AP Chemistry
Syllabus
Mrs. J. Flint 2015–2016 school year
Room F117
Ext. 66117
Text
Chemistry, 11th Ed., updated, Raymond Chang & Kenneth A. Goldsby, McGraw Hill, 2014.
Course Description
The Advanced Placement Chemistry course is designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first college year. AP Chemistry meets the objectives of a good college general chemistry course, both conceptually and in the laboratory. Students in this course are expected to attain a depth of understanding of fundamentals and a reasonable competence in dealing with chemical problems. The course will contribute to the development of the students’ abilities to think clearly and to express their ideas, orally and in writing, with clarity and logic.
AP chemistry places an emphasis on chemical calculations and the mathematical formulation of principles. Most tests are 60 – 90 minutes long, given during a double period.
Emphasis is also placed on laboratory technique, data analysis, error analysis and clear scientific writing in their submitted lab reports.
STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE:
AP Chemistry is built around six big ideas and seven science practices. The big ideas are:
Big Idea 1: The chemical elements are fundamental building materials of matter, and all matter can be understood in terms of arrangements of atoms. These atoms retain their identity in chemical reactions.
Big Idea 2: Chemical and physical properties of materials can be explained by the structure and the arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules and the forces between them.
Big Idea 3: Changes in matter involve the rearrangement and/or reorganization of atoms and/or the transfer of electrons.
Big Idea 4: Rates of chemical reactions are determined by details of the molecular collisions.
Big Idea 5: The laws of thermodynamics describe the essential role of energy and explain and predict the direction of changes in matter.
Big Idea 6: Any bond or intermolecular attraction that can be formed can be broken. These two processes are in a dynamic competition, sensitive to initial conditions and external perturbations.
The science practices for AP Chemistry are designed to get the students to think and act like scientists. The science practices are:
Science Practice 1: The student can use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve scientific problems.
Science Practice 2: The student can use mathematics appropriately.
Science Practice 3: The student can engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of the AP course.
Science Practice 4: The student can plan and implement data collection strategies in relation to a particular scientific question.
Science Practice 5: The student can perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.
Science Practice 6: The student can work with scientific explanations and theories.
Science Practice 7: The student is able to connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts, and representations in and across domains.
Laboratory
At a minimum, twenty-five percent of instructional time will be spent in the laboratory. In the laboratory, each student is paired with at least one other student for the purpose of collecting data. Class data is occasionally compiled for the purposes of statistical analysis. All students must keep a bound notebook for data collection and all of their lab reports. Each report in the laboratory notebook has sections on purpose, procedure, equipment needed, data, analysis, conclusion, and error analysis. Some colleges may request the lab notebook for proof that your AP Chemistry program had a rigorous laboratory component.
Course Outline
§ Each unit will have at least two sets of problems assigned from the textbook. You will also be required to complete a problem set with questions exemplary of AP test questions.
§ You are expected to summarize the procedure, record data and observations, and complete calculations for every assigned lab in your lab notebook. The labs are all hands–on.
§ Pre-lab work is to be completed and turned in on the day the lab is performed. Announced pre-lab quizzes will often be given. (These are not included in the number of quizzes listed per unit.) Pre-lab assignments typically include: Title, Purpose, Procedure Outline, & sometimes Pre-Lab Questions.
§ Some lab reports will be done individually, and some will be group reports. Your carbon copies and if appropriate, typed reports, are typically due one week after completion of the procedure.
§ A time–limited exam of one or two period(s) in length will be given at the end of most units.
§ A two-day final exam will be given at the end of April (yes, April), which is modeled after the AP Exam. Preparation for the final guarantees preparation for the AP Exam. All students take the Final exam, regardless of taking the AP Exam or not. The Final is the last exam for the year, but quizzes will still be given.
Attendance Policy
Daily attendance is really important. No deduction of points will occur if excused absences are incurred; however, missed classes provide for missed experiences and information, especially since you have two periods of this class every day. It is your duty to ask classmates what you missed in class. Ask Mrs. Flint for missed handouts and to schedule times for missed quizzes, tests, and lab experiments. Lab experiments should be made up within one week of the scheduled date and are due within one week of experiment completion.
You must do the lab – we rarely “share” data.
If you anticipate being absent for one or more classes due to a scheduled school activity or planned family vacation, please let Mrs. Flint know in advance. (You may also need to remind her—I hear she can be forgetful! ;-) )
Homework
Homework will be assigned on a regular basis. All assignments are posted in the room in advance of when they are due. You should work on large assignments (especially labs) in advance of their due dates so you can have any questions answered in class. I expect you to complete all assignments on time as all of the work you do is not trivial – it is an important and fundamental part of this course.
In class assignments will be given from time to time and you should have sufficient time to complete them by the end of the period. Missed in class assignments are due the day after your return to class (Absent Monday, get assignment Tuesday, due Wednesday).
Type I – Go over in class
Many homework assignments will be checked for completion at the beginning of each class since we’ll go over them together. I usually walk around the room and look at your assignment. These assignments are typically worth 10 points each. If you make an honest attempt to complete all problems you will earn full credit. Otherwise, your grade will be proportional to the number of problems you complete (for instance, if you do 3 of 5 problems you will earn a grade of 6 points). The only way you may earn any credit for an assignment we go over in class is to have it with you at the beginning of that class. Homework we go over in class will never be awarded credit after it’s due with the exception of an excused absence in which case it will either be excused or due immediately upon return to the class. (It’s called a “due date” because that’s the date it’s due.)
Type II – Turned in to the teacher
Assignments that are turned in for a grade (labs, etc.) should be turned in on time. Assignments turned in late will not receive full-credit. Late work will not be accepted after I return all turned in work. If you are absent the day an assignment is due then it is due immediately upon return to the class in order to be on-time.
Only labs turned in on time receive full credit. Labs are typically due the week after they are completed, so students have the weekend to work on them. Labs turned in late, but within a week of the due date, will lose 10% (of the total points, not the points earned). For example, a 30 point lab would immediately be docked 3 points. Labs turned in more than a week late but less than 2 weeks late will lose 40% (ex—a 30 point lab would be docked 12 points). Any labs turned in more than 2 weeks late will lose 50% of the total possible points.
Type III – Journals
Students are required to keep a Journal. There will be required entries, and students may make any extra entries of their own choosing. Questions posed to students, requiring written responses in their journals, are designed to promote understanding of concepts and to illustrate any questions or misconceptions. This is also good preparation for open-ended AP questions, which typically require written explanations. Journals will be turned in and graded.
Laboratory
The lab experiments in this course are very similar in content and complexity to lab experiments a college chemistry student would complete. You must come prepared for each lab with the title, purpose, procedure and sometimes a materials list and/or a blank data table already filled in as best you can. It saves time and prepares you for the procedure. Doing a “dry run” in your mind before the actual lab prevents mistakes and allows you to work efficiently. You will often have pre-lab quizzes, based only on information from the lab handouts.
Time Demands
This is a demanding course that requires all students to complete a great number of homework assignments and lab reports that require more time than the typical course. We meet for ten periods per week. Please note that this course carries the highest degree of difficulty rating due to the amount of time that must be devoted to problem solving and studying in order to achieve a high grade. Difficulty factors are used in calculating class rank but do not affect honor roll status. Proper time management and effort are the keys to your success!
Additional AP test prep sessions will be scheduled outside of class time this spring to prepare you for both the AP exam and the final. These are highly recommended but not required. It is a good idea to purchase an AP test prep book from a bookstore or borrow one from Mrs. Flint. These books have excellent study guides, test taking strategies and sample tests from previous years. These books usually cost $15 to $25. More up-to-date, the better, because the AP Chemistry Exam was rewritten for the 2014 exam.
Grading Policy
You should be able to calculate your own grade at any point during the marking period by keeping close record of all grades. Your grade at any time is simply the quotient of the points you have earned and the available points. Any extra credit is added to the numerator (points earned) only. I do not artificially inflate grades or fit student grades to a curve. What does that mean? Every student can earn an A in this course but… you have to work for it.
Tests are normally worth 60-100 points; quizzes and labs are normally worth 30 points, and homework and in class assignments are normally worth 10 points. Tests, quizzes, labs and assignments of increasing complexity or difficulty may be worth more points while simpler evaluations may be worth fewer points. Tests will usually count as 1/3 of your course grade (with a maximum of ½), so your mastery of the course material is essential. This also means that lab reports and other assignments really do have a large effect on your overall grade. This can help students who experience test anxiety or happen to struggle with a particular unit, but it can also hurt the grade of a students who is not diligent in completing assignments. Interim progress reports are sent out by the school for all students each marking period.
Academic Honesty
Each student is expected to do his/her own work. Plagiarism, copying the work of others, cheating on a quiz or test by any method, and intentionally falsifying or arbitrarily inventing data is strictly forbidden. You are individually responsible for completing your own work. I want to know what YOU are thinking. The only things that may be common about individual lab reports are the title, purpose, data and observations – all analysis must be done on an individual basis.
Allowing others to copy your work is forbidden. Identical work of any sort will be assigned a grade of 0 (zero) points for all parties involved, including the originator of the work. I make photocopies of all copied work.
AP Chemistry Unit Overview
This is a tentative outline. Adjustments will be made, as needed, to fit our schedule, student background knowledge & student readiness.
Unit 1: Chemistry Fundamentals
Chapters: 1-3
Number of Quizzes: 3 Number of Exams: 1
Topics Covered:
1. Scientific Method
2. Classification of Matter
a. Pure substances vs. mixtures b. law of definite proportions
c. law of multiple proportions
d. chemical and physical changes
3. Nomenclature and formula of binary compounds
4. Polyatomic ions and other compounds
5. Determination of atomic masses
6. Mole concept
7. Percent composition
8. Empirical and molecular formula
9. Writing chemical equations and drawn representations
10. Balancing chemical equations
11. Applying mole concept to chemical equations (Stoich)
12. Determine limiting reagent, theoretical and % yield
Labs:
Isotopes & measurements activity