Syllabus: Course Description: Student Expectations

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 4

Syllabus

Chemistry S440 Chemistry S440 and S440A Mr. Corey Kilbane [email protected] (215) 844-3460x376 Ms. Josie Wallmuth [email protected] (215) 844-3460x145 Class website: pcchemistry.blogspot.com Course Description: Chemistry is a year-long course designed to engage the students in foundational concepts in chemistry and to prepare them for advanced study in science. The content explored includes: the periodic table and periodic trends, atomic theory and structure, inorganic nomenclature, writing and balancing equations, stoichiometric relationships and their applications, phases of matter, solutions, acids and bases, thermochemistry, and equilibrium. This content is encountered through a combination of lab-based activities, guided inquiry, group discussion and direct instruction. Teaching and Learning Methodology and Philosophy: In accordance with constructivist teaching principles, the Chemistry curriculum will revolve around activities which allow students to discover for themselves major concepts in chemistry. In many instances students will be given an open-ended question or problem. Students are expected to discover the answer to these questions or problems through experimentation. In the lab, they will make observations, collect data, make connections and draw conclusions. They will communicate their knowledge by documenting in their lab notebooks, writing lab reports or summarizing their findings. Many of these lab activities will be revisited throughout the year to answer yet more questions as the students grow in their understanding of chemistry. Student Expectations: The experience you have in this course will be directly related to your level of participation. One cannot choose to be a nonparticipant and expect to reap all of the benefits. 1. Please be on time and ready for class - both mentally and physically. Being late to class three times during a trimester will result in a morning detention. Refer to the student handbook for specific effects of excessive tardies and absences. There will be no credit awarded for make-up work due to unexcused absences. It is the responsibility of each student to arrange for make-up work due to excused absences (preferably in advance!). 2. Besides being on time, please have all the materials you will need for the class with you. Our work on many days will require your binder/notebook, calculator and pen/pencil. Lab notebooks will be the only notebook allowed in the lab in which to record data. Therefore if you forget it, you cannot participate in lab work until you retrieve it! 3. Turning work in late is discouraged. Unless otherwise noted, nightly homework may be submitted for reduced credit until the unit test, and larger assignments may be submitted with a penalty of half a grade per day. There will also be some assignments that cannot be accepted late. 4. No iPODs/MP3 players used, sunglasses worn, cell phones on, or food/drinks ingested in the lab. This includes water. 5. Collaboration is encouraged throughout all facets of this course. Academic dishonesty, however, is not. It is expected that students will discuss laboratory results, and partners will share common data. It is also expected that all reports/work reflect individual thought and other sources will be referenced appropriately. Refer to the student handbook policy on plagiarism, pgs. 42-45. 6. Keep your work/lab area neat and clean. 7. If, at any point, you are experiencing some confusion - get help immediately. Concepts cannot build upon each other if one is not understood. Schedule an appointment with your teacher for a mutually convenient time.

Required Materials: Text: Chemistry Wilbraham, Staley, Matta & Waterman Writing utensils Calculator: scientific or graphing.
Calculators or calculation programs on other devices such as phones and ipods, are not acceptable.

Class Notebook or Binder. Homework Folder or Binder. Laboratory Notebook:


Students will be required to maintain a detailed lab notebook through out the year. This notebook will be collected to evaluate lab experiments, demonstrations and other activities.

Penn Charter Email Address:


The class will make extensive use of Google documents to help students collaborate on creating study guides and completing group assignments.

This syllabus is subject to change during the year. The most current version will be available on the class website.

Participation: 5%

This portion of the grade will reflect a students effort and commitment in the classroom. This grade is affected by a students behavior and attitude. During each quarter a student will be given a bathroom pass sheet with three free passes. After these passes have been used points will be deducted for each additional use. If a student does not submit a pass when leaving the classroom, they will be deducted points.

Grading
Quizzes: 25%
Quizzes and exams provide a tremendous amount of information about a students understanding of a specified topic. Often, these may be used at the end of a unit. In this class, students will take a quiz at least once a cycle (blue/yellow week) to gauge their understanding of the current material and direct their study time before exams. Each assessment will address the two most recent learning objectives as well as one or two previously covered objectives. Each objective will be assessed on a scale of 0-4. 4 - Complete and thorough understating of the skill (no errors) 3 - Satisfactory understanding of the skill (minor errors) 2 - Incomplete understanding of the skill (significant errors) 1 - Little understanding of the skill (Incorrect work but effort shown) 0 - No effort or understanding demonstrated Each objective will be assessed at least twice through out the year. Students can schedule one reassessment a week addressing 2 specified objectives. But before a student can reassess an objective, they must have demonstrated their efforts to relearn the material. Reassesments do not have to be in the form of quizzes. A student can use a more creative way to demonstrate their mastery of an objective, but this must be pre-approved by the teacher. A student may reassess a specific objective as many times as he or she desires. The most recent two grades for that objective will be retained in the gradebook.

Homework: 10%
The practice afforded from homework and classwork is an important part of mastering the material. Many homework assignments will require the student to submit their answers online by the start of class. Some assignments will require a student to show their work in class. These sheets will be reviewed, date stamped and returned to the student. The student will submit them for review periodically. Any sheets without the stamp or online answers submitted after assignments are due will receive half credit.

Labs and Activities: 30%


For each Lab a student will be required to submit a detailed lab report in their laboratory notebook. The answers and data provided in the report should match the data in the laboratory notebook. Students will also be expected to keep detailed notes of every hands-on activity and demonstration. All of these items will be graded when a student turns in their notebook with a lab report. Once a trimester, the students will be required to complete a formal lab report. Additionally, if a student displays purposeful unsafe behavior during a laboratory period, they will immediately lose 50% of the score for that lab for the first offense, 100% for second offense, and if a third offense occurs the student will no longer be able to participate in laboratories until it is deemed that they will not be a danger to themselves or others.

Exams: 30%
Exams will be given twice a trimester. These exams will be written to test every students mastery of the learning objectives. While each exam will focus on the most recent material covered, any previously covered material may be included

Student Learning Objectives:

Molecular Properties Matter and Change 1. Given the formula of a species, determine its molar mass 1. Describe and distinguish between the nature and properties of 2. Calculate a simplest formula from percent composition data elements, compounds and mixtures. Measurement 2. Describe the microscopic and macroscopic properties of solids, liquids and gasses. 1. Demonstrate proficiency in making basic measurements with common laboratory instruments 3. Distinguish chemical and physical properties and changes. 2. Employ the metric system in making measurements and Periodic Table utilize the factor label method for measurement conversions 1. Describe the organization of elements on the Periodic Table 3. Describe the meaning of precision and accuracy 2. Make use of periodicity to predict a property of an element 4. Determine the number of significant digits for any measurement and subsequent calculations using these values 3. Distinguish between families and periods on the Periodic Table Dimensional Analysis 4. Locate metals, metalloids, and non-metals on the Periodic 1. Perform a variety of conversions involving compounds: moles Table to grams; grams to moles; moles to atoms, molecules, or 5. Predict trends among elements with respect to atomic radius, formula units; atoms, molecules or formula units to moles; ionization energy, electronegativity, and metallic and nongrams to atoms, molecules or formula units; and atoms, metallic reactivity molecules or formula units to grams 6. Write the electron configuration for an atom or ion using the Periodic Table Atomic Structure 1. Identify the three types of particles making up atoms and describe their location within the atom 2. Describe the shape of s, p and d orbitals 3. Identify the valence electrons of an atom 4. Employ Lewis electron-dot symbols to represent the valence electrons of atoms, ions and molecules 5. Using Lewis electron-dot symbols, depict the sharing of electrons between atoms in creation of a covalent or metallic bond 6. Relate the gaining, losing or sharing of valence electrons to achieve the same electron configuration as the nearest Noble or rare gas to the formation of ionic and covalent bonds Bonding and Nomenclature

Objectives
Equations and Stoichiometry 1. Write and balance chemical equations. 2. Predict the products and stoichiometric relationships in a reaction. 3. Use balanced equations to determine theoretical yield, in mass and moles, of products for a given reaction. Then, given actual yields, calculate percent yield. 4. Determine the amount of a reactant needed when given the mass of another reactant 5. Understand the concept of molarity and be able to solve stoichiometry problems using this concept. 6. Apply their knowledge of stoichiometry to problems which they will encounter in the 3rd unit. 7. Relate Kinetic Molecular Theory to gas behaviors. 8. Use experimental observation and/or data to derive a mathematical relationship between the pressure and temperature, the pressure and volume and the volume and temperature of a gas. Phases of Matter and Solutions 1. Distinguish between conditions necessary to support solid, liquid and gas phases of matter 2. Interpret temperature/pressure phase diagrams to determine the phase that matter exists in with specific parameters 3. Define a solution 4. Use molarity (M) to describe and quantify the concentration of a solution. 5. Use a balanced equation along with the molarity of a solution to perform stoichiometric determination(s). 6. When mixing solutions, determine whether or not a precipitate will form by applying solubility rules.

1. Relate electronegativity to the tendency of an atom in a


molecule to attract electrons to itself

2. Classify a molecular bond as non-polar covalent, polar 3.


covalent or ionic using the Pauling Table of Electronegativities Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of electronegativity by predicting partial positive and partial negative charges at bonding atoms and relate this molecular polarity to molecular geometry Describe the process by which a neutral atom forms a positive or negative ion and be able to predict charges of monoatomic ions from Group I-VII. Name (correct spelling) and write the formula for common monatomic and polyatomic ions Combine ions of opposite charge to form simple ionic compounds Name (correct spelling) and write the formula for simple ionic compounds and binary compounds of nonmetals

4.

5. 6. 7.

Gas Laws 1. Determine the effect of a change in one or more variables (P, V, T and n) on the value of another variable using initial conditions and final conditions. 2. Solve for one variable, knowing the values of three other variables (P,V,T,n). 3. Calculate the density or molar mass of a gas, given the necessary data. 4. Relate the volume of a gas involved in a reaction to the amount of another reactant or product. 5. List the assumptions made about Ideal gases and the conditions where gases obey the Ideal Gas Law and conditions where variations occur

Objectives

Thermochemistry 1. Interpret or develop phase diagrams 2. Use phase diagrams to determine the energy needed/released for phase changes 3. Use a coffee cup calorimeter to determine the specific heat of a metal and the heat of fusion of ice (q = mCT) 4. Be able to find the efficiency of a soda can calorimeter and use it to calculate enthalpies of combustion for food items Reduction and Oxidation 1. Determine oxidation states for elements in compounds and ions 2. Identify the element being oxidized and reduced in a redox equation 3. Be able to identify combustion reactions as reduction reactions by determining the oxidation states of products and reactants 4. Build and predict the potential of a standard electrochemical cell, using tables of reduction potentials 5. Understand how batteries provide energy (galvanic cells) and some are able to be recharged (electrolytic cells) 6. Balance redox equations Equilibrium, Acids and Bases 1. Discover equilibrium as representing equal rates, not equal concentrations 2. Predict the effects of stress on an equilibrium system 3. Understand the differences between strong and weak acids/ bases 4. Explain why weak acids/bases are found within living systems, but unless contained, strong acids/bases are not 5. Acquire familiarity with acid base terminology through observation of the behavior of H+ ions with indicators 6. Use H+ ion concentration to calculate pH of acid/base solutions, and pH of the solution to calculate H+ concentration 7. Be able to perform titrations to a stoichiometric endpoint 8. Understand and apply the terms, endpoint, neutralization, indicator and equivalence 4

You might also like