AP Chemistry is a course designed to be the equivalent of the first year of college chemistry. It is intended to be a very fast moving course that will also prepare the student for the AP Exam. The first eight chapters of AP Chemistry contain topics normally covered in a high school chemistry course. These topics will be discussed rather quickly in this course. The remainder of the chapters, as well as other material independent of the text, will be studied in more detail.

It is essential that the student attend class regularly if success is desired. Lectures, discussions, and laboratory are all part of the course and are sometimes impossible to replace if missed. For unexcused absences, students will not be permitted to make up missed work and will receive a grade of zero on that work. For excused absences, it is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements for obtaining missed work. The student has one week to make up missed laboratory experiments and assignments.

Since this is an AP course, the student is expected to be self-motivated and capable of reading the textbook and gleaning information about chemical principles from the text. It is the student’s responsibility to read the text faithfully. The student should also read through the example exercises and look at all diagrams and tables. The student is also expected to complete all assigned questions and exercises. Success in this course is dependent upon the student’s investment of time and effort!

Please review this packet of material. This packet should contain a course description with objectives, a lab safety contract, a rubric for homework, an outline for laboratory reports, Chemical issues in the news, study skills requirements, “How to Succeed in AP Science”, and information on laboratory notebooks. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. After you have reviewed this packet, a parent or guardian and the student need to sign the next page as well as the safety contract.

PHILOSOPHY: This course is designed to continue your study of chemistry and prepare you for the national AP exam that will be given on May 12, 2009. The material covered parallels a first year college level chemistry course.

EXPECTATIONS: The student is expected to come to class prepared to learn and actively participate in class. The student is also expected to devote time at home to reading and study in addition to time spent problem solving. The student will participate in numerous laboratory experiences. Formal lab reports are required for each lab that is performed.

Tentative Course Outline

Begin End Topic Text Chapters

Advanced Placement Chemistry 2008-2009 Mrs. Elizabeth Schuck

(301) 475-2814 x404

e-mail: lschuck@smrhs.org

Course Description:

This is an advanced course intended to be taken following the successful completion of a first year high school chemistry course. AP Chemistry has the content of the college freshman level course offered by most colleges and universities in the country. This course is a study of chemical principles and concepts which include the periodic table and it systematic relationships, gas laws, atomic theory, chemical bonding, kinetics, equilibrium reactions and acid-base theory, oxidation-reduction reactions, and organic chemistry. This course emphasizes problem-solving, concepts, and critical thinking.

Course Text:

Chemistry by Zumdahl

Content Standards;

The following St. Mary’s Ryken Science Standards will be addressed in the Honors Chemistry course:

1. The student will demonstrate an ability to think and act in a scientific manner which will permit a successful transition into higher education.

2. The student must be able to use both the language and the tools of science in order to be able to function effectively in the future.

3. The student will develop a deeper understanding of the major topics in chemistry including structure of materials, states of matter, and reactions.

4. The student will become a better steward of the environment by understanding the role of chemistry in everyday life.

5. The student will become a confident learner through problem solving.

Expectations of the student:

To come to class prepared to learn.

To actively participate in classroom discussions, problem solving groups, and laboratory experiments.

To complete homework and reading assignments.

To keep laboratory notebooks, homework notebooks, and class notebooks as outlined in the student requirements.

To complete laboratory reports on assigned labs.

To uphold criteria established in the student-parent handbook on attendance and cheating/plagiarism.

To complete writing assignments that are designated for the student writing portfolio.

To sit for the AP Chemistry exam on May 12, 2009.

Students will engage in lectures, laboratories, class discussions, problem-solving groups, written assignments, and presentations.

Students will be assigned problems and questions from the textbook or handouts. All homework will be given a due date. Students will also be assigned reading from the textbook. This reading is required for adequate preparation for the lectures or experiments. Formal laboratory reports will be due after each laboratory performed, unless otherwise noted. The students will maintain notebooks for homework, laboratory, and class. The students are required to read and critique at least one article per semester. NO LATE HOMEWORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Evaluation/Grading Process

Tests and quizzes will be graded using a hundred-point scale. Homework and notebooks will be graded using four-point rubrics. The student will receive a rubric for each type of assignment. The weighting for the course components:

NOTE: Work will be accepted via email. In order to receive full credit for work, the email must be received by 12:00 (midnight) on the date due and a hardcopy must be submitted to Mrs. Schuck the next school day. Work that does not conform to these requirements will receive a “late” grade.