Download SYLLABUS for REGULAR CHEMISTRY – 2004/2005

SYLLABUS for REGULAR CHEMISTRY
Instructor – Mr. Kriegler
Course – Regular Chemistry
Textbook – Chemistry – Concepts and Applications; Phillips, Strozak, Wistrom;
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Westerville, Ohio; 1997
Objectives – This is intended as an introductory course in Chemistry, primarily for 10th
or 11th grade students. It will introduce them to the basic concepts of Chemistry as well as
basic scientific procedures. Below is a list of objectives for this course.
Upon completing this course students will be able to:
1. Understand and use basic concepts of chemistry that will allow them to better
appreciate the world around them as well as prepare them for further studies in
science. (Although the emphasis of Regular Chemistry is more conceptual,
mastery of certain equations and related skills will be incorporated.)
2. Think critically about scientific concepts and apply them to problems both in the
classroom and daily life.
3. Write effectively about scientific topics in both essay style and in a more
technical laboratory report format.
4. Use the scientific method to solve problems and investigate natural phenomena.
5. Demonstrate good qualitative and quantitative methods in the laboratory and
follow lab procedures in a safe way.
Content – The course will be a survey of major topics about inorganic chemistry
including atomic structure, properties of elements and compounds, states of matter and
phase changes, chemical bonding, chemical reactions, redox and electrochemistry,
stoichiometry, and solution chemistry including equilibrium and acids and bases. The
course will also cover some introductory nuclear chemistry and organic chemistry. A
more detailed outline is given below.
Section I – What are things made of?
Unit 1 – What makes up the world we can see (macroscopic)?
Chapter 1
Substances & mixtures, chemical & physical changes
Unit 2 – What makes up the world we can’t see (microscopic)?
Chapter 2 & 7
Atomic Structure, Isotopes, Ions, QM model, Standard model, Historical development of Atomic
Theory
Unit 3 – What do we know about elements and what can we use the Periodic Table for?
Chapters 3 & 8
Development of the PT, Periodicity and trends on the PT, QM model and the PT, Element
families, Metals & non-metals
Section II – What holds things together?
Unit 1 – What types of chemical bonds are there and how do they work?
Chapters 4, 5, & 9
Electronegativity, ionic bonding, metallic bonding, polar and non-polar covalent bonding,
intermolecular bonding, molecular shapes
Unit 2 – What is the nature of organic compounds?
Chapters 18 & 19
Hydrocarbons, substituted hydrocarbons, petroleum & plastics biochemistry
Section III – Why (and how) do chemical reactions occur between things?
Unit 1 – How can we represent chemical reactions with chemical equations?
Chapter 6
Chemical equations
Unit 2 – What kinds of chemical reactions are there?
Chapter 6, 16, & 1
5 major types of reactions, redox reactions & electrochemistry
Unit 3 – Why do chemical reactions have different rates? Chapter 6 & 12
Reaction rates, moles, & stoichiometry
Section IV – What makes our Earth, its waters, and its atmosphere unique?
Unit 1 – What are the properties of water and solutions?
Chapter 10 & 13
Phase changes, Kinetic-Molecular Theory, Colligative Properties, Solubility, Equilibrium, &
Molarity
Unit 2 – How are acids and bases related to solutions?
Chapter 14 & 15
Acid & base theory, Acid & base reactions, pH, titration
Unit 3 – How does our atmosphere function?
Chapter 11
Behavior & properties of gases, gas laws, atmospheric reactions
Section V – What is radioactivity?
Chapter 21
Nuclear stability, types of radioactivity, decay series, fission, fusion
Methods of Instruction – Each Unit revolves around a major question that is part of the
Section question. Each day the class considers a “Question of the Day” that is part of the
unit question. Students hear lecture and see demonstrations, discuss topics as a class or in
small groups, watch videos or animations, perform labs, and participate in group oriented
experiential activities and projects all aimed at answering the series of questions that
make up each unit. Emphasis is placed on understanding basic concepts and applying
them in different ways.
Evaluation – Homework is checked each day. Students have short open notes quizzes
based on the previous night’s work, on most days. Notebooks are collected at the end of
each unit. Some group projects, activities, and labs are graded. Each unit ends with a test.
The tests count as 50% of the grade and the other items are all averaged together to make
up the other 50%. Student’s have the option to sign a “Portfolio for Excellence” contract
which requires them to redo any work that is below a grade of C.