CHEMISTRY HONORS COURSE OVERVIEW
Instructor: Mrs. Singh
Course: Chemistry Honors
Text: Modern Chemistry
Tutoring hours:
MAJOR CONCEPTS/CONTENT:
The purpose of the course is to provide the students with general exploratory experiences and activities in the fundamental concepts of the composition, structure, and properties of matter and the changes it undergoes. The content will include, but not limited to the following: measurements and calculations, the atom, electron configuration, the periodic law, chemical bonding, chemical formulas and chemical compounds, chemical equations and reactions, stoichiometry, properties of acids and bases, acid –base titrations, and chemical equilibrium.
LABORATORY ACTIVITIES:
Investigations of selected topics in the content will provide a practical application of the material presented, and will strengthen the student's laboratory procedures, use of the scientific method, and critical thinking skills. Students will be given the opportunity to use the CBL and graphing calculators to conduct experiments. The laboratory activities allow students to relate to real world situations and will enable students to connect to the world they live in. A few laboratory experiments that will be conducted are:
1) Separating a mixture of sand, salt, iron filings and poppy seeds
2) Density of old vs. new pennies
3) Energy content of foods ( calculate the amount of calories in selected foods)
4) Save the penguin ( students must keep the temperature of water at 10 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes)
5) The flame test ( investigate how fireworks actually get their colors)
6) Hot air balloon ( students build and launch their own hot air balloon)
7) Extraction lab ( students make their own fragrant oils by extracting the fragrances from flowers, coffee beans, and oranges)
8) Percentage water in popcorn
9) Ice cream lab
10) The acidity of different types of sodas
11) Forensic science labs
12) Thin layer chromatography
13) Paper chromatography
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Daily class attendance is a must if a student wants to satisfactory complete the course.
2. Homework will be assigned twice a week and must be turned in at the beginning of class.
3. Each student is required to keep a notebook (refer to notebook contract for sections).
4. The notebook must be brought to class everyday. Notebooks will be picked and graded unannounced.
5. Laboratory activities must be completed and turned in at the end of the period.
GRADING:
Grading will be performed on a daily basis. Grades will be computed based
on the following:
Weight of each grade # of grades per nine weeks
Exams 6 3-4
Quiz 3 6-8
Inquiry based labs 1 12-18
Class work/Home Learning 1 18-24
Notebook 4 1
MATERIALS: a 3 ring binder notebook, a ruler, a simple or scientific calculator
(graphing calculators are not allowed to be used when taking tests) colored pencils,
paper, and writing utensils.
FEES: Lab fee $10.00
Lost textbook: $62.95