Chemistry-4 is a rigorous theoretical course in college-level chemistry intended to prepare students for university-level courses in chemistry as required for majors in science, medicine or engineering. Process skills such as analytical thinking, problem solving, making sense out of data, and writing/communication are essential. Depth of coverage and intellectual challenge are more important than breadth of coverage. Therefore I have adopted the following goals for this course:
Grades in the course will be broken down as follows:
Tests: 40%
(1 per quarter)
Quizzes: 30% (4 - 6 per quarter)
Labs:
25% (6 - 7 2-hr labs per quarter)
Homework:
5%
The schedule at the end of this introductory material shows what to expect for each unit. Specific dates are not given in the interest of maintaining flexibility. Also in the schedule is recommended Memory Work which are items that you should commit to memory.
The work for each unit will begin with an assignment to read the assigned sections of the textbook and to work out on paper the solutions to the Practice Exercises in the text. This is a homework assignment and will be checked for completeness. Questions will be addressed in class during lectures.
A tip about reading textbooks: they are not novels. In a novel you typically read a passage once with full comprehension. The action carries you forward through the text. Textbooks build sequentially in each chapter and you will at times need to read a section several times—and work through its examples on paper— before you can move on to the next section. Be self-aware and check in with yourself: Did I understand that passage? Could I solve problems based on it?
Class time will be used for lectures, group work, and labs. Every unit has a Problem Set. Do the assigned problems from the syllabus for each unit. Problems are found at the end of each chapter in the text. On the day the Problem Set is due it will be checked for completeness. Student questions will be handled in class by a combination of class discussion and additional practice. Solving problems is the best way to learn and understand the course material. The problems are a tool you will use to learn new material: you will not immediately know how to solve each problem no matter how well you pay attention and take notes in class.
Plan ahead and leave yourself enough time to work through things you don’t understand. Do not wait until the night before the Problem Set is due to begin work. There are three ways to approach getting your problem set done. Get it done by…
Problem sets will be given a homework grade based on completion. To show completion you must write something for every problem.
Lab Assignments are written work that may take either of two forms. A formal lab report is a multi-page report requiring specific content and layout. Another type of lab assignment will consist entirely of answering designated pre-lab and post-lab questions in a typed document. This second type of assignment will be weighted at the equivalent of one half the weight of a formal report.
Unless specifically given as group work all lab assignments must be done by each individual student. Students may not work together, may not share answers, and may not copy one another’s work.
The date of the Homework Quiz will be set whenever we begin a new unit. The Homework Quiz will draw on problems directly from your homework and will be short.
Test dates will be near the end of each quarter. Tests will be comprehensive and will be designed to be completed in one hour.
The purpose of every academic class is to learn new concepts, master new skills, and to deepen your understanding of the world. The purpose of the class is not to get the assignments done. The assignments are tools to enable learning and practice and simply getting them done without learning anything will be counterproductive.
It is important that you evaluate yourself frequently as you work to find out what you have learned. Try repeating to yourself the contents of class discussions. Even better, go over the concepts and problem-solving techniques with your study group: communicating something you have learned forces you to organize your thoughts about it. When you do so, you learn it better yourself. This is true also about writing in the course. Your lab reports and the answers to lab questions are learning opportunities. When you explain what you have learned in writing you often find that you have not learned it as well as you thought you did. Go back and learn it properly and your writing will improve.
In this course our motto is FIO (an acronym that I leave to the reader: you will figure it out if you think about it for a bit).
One of the most important ways to improve your grade in my class is to do well on tests and quizzes. In order to encourage you to come in for help with your preparation I will offer 5% in extra credit points on a quiz if you come in at least once to study in my room during AEAST and actively ask me questions. You must do this at least one full day before the quiz date. This is a great opportunity to get together with friends to come in and ask questions and study together.
Primary textbook: Chemistry: The
Central Science, 11th edition,
Brown, LeMay, Bursten & Murphy, Pearson Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2009.
POGIL Activities for High School
Chemistry, Laura Trout, editor. Flinn Scientific,
Inc. ©2012
Supplementary Materials available on instructor’s
web site
(http://kaffee.50webs.com/Science/).
“I think this class has made me more of a self-driven learner. Before this year if I was stuck on a problem I would often wait for the teacher to explain it, but now I take the time and do the work to figure it out on my own. I think this has really improved my learning.”
“This class has changed me as a student because I have had to learn how to do more learning on my own and be efficient in my work so I have time to study.”
“This class has made me realize that some subjects are most effectively learned—or even must be learned—simply by applying new concepts through trial and error (e.g., in the problem sets). I have become a more patient learner because of this class, more willing to blunder around in the dark until things make sense, and more appreciative of the time it takes to develop true understanding.”
“Success in fields like Chemistry has less to do with how many facts you can just rote memorize and more with a willingness to study, think about, and eventually understand fundamental systems.”
“This class has changed me as a student because I had to look at things before tests to not fail them.”
“This class has changed me as a student because it has strengthened my ability to solve problems. I have developed new strategies involving looking at problems from different angles and writing down everything I know first. This has carried through to my other classes”
| First Quarter | |||
|
Topic and Time |
Text Information incl. Problems |
Lab(s) | Memory Work |
|
Matter and Measurement Dimensional Analysis, Scientific Notation, Significant Figures, Density, Temperature |
Chapter 1 Problem Set: 11 15 17 21 24 26 29 31 33 37 39 40 44 47 53 59 67 72 77 Supplementary Materials: Metrics Conversions Dimensional Analysis Additional Dimensional Analysis Problems Construction of Square and Cubic Units Conversions with Square and Cubic Units |
Lab
Equipment Scavenger Hunt Lab: Observing a Candle Sample Images for Observing a Candle Lab: Measurement for Area and Volume Lab: Metrics Measurements and the Thickness of Copy Paper Graphing to Find Proportions Density Lab Lab: Classification of Matter Precision vs. Accuracy |
Tables 1.4, 1.5 and the Rules for Counting Significant Figures (pg 22) |
|
Atomic Structure I: Basics of Atomic Theory |
Chapter 2: 2.1 - 2.5 Problem Set: 9 11 13 15 18 21 22 24 31 33 34 35 37 39 49 91 Supplementary Material: Activity: Average Atomic Mass Homework: Average Atomic Mass POGIL: Average Atomic Mass Atomic Structure Activity (unavailable online) |
Demo:
Sodium Reacts with Water
Home-Inquiry Connection Lab: Can Crush |
Z, A, Atomic Symbols, Dalton’s Atomic Theory (pg 38) |
| Molecules, Ions and Naming Compounds |
Chapter 2: 2.6 - 2.9 Problem Set: 41 42 46 47 50 51 53 57 59 61 65 66 69 71 73 104 Supplementary Material: POGIL: “Naming Ionic Compounds” POGIL: “Polyatomic Ions” POGIL: “ Naming Molecular Compounds” POGIL: “Naming Acids” Flowchart for Naming Inorganic Binary Compounds Chemical Nomenclature Chemical Formula Combinations Practice Chemical Formulas Additional Naming Practice Naming Compounds 1 Naming Compounds 2 |
Lab: PhET Sugar and Salt Solutions
Exploring Conductivity Lab: Conductivity |
Names and formulas for all monatomic cations and anions (easily predictable from the periodic table); names and formulas for these ions: copper, iron, ammonium, carbonate, hydrogen carbonate (bicarbonate), chromate, dichromate, cyanide, phosphate, hydrogen phosphate, sulfate, hydrogen sulfate, nitrate, nitrite, permangnate, and peroxide. Also, learn the acetate ion: C2H3O2-; prefixes in table 2.6; how to name acids with and without oxygen |
| Stoichiometry: Atomic Mass, the Mole, Percent Composition, Chemical Equations |
Chapter 3: 3.1 - 3.5 Problem Set: 9 11 13 14 15 17 19 21 24 26 29 32 33 35 37 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 54 (Empirical Formulas) Supplementary Material: Intro to Chemical Equations Homework for Balancing Chemical Equations Chemical Equations from Words (not avail. on line) POGIL: “Relative Mass and the Mole” The Mole Moles Practice Calculations Homework Assignment: The Mole and Molar Mass Demonstration: The Empirical Formula of Silver Oxide POGIL: “Empirical Formulas” POGIL: “Combustion Analysis” |
Size
of an Aluminum Atom Instructions for the Bunsen Burner Hydrate Lab |
Avogadro’s number (6.02 × 1023 particles/mole) and its meaning |
| Second Quarter | |||
|
Topic and Time |
Text Information incl. Problems |
Lab(s) | Memory Work |
| Stoichiometry, Limiting Reagent and Percent Yield |
Chapter 3: 3.6 - 3.7 Problem Set: 55 57 59 63 66 67 68 70 71 73 74 77 79 80 92 103 POGIL: “Mole Ratios” Demo: Stoichiometry Activity: Stoichiometry Start-up Stoichiometry Activity Stoichiometry Homework Activity: Limiting Reactant Demonstration POGIL: “Limiting and Excess Reactants” Limiting Reactant Activity Limiting Reactant Homework |
Lab: Stoichiometry Inquiry Lab: Paint Pigments |
|
| Aqueous Reactions: Reaction Types, Solutions, Solution Stoichiometry |
Chapter 4 Problem Set: 11 13 15 19 21 24 27 30 32 35 39 44 45 51 55 59 61 69 73 79 81 83 Supplemental Material: POGIL: “Types of Chemical Reactions” POGIL: “Molarity” Reaction writing and prediction (not available on-line) Predicting Products of Chemical Reactions Net Ionic Equations Practice Solutions to Net Ionic Equations Demonstration: Dancing Flames |
Helper Handout for Lab: Classifying Chemical Reactions Lab: Classifying Chemical Reactions Classifying Chemical Reactions, further information Lab: Acid-Base Titration Home-Inquiry: Crystals |
Differences btwn. strong, weak and non-electrolytes; table 4.1 (solubility rules); pg 137 oxidation states rules |
| Third Quarter | |||
|
Topic and Time |
Text Information incl. Problems |
Lab(s) | Memory Work |
|
Atomic Structure II: Nucleus, Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Stability, Nuclear Reactions |
Chapter 21 Problem Set: 2 3 4 7 11 13 15 17 18 19 25 27 28 31 33 34 35 36 41 57 58 Supplementary Material: Supplemental Notes on Logarithms and the Derivation of the Radioactive Decay Equation Half-life Basics Activity Half-life Activity Mass Defect & Binding Energy Activity Predicting Decay Modes and Decay Series |
Geiger
Counter Demonstration POGIL: Types of Radiation POGIL: Types of Radioactive Decay POGIL: Alpha and Beta Decay POGIL: Nuclear Equations PhET Radioactive Dating Game Real Life Chemistry of Marshmallows |
Alpha, Beta, and Positron Decay modes; half-life equations, E = Δmc2, Δm = mf - mi |
| Gases: Pressure, Gas Laws, Gas Phase Rxns, Partial Pressures, Kinetic-Molecular Theory |
Chapter 10.1 - 10.7 Problem Set: 11 17 22 23 25 27 31 33 37 40 43 45 47 51 53 56 59 61 67 71 75 77 Supplementary Material: Graphing to Find Proportions POGIL: “Gas Variables” POGIL: “Partial Pressures of Gases” Demo: Preparation and Properties of Hydrogen Gas |
Lab:
Boyle’s Law with Vernier Probes Molar Volume of a Gas Guide to the Formal Report for the Molar Volume Lab |
PV = nRT; P1V1/n1T1 = P2V2/n2T2; Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures; Definition of Mole Fraction; Molar Vol. 22.41 L at STP |
| Fourth Quarter | |||
|
Topic and Time |
Text Information incl. Problems |
Lab(s) | Memory Work |
| Thermochemistry: Energy, Enthalpy, Calorimetry, Hess’s Law |
Chapter 5 Problem Set: 5 13 19 23 25 27 29 33 37 41 49 53 54 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 POGIL: “Calorimetry” POGIL: “Heats of Formation” |
Calorimetry
Lab Demo: Dehydration of Sugar Demo: Dehydration of Sugar Student Worksheet Demo: Boiling Acetone at Reduced Pressure Student Worksheet |
ΔE = q + w, w = -PΔV, ΔH = q at constant P, Hess’s Law |
|
Electronic Structure of Atoms: EM
Radiation, Atomic Spectra, Quantum Mechanics,
Orbitals |
Chapter 6 Problem Set: 11 15 18 21 25 29 33 35 41 47 50 57 59 61 65 67 79 82 84 Supplementary Material for reference: Group Activity: Light Homework: Light Additional Problems: Light Activity: Graphing Wavelength, Frequency and Energy Activity: Electron Configuration |
Pre-lab: Flame
Tests due on the first day of the lab Lab: Flame Tests Lab: Hydrogen Atom Simulator Do problems 1 - 5 for homework. The rest of the questions will be answered using an online simulator (link is on the lab page). (computer lab) Pre-lab: Atomic Emission lamps due on the day of the lab Lab: Atomic Emission Lamps Lab: Spectrophotometry Basics |
E = hν, c = λν, quantum numbers, electron configuration method |
| Chemical Bonding: Ionic, Covalent, and Metallic Bonds; Lewis Structures, Electronegativity, Bond Strength |
Chapter 8 Problem Set: Ch. 8: 2 4-6 8 9 13 17 19 21 23 29 32 33 35 36 40 45-47 49 50 53 55 57 58 61 65 67 69 90 POGIL: “Bond Energy” Activity: Lewis Diagrams Lewis Diagrams: Molecules to draw Homework: Drawing Lewis Diagrams Review of Molecular Compounds including Lewis Diagrams and 3-D Shapes |
Lab: Glurch
and Oobleck Lab: Soap Making |
Lewis Structures method, pg 314 & pg 316 Trends for atomic size, ion size, and electronegativity |
| Molecular Geometry: VSEPR, Polarity, Valence Bond Theory, Hybrid Orbitals |
Chapter 9: 9.1 - 9.6 Problem Set: 1 3 4 6 8 12 13 14 15 17 19 23 25 30 31 34 37 38 39 40 43 47 76 82 Supplementary Materials: POGIL: “Molecular Geometry” Lewis Diagrams and VSEPR Shapes Table of VSEPR Shapes and Modifications |
Building Models and VSEPR Shapes (using model kits)
Lab: Cyanotypes Lab: Silver Mirror |
VSEPR model method, pg 346 |
