A. P. Chemistry Syllabus


Instructor:
E. Middleton
816-942-3282 x1128
emiddleton@ndsion.edu


Course Description:
A.P. Chemistry is comparable to an honors-level college freshman chemistry course. The pace is fast and students are expected to complete reading and problem assignments on their own. Only a minimum amount of class time can be used for review and questions. First-semester topics review and expand upon concepts from first-year chemistry. During the second semester, important new topics are introduced.

Materials:
It is recommended that students have a three-ring binder with a divider for each chapter we will cover. The tests, practice questions, and chapter summary problems for each chapter will be saved and organized to facilitate end-of-the year review for the AP exam. Students may also want a spiral notebook for class notes and homework problems; these materials may also be transferred to the three-ring binder.

Grades & Testing:
Students’ grades come from the percentage of points scored on tests, chapter summary problems, practice questions, and assigned laboratory calculations. Tests range in value from 50 - 100 points; chapter summary problems are worth 10 pts; practice questions and lab calculations range from 10 - 30 points. During a given quarter, tests are scheduled approximately every two weeks, at the end of each major topic. See the Objectives/Topics section for an approximate schedule. Classroom tests are consistently challenging, at a level to prepare students for what to expect on the national AP exam. Where possible, tests use questions taken from or modeled after those on old AP tests.

Laboratory Work:
From the College Board course description for AP Chemistry:

To develop the requisite intellectual and laboratory skills, AP Chemistry students need adequate classroom and laboratory time. It is expected that a minimum of 290 minutes per week will be allotted for an AP Chemistry course. Of that time, a minimum of 90 minutes per week, preferably in one session, should be spent in the lab.
In order to fulfill the lab requirements, students enrolled in AP Chemistry will be required to attend lab sessions outside the normal class period. Depending on the scheduling requirements of any given school year, these additional lab sessions will take place either during the extended 4th hour period or after the early dismissal on Thursdays.

Semester Exams:
At the end of the fall semester, students will have a cumulative exam worth 20% of their semester grade. This exam will be composed entirely of questions taken from old AP exams. The national AP exam is scheduled at the end of the spring semester; students who elect to take the national exam do not take an exam during the normal Sion exam periods. All students are encouraged to take the national exam. Those who elect not to are required to take a teacher-prepared exam during the Sion spring exam schedule, which will be worth 20% of their second semester grade.


Text: Chemistry: Principles & Reactions (Masterton & Hurley)
Optional: Study Guide/Workbook (Hurley)

Topics & Approximate Schedule:

FIRST QUARTER
  1. General Chemistry Review (Chapters 1, 2, and 3)
    1. Measurements and units
    2. Mole calculations
    3. Chemical formulas for ionic and covalent compounds
    4. Stoichiometric calculations
      1. Percent composition
      2. Determining chemical formula
      3. Calculations from balanced equations

  2. Reactions in Aqueous Solution (Chapter 4)
    1. General types of reactions
    2. Ionic and net ionic forms
    3. Molarity
    4. Identifying precipitates
    5. Acid/Base reactions
    6. Redox reactions
    7. Stoichiometric calculations

  3. Electronic Structure and the Periodic Table (Chapter 6)
    1. Atomic Structure
      1. Mass number and atomic number
      2. Isotopes and atomic weight
      3. Quantum descriptions of electrons
      4. Emission spectra calculations
    2. Periodic Table
      1. Groups and families
      2. Periodic properties
      3. Comparing elements

    SECOND QUARTER
    1. Compounds and Bonding (Chapters 7 and 9)
      1. Molecules
        1. Lewis dot structures
        2. Molecular geometry
        3. Polarity
        4. Hybridizaton
      2. Types of solids
        1. Molecular solids
        2. Ionic, metallic, network covalent

    2. Phases of Matter (Chapters 5 and 9)
      1. Gases
        1. The gas laws and use in problem solving
        2. Kinetic theory of gases
      2. Phase Diagrams

    3. Thermodynamics (Chapters 8 and 16)
      1. Endothermic and exothermic reactions
      2. Calorimeter calculations
      3. Enthalpy of reaction; finding ÆH
      4. Entropy of reaction
        1. Predicting the sign of ÆS
        2. Calculating ÆS
      5. Free energy of reaction ÆG


    THIRD QUARTER
    1. Solutions (Chapter 10)
      1. Concentration measurements
        1. Molarity, molality, mass percent, mole fraction
        2. Converting concentrations
      2. Colligative properties of solutions
        1. Vapor-pressure lowering
        2. Freezing-point depression
        3. Boiling-point elevation

    2. Reaction Rates (Chapter 11)
      1. Order of reactions
      2. Using reaction data to determine rate law
      3. Determining rate constant
      4. First-order calculations
      5. Reaction mechanisms

    3. Chemical Equilibrium (Chapter 12)
      1. Definition of K, the equilibrium constant
      2. Calculations involving K
        1. Determining the value of K
        2. Determining final amounts
      3. Le Châtelier’s Principle; predicting change

    FOURTH QUARTER
    1. Applications of Equilibrium (Chapters 13 and 14)
      1. Acid/Base review
        1. Strong vs. weak
        2. pH and pOH calculations
        3. Brønsted-Lowry definitions
        4. Lewis acids & bases
      2. Weak acid and weak base equilibrium problems
        1. Determining pH and percent ionization
        2. Buffer solutions
      3. Solubility product calculations
        1. Writing solubility product
        2. Determining molar solubility
        3. Prediciting precipitation
        4. Common ion effect

    2. Electrochemistry (Chapter 17)
      1. Balancing redox reactions
      2. Voltaic cells--representation & terminology
      3. Quantitative calculations
      4. The Nernst equation
      5. Relations between E, K, and ÆG


    3. Nuclear Chemistry (Chapter 18)
      1. Radioactive processes; writing decay equations
      2. Half-life and related calculations


    4. Descriptive and Organic Chemistry (Chapters 19-21)
    (Topics covered as time permits!)