Advanced Placement Chemistry

Fall Semester 2006-2007

Mr. Christopher McDonald                  email

Course Goals

Advanced Placement Chemistry is designed to be the equivalent of a college level general chemistry course. Our goal is to earn college credit by taking the AP Chemistry exam and earning a score of 3, 4 or 5. Additional college credit may be earned with evidence of sufficient laboratory work. After the course, the student should come away with a curiosity about matter and its interactions, an evidence-based approached to solving problems, and an understanding of the significance and application of chemistry in real world situations.

Required Text

McMurry, John & Robert C. Fay. Chemistry. Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2000.

Absences

Submit a note to the attendance office when you are absent and present the note to me.  Absences from class will be handled in accordance with Montgomery County Public Schools  (MCPS) and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (B-CC) policy (see your handbook for details). When you are absent it is your responsibility to check with the teacher for material you missed. Labs can be made up at scheduled times.

Materials

Each day you will need a pencil, a pen, a three-ring binder, a notebook designated for chemistry and a book for laboratory work only.

Laboratories

The AP Exam tests you on 22 different labs as well as the content in the text. We will do as many as possible before the exam date. Each student is required to have a carbon copy laboratory book used only for laboratory work. Further detail on the set up for this book will be discussed in class. Every lab will be announced a few days before we conduct the experiment. To participate in the lab, you must complete the prelab prior to entering the room on a lab day. All lab reports will be typed. Further details about the actual reports will be discussed in class.

Exams

We will have one exam each month.  Each exam is cumulative in order to prepare for the AP exam. 

Homework

Homework problems are assigned at the beginning of each quarter.  You must keep up with your homework in order to come to class prepared.  Pace yourself by completing a few problems each night.  In general, homework is only collected for the portfolio. However, it will be discussed during class, so be prepared. 

Weekly Quizzes

Each Thursday we start class with a quiz.  The quiz is based on both the homework set and reactions practice. The lowest quiz of the quarter is dropped. 

Grades Distribution

1)      Tests                                                                            50%

2)      Quizzes                                                                        10%

3)      Labs                                                                             30%

4)      Portfolio                                                                       10%

5)      The semester exam is worth 25% of your final semester grade.

Reassessments and Make-ups

Reassessments will occur for quizzes and labs at the teacher’s discretion. Reassessments will take place after school at the designated time. All missed laboratory assignments must be made up on the designated make-up day(s).

Final Letter Grades Will Be Determined as Follows

A = 100-89.5%; B = 89.4-79.5%; C = 79.4-69.5%; D = 69.4-59.5%; E=Below 59.5%

Syllabus

1.                  The Fundamentals (1 week)

a.                   Classifications and Properties of Matter

b.                  Measurement (Units, Uncertainty, and Dimensional Analysis)

c.                   Atoms, Molecules, and the Periodic Table

d.                  Inorganic Nomenclature

2.                  Chemical Reactions (1 week)

a.                   Chemical Reactions and Patterns of Reactivity

b.                  Electrolytes

c.                   Precipitation Reactions

d.                  Acid-Base Reactions

e.                   Redox Reactions

3.                  Stoichiometry (2 weeks)

a.                   Atomic and Molecular Mass and the Mole

b.                  Percent Composition, Formulas, and Combustion Analysis

c.                   Reaction Stoichiometry

d.                  Limiting Reactants

e.                   Solution Concentration

f.                    Solution Stoichiometry (Titration)

4.                  Thermochemistry (1 week)

a.                   Energy and Its Conservation (The First Law of Thermodynamics)

b.                  q, w, E

c.                   Enthalpy, H

d.                  Calorimetry

e.                   Hess's Law

f.                    H°; H_f°

5.                  Electron Structure and Periodicity (2 weeks)

a.                   Electron Energy Levels and Quantum Mechanics

b.                  Electron Configurations and the Periodic Table

c.                   Periodic Relationships

6.                  Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry (3 weeks)

a.                   Ionic and Covalent Bonds

b.                  Bond Polarity and Electronegativity

c.                   Lewis Structures

d.                  Resonance and Exceptions to the Octet Rule

e.                   Covalent Bond Strength

f.                    VSEPR and Molecular Geometry

g.                   Molecular Polarity

h.                   Hybrid Orbitals

i.                     Multiple Bonds

j.                    Simple Molecular Orbitals

7.                  Gases, KMT (1 week)

a.                   Characteristics of Gases and Pressure

b.                  Gas Laws

c.                   Avogadro's Hypothesis and Ideal Gas Equation

d.                  Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure and Gas Stoichiometry

e.                   The Kinetic Molecular Theory and Graham's Law

f.                    Real Gases

8.                  Solids, Liquids, Changes in Phase, and Intermolecular Forces (2 weeks)

a.                   Phase Changes

b.                  Intermolecular Forces

c.                   Phase Diagrams

9.                  Solution Properties (2 weeks)

a.                   Making Solutions

b.                  Solubility Concentration

c.                   Colligative Properties

d.                  Colloids

10.              Chemical Kinetics (2 weeks)

a.                   Measuring Reaction Rates

b.                  Rate Laws

c.                   Temperature, Collision Theory, and Activation Energy

d.                  Reaction Mechanisms and Rate-Determining Step

e.                   Catalysis

11.              Chemical Equilibrium (2 weeks)

a.                   Equilibrium Constant, K

b.                  Calculations of K

c.                   Applications of K

d.                  Le Chatelier's Principle

12.              Acid-Base Reactions and Solution Equilibria (3 weeks)

a.                   Acid-Base Theories: Arrhenius, Brönsted-Lowry and Lewis

b.                  Acid Strength

c.                   Autoionization of Water, K_w

d.                  pH and pOH

e.                   Weak Acids and Weak Bases

f.                    Calculations involving K_a and K_b

g.                   Acid-Base Properties of Salt Solutions

h.                   Common-Ion Effect, Buffers

i.                     Titration Curves

j.                    K_sp and Precipitation

13.              Chemical Thermodynamics (2 weeks)

a.                   Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

b.                  Enthalpy and Its Calculation

c.                   Gibbs Free Energy and Its Calculation

14.              Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry (2 weeks)

a.                   Identifying and Balancing Redox Reactions

b.                  Voltaic Cells

c.                   Standard Reduction Potential

d.                  Nernst Equation

e.                   Faraday's Laws

15.              Descriptive, Organic, and Nuclear Chemistry (2 weeks)

a.                   Chemical Reactivity and Products of Chemical Reactions

b.                  Relationships on the Periodic Table with Examples

c.                   Introductory Organic Chemistry

d.                  Nuclear Chemistry