AP Chemistry Course Information

AP Chemistry is a challenging and rewarding course which offers many advantages. First, you will receive the most rigorous education in chemistry offered at the high school level. It will prepare you to succeed in college-level courses of science and mathematics. Second, you will learn significant skills and knowledge in a central scientific field. Finally, by taking and passing the AP Chemistry exam you have an opportunity to show colleges your dedication to academics and to show a high level of achievement. In addition, depending on the college where you enroll, you may earn credits or have an opportunity to immediately enter higher-level courses as a result of passing the AP Chemistry exam. The exam costs about $90 but, if your college awards credits for your work, you may save several hundreds of dollars.

In this course I will rely heavily on you to be active listeners and participants in lectures. I expect students to read the text and come to class prepared to ask questions as I present the material. I will ask questions and invite your participation to keep things interesting. A large fraction of class time will also be dedicated to working in the lab. Most of the learning you will do, however, will rely on the work you do outside of class. Be prepared to spend several hours studying for every hour of lecture. You should outline the chapter as you read it, work the examples in the text, do the assigned problem sets, and focus on the designated memory work. In addition to your preparation for quizzes and tests you must remember that lab reports can take several hours to write. For more information about the work you will do in this course please read the syllabus carefully. Also, read the document I prepared about How to Study Chemistry.

I encourage you to form study groups over the summer to complete your work. It often helps you to understand things better if you have to try to explain it to a peer. I will leave the organization of study groups up to you but I will be glad to help you get organized if you ask.

AP Chemistry students at Scarborough High School have a dedicated social network site—a “Ning”—for their use. You may use the Ning page to discuss your work. It can be found at this web location: http://shsapchemistry.ning.com/. In order to access the site you must accept the invitation I send to you. It is for this reason that I ask you for an email address. Over the summer students may expect me to check the Ning at most weekly to field questions or address concerns.

In discussion areas remember to be civil and to use language appropriate for school. Never write anything online that you wouldn't feel comfortable saying in front of the whole class, including your teacher.

Please use the Ning, rather than other social networking sites, to stay in touch with classmates. It is possible that your discussion may be of use to others in the course or that I may be able to contribute if there is a question or a problem. Since we are not all ‘friends’ but we can all work together on the Ning let us use it exclusively for communication about the course.

I have posted discussion questions on the forum. Answer these questions in your own words and discuss your answer with your classmates and earn extra credit on quizzes!

In order that you will be fully prepared for your work this fall please complete the list of summer work you will find on the web at http://kaffee.50webs.com/Science/APChem-Summer.Work.2012.htm or use this shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/7fg7how. The homepage for my courses can be found at http://kaffee.50webs.com/Science/. Read the course description documents and familiarize yourself with the way the course will be run. It will be fast-paced and challenging and you will need to be able to start the year strongly. Students are responsible for completing the summer work before the start of school in the Fall and must expect to be tested on this material during the first week of classes.