 90,
94, 98, 104, and 106.
Labs:
Guided Inquiry: Determination of the Formula of a Compound (SP 4.2, 5.1, 6.4;
LO 3.5)
Guided Inquiry: Finding the Ratio of Moles of Reactants in a Chemical Reaction
(SP 2.1, 2.2, 4.2, 5.1, 6.4; LO 3.3, 3.5)
Chemical Reactions of Copper and Percent Yield (SP 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1,
6.4; LO 1.19, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.10)
Activity: LO 3.6: Use data from synthesis or decomposition of a compound to confirm
the conservation of matter and the law of definite proportions.
The students present problems to the class in which they demonstrate how to
find the empirical formula of a compound from data on the percent composition
by mass.
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Types of Chemical Reactions and Solution Stoichiometry (11 days)
Read: Pages 127-170
Problems: 10, 12, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 30, 32, 36, 38, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 58, 62, 64, 66,
68, 74, 76, 80, and 81.
Labs:
Use of a Primary Standard -- KHC8H4O4
Reduction of Permanganate (SP 4.2, 5.1, 6.4; LO 1.20, 3.3)
Guided Inquiry: Progressive Precipitation (SP 1.5, 2.2, 4.2, 5.1, 6.4; LO 1.19, 2.10,
3.2, 3.3)
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 4
Chapter 5: Gases (9 days)
Read: Pages 179-216
Problems: 20, 24, 28, 31, 32, 34, 42, 44, 46, 52, 58, 60, 62, 67, 70, 72, 74, 76, 80, 82, 86,
88, 97, and 99.
Labs:
Investigating Graham’s Law (SP 2.2, 2.3; LO 2.6)
Ideal Gas Law (SP 2.2, 2.3; LO 2.6)
The Determination of the Molar Mass of a Volatile Liquid (SP 1.3, 1.4, 6.4, 7.2;
LO 2.4, 2.5)
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 5
Chapter 6: Thermochemistry (10 days)
Read: Pages 229-265
Problems: 10, 12, 19, 22, 26, 28, 32, 34, 36, 38, 42, 46, 50, 52, 56, 58, 62, 64, 68, 79
Labs:
Guided Inquiry: Hess’s Law (SP 4.2, 5.1, 6.4; LO 5.6, 5.7)
Heat of Combustion of Magnesium (SP 4.2, 5.1, 6.4; LO 5.6, 5.7)
Activity: LO 5.2: Students relate temperature to the motions of particles, either via
particulate representations, such as drawings or particles with arrows indicating
velocities, and/or via representations of average kinetic energy and distributions
of kinetic energies of the particles, such as plots of the Maxwell-Botlzmann
distribution.
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 6
Chapter 7: Atomic Structure and Periodicity (10 days)
Read: Pages 275-320
Problems: 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 30, 32, 34, 38, 40, 42, 46, 55, 58, 62, 66, 68, 70, 74, 78, 81,
84, 86, 92, 104, and 112.
Labs:
Guided Inquiry: Relationship Between the Spectrum and Absorbance of Light (SP
4.1; LO 1.15)
Poison in the Kool Aid-A Spectroscopic Inquiry (SP 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.4; LO 1.15,
1.16)
Beer’s Law (SP 4.2, 5.1; LO 3.4)
Activity: LO 1.10: Justify with evidence the arrangement of the periodic table and apply
periodic properties to chemical reactivity.
Students are given several elements pairing them by families or by period and
are asked to rationalize the change in electronegativity of each group based on
the electronic structure of the atom
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 7
Chapter 8: Bonding: General Concepts (9 days)
Read: Pages 329-381
Problems: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 36, 38, 42, 46, 48, 52, 54, 56, 64, 66, 68, 70, 74, 75,
77, 80, 86, 90, 92, 96, and 103.
Lab:
Molecular Geometry (SP 1.4; LO 2.21)
Guided Inquiry: Conductivity of Solids & Metals (SP 4.2, 6.4; LO 2.22)
Activity: LO 2.21: Use Lewis diagrams and VSEPR to predict the geometry of molecules,
identify hybridization, and make predictions about polarity.
Students construct balloon models of the arrangement of pairs of electrons
around a central atom. They then draw 2D pictures of these arrangements and
apply these to predicting the shapes of molecules.
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 8
Chapter 9: Covalent Bonding: Orbitals (9 days)
Read: Pages 391-417
Problems: 8, 10, 14, 16, 24, 26, 30, 34, 36, 38, 42, 44, 50, 52, and 56.
Lab:
Determination of the Formula of a Hydrate (SP 2.1, 4.2, 6.4; LO 3.5)
Review: Zumdahl Fast Track to Five Chapter 9