Chemistry

Homepage of Mr. Keller, Chemistry Teacher at Scarborough High School in Scarborough, Maine.

Please see the copyright statement if you intend to use these materials in your class.

Why Teach Science?

  1. Science should be taught to everyone so that everyone can appreciate the complexity and beauty of nature.
  2. Science should be taught to everyone because great scientists can become great only if they become scientists first.
  3. Science should be taught to everyone because understanding science is the key to understanding technology. And technology has become a force in society which, if we are not careful, will control our future.
  4. Doing challenging work of any kind trains the brain. Studying science provides students with an opportunity to think deeply about complex systems. Specific skills and concepts may or may not have long-term application but the ability to think critically and synthesize complex information is universally applicable.

Not every student in an art class becomes an artist. Not every student in a science class becomes a scientist. But everyone should learn to understand the beautiful and everyone should learn to understand the world around them.

Science, at its best, is doubt instilled in a person as a virtue. Certainty is stagnation: the human imagination is no match for the imagination of nature. Nature does not give up her secrets easily. Critical thinking and careful comparison are essential toward building the constantly improving models built by the methods of science.


Mr. Keller’s Motto

It’s not about what you did, it’s about what you learned.

Correct answers matter less than critical thinking. If you think carefully, and work hard, correct answers will come. The important thing is the thinking. If you think carefully and reflect on your work you will see for yourself whether your answers are correct or not. I use an acronym to summarize my thinking here: FIO. If you think about it for a few minutes, and you want to know what this stands for, you will figure it out.


See below for Useful Information about printing, etc.

Current Courses


AP Chemistry 2024 - 2025

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2024 - 2025
AP Chemistry Summer Work

Chemistry 3 2024 - 2025

Chemistry 3 Overview





When working in small groups it is a good idea to have well-defined roles so everyone knows what to do. My group work definitions are right here.

Other Projects of Mr. Keller


Home-Inquiry Connection Labs
Extension Labs: Beyond Basic Chemistry
Photography
YouTube Videos: Videos on this web site
My YouTube Channel: aaronakeller
Blog: The Curious Chemist

 

Useful Tools and Information

Important note regarding printing

Before printing turn off the optional header and footer information. Also, make the left margin 0.75 in (1.9 cm) and the other margins 0.5 in (1.3 cm) so that the page breaks I built into the pages work as intended. Use only Internet Explorer to print as Netscape and Firefox both implement the page code a bit differently and I haven't optimized the pages for those browsers. My apologies if you are using a Mac: I cannot guarantee that you will be able to print these pages as I intended.

Some of the files are PDFs and you need the Acrobat Reader available from Adobe. Some files are also MS Word 97 or RTF documents, which just about anyone should be able to view. If you have trouble, try going to www.microsoft.com to download the Word Viewer.


A scientific calculator
for chemistry including a table of useful constants and a molar mass calculator: just enter the chemical formula.
A timer
Periodic Table (PDF) from http://www.webelements.com/
Periodic Table colored by groups
A Reference Sheet of Common Atomic and Polyatomic Ions


To browse all of the various things I have published have a look at
Documents Listed by Topic
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of all topics covered or activities used.


Please read the Copyright and Terms of Use
Search this site:
Custom Search





Archived Courses


AP Chemistry 2023 - 2024

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2023 - 2024
AP Chemistry Summer Work

Chemistry 3 2023 - 2024

Chemistry 3 Overview

AP Chemistry 2022 - 2023

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2022 - 2023
AP Chemistry Summer Work

Chemistry 4 2022 - 2023

Chemistry 4 Overview

Chemistry 3 2022 - 2023

Chemistry 3 Overview

AP Chemistry 2021 - 2022

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2021 - 2022
AP Chemistry Summer Work

Chemistry 3 2021 - 2022

Chemistry 3 Overview

AP Chemistry 2020 - 2021

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2020 - 2021

Chemistry 3 2020 - 2021

Chemistry 3 Overview

AP Chemistry 2019 - 2020

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2019 - 2020

Chemistry 3 2019 - 2020

Chemistry 3 Overview

Upward Bound Chemistry 2019

UB Chemistry Summer 2019 Overview

AP Chemistry 2018 - 2019

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2018 - 2019

Chemistry 3 2018 - 2019

Chemistry 3 Overview

Introduction to Engineering 2018 - 2019

Course Description and Policies

Upward Bound Chemistry 2018

UB Chemistry Summer 2018 Overview

AP Chemistry 2017 - 2018

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2017 - 2018

Chemistry 4 2017 - 2018

Chemistry 4 Overview

Introduction to Engineering 2017 - 2018

Course Description and Policies


AP Chemistry 2016 - 2017

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2016 - 2017
AP Chemistry Calendar

Chemistry 3 2016 - 2017

Chemistry 3 Overview
Chemistry-3 Calendar

Introduction to Engineering 2016 - 2017

Course Description and Policies


Chemistry 3 2015 - 2016

Chemistry 3 Overview
Chemistry-3 Calendar

AP Chemistry 2015 - 2016

AP Chemistry Syllabus 2015 - 2016
AP Chemistry Calendar

Upward Bound Chemistry 2015

UB Chemistry Summer 2015 Overview

Chemistry 3 2014 - 2015

Chemistry 3 Overview
Chemistry-3 Calendar

AP Chemistry 2014 - 2015

AP Chemistry Calendar
AP Chemistry Syllabus

Upward Bound Chemistry 2014

UB Chemistry Summer 2014 Overview

Chemistry 3 2013 - 2014

Chemistry 3 Overview
Chemistry-3 Calendar

AP Chemistry 2013 - 2014

AP Chemistry Calendar
AP Chemistry Syllabus

Upward Bound Chemistry 2013

Summer 2013 Course Home Page
UB Chemistry Summer 2013 Overview

Chemistry 3 2012 - 2013

Chemistry 3 Overview


AP Chemistry 2012 - 2013

AP Chemistry Calendar
Ning Page
AP Chemistry Syllabus

Upward Bound Chemistry 2012

Summer 2012 Course Home Page
UB Chemistry Summer 2012 Overview

Chemistry 4 2011 - 2012

Chemistry 4 Overview

AP Chemistry 2011 - 2012

AP Chemistry Calendar
Ning Page
AP Chemistry Syllabus

Physics 2011 - 2012

Physics 3 Overview

Upward Bound Chemistry 2011

Summer 2011 Course Home Page
UB Chemistry Summer 2011 Overview



Chemistry 3 2010 - 2011

Chemistry 3 Overview

AP Chemistry 2010 - 2011

AP Chemistry Calendar
Ning Page
AP Chemistry Syllabus

Chemistry 3 2009 - 2010

Course Home Page
Chemistry 3 Overview

AP Chemistry 2009 - 2010

Wikispaces Page
AP Chemistry Syllabus

Astronomy 2009 - 2010

Spring Course Home Page
Spring Astronomy Overview

Astronomy 2009 - 2010

Fall Course Home Page
Fall Astronomy Overview



Upward Bound Chemistry 2009

Summer 2009 Course Home Page
UB Chemistry Summer 2009 Overview



Chemistry 3 2008 - 2009

Course Home Page
Chemistry 3 Overview

AP Chemistry 2008 - 2009

Course Home Page
AP Chemistry Syllabus

Astronomy 2008 - 2009

Spring Course Home Page
Spring Astronomy Overview

Astronomy 2008 - 2009

Fall Course Home Page
Fall Astronomy Overview

Upward Bound Chemistry 2008

Summer 2008 Course Home Page
UB Chemistry Summer 2008 Overview



Chemistry 3

2007 - 2008 Course Home Page
SHS Chemistry 3 2007 - 2008 Overview

Chemistry 4

2007 - 2008 Course Home Page
SHS Chemistry 4 2007 - 2008 Overview

Astronomy

Spring 2007 - 2008 Course Home Page
SHS Astronomy Spring 2007 - 2008 Overview

Astronomy

Fall 2007 - 2008 Course Home Page
SHS Astronomy Fall 2007 - 2008 Overview


Upward Bound Chemistry 2007

UB 2007 Chemistry Overview
Summer Assignments and Labs


Chemistry 3 2006 - 2007

2006 - 2007 Course Home Page
SHS Chemistry 3 2006 - 2007 Overview

Physics 3 2006 - 2007

2006 - 2007 Course Home Page
SHS Physics 3 2006 - 2007 Overview

Chemistry 2 2006 - 2007
a.k.a. Tech Chem/Bio

2006 - 2007 Course Home Page
SHS Tech Chem/Bio 2006 - 2007 Overview



Upward Bound Chemistry 2006

UB 2006 Chemistry Overview


Useful Information

top

Writing Scientific Explanations

In my courses you will be asked to write well-reasoned scientific explanations. In other words, you will develop correct theories about the world and write them down.
Overview of Explanations

Group Work Defined

Working in small groups to solve problems is a great way to learn science. Here are a few documents to give group work some shape and definition so that it can be a self-regulating learning tool:

Group Work Information
Group Work Evaluation Form
Group Work Presenter Grading Form

Learning the Latest: A Magazine Reading Assignment

Student Quotes

Students write some very funny things at times. Sometimes they even realize it at the time. All of the quotes on this page are verbatim from real student papers. Names have been withheld to protect the innocent.


A few useful links

Chemistry Links
Periodic Table (PDF) from http://www.webelements.com/ Link goes outside the Scarborough School Department Web Site
Periodic Table Image suitable for printing
Periodic Table colored by groups from http://www.chemicool.com/ Link goes outside the Scarborough School Department Web Site
A Reference Sheet of Common Atomic and Polyatomic Ions
Examples of Chemistry Problems
Vapor Pressure of Water Data
A fully-functional scientific calculator for chemistry including a table of useful constants.
A Partial Bibliography of works consulted
And here’s a useful download: a program that will quickly and easily convert units for you. Download and unzip to use.

Teachers and other Professionals:

Copyright Information

This material is copyrighted but I grant permission for in-classroom use. Please give the URL and not copies to other teachers. Only pages directly downloaded may be used, do not distribute paper copies. Requirement for use: send me an email and give me feedback on your success with these materials. See also my copyright statement.

A couple of quotes from users of this site:
“I REALLY REALLY appreciate you making your curriculum available – my first year teaching was MUCH higher quality than it would have been without your material to use as a platform.” 2014-06-23

“I wanted to express my gratitude for stumbling upon your website. As someone relatively new to AP Chemistry, I've found your resources to be nothing short of a revelation. They've provided me with a much-needed spark of inspiration and direction on how to approach planning for my lessons. Thank you immensely for the tremendous effort and dedication you've poured into creating such invaluable resources. Your work is truly appreciated.” 2024-02-10
(apparently I only receive these very occasionally)

I can be reached at this address: a k e l l e r  [at] scarboroughschools . org
You will have to remove the spaces to use this address.


Science and Pseudoscience
Inspect every piece of pseudoscience and you will find a security blanket, a thumb to suck, a skirt to hold. What have we to offer in exchange? Uncertainty! Insecurity!

—Isaac Asimov

Hofstadter’s Law
It always takes longer than you think it’s going to take, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.

—Douglas Hofstadter

The Unknown
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.

—Mark Twain

Understanding the Universe
“The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.”

—Steven Weinberg

“Magic, as practiced by performing magicians, is the art of making people see things that didn’t happen and miss seeing what did. Teaching science is the art of making students see things they never suspected to exist and recognize when they seem to see things that do not exist.”

—Aaron Keller
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Last Updated: Feb 12, 2024