Instructor: Ms. Emily Schroeder
Room 212 (office: Student Activates Room by Room 800)
My name is Bond, Ionic Bond; Taken, not shared!
Office Phone: 510-559-6246
Best to reach me: Email: [email protected]
AIM: emokat21
St. Mary’s College High School
Chemistry Syllabus
What in the world ISN'T
chemistry?
Some scientists say chemistry is the building block of understanding
the universe. While you have a basic understanding of science and
biology from previous studies, you will now be able to decide whether
you believe chemistry is the foundation of our world.
Chemistry is the study of matter and its interactions. In this
course, students will further their problem solving and laboratory
skills in class work, homework, laboratory, and group collaboration.
What's a cation afraid of? A
dogion!
Textbook and Other
Required Materials:
1) HOLT Chemistry (Myers, Oldham and Tocci;
© 2004)
2) Three-ring binder and paper to neatly keep
homework, worksheets, and
quizzes for further exam study
3) Scientific calculator, pencils, pen, and straight
edge ruler.
4) Marbled Composition Notebook ($1 to Ms. Schroeder
or buy own) to keep notes and homework organized (100 sheets, 9
¾ X 7 ½ ) No spiral notebooks.
Course
Overview: BIG IDEAS
1) Students will learn concepts, applications,
relevant issues, and history of chemistry.
2) Students will perform analytical experiments and
understand chemistry as a laboratory science.
3) Students will understand and develop their
critical thinking skills in problem
solving using scientific methods of evaluation and mathematical
formulae.
4) Students will use standard resources available to
chemistry studies
(i.e., Merck index, and periodic table of elements).
When asked if she wanted a PB and J
sandwich for lunch, Jane said no I
don't want a Lead and Jelly sandwich
Chemistry
Student Core Tasks
Students will master these skills upon completion of Chemistry:
• Understand and use appropriate SI units of
measurement and apply the relative uncertainty of measurements
• Read, interpret, organize, and plan solutions to
solve a problem
• Maintain and organize a laboratory portfolio
• Relate and use mathematical concepts to chemical
problem solving
Enduring
Understandings/Course Standards
Students will gain practical experience and insight into the following
areas of laboratory science through our year’s study…
Handling Numbers in Science:
When recording data, students must show relative
certainty of measurements in their data. They will use scientific
notation to record significant figures from the measurement.
Analyzing Data:
During data analysis of laboratory findings,
students will include the use of averages, uncertainty of measurement,
and percent error to quantitatively describe results. Students
will use appropriate
graphical representation of the data.
Symbolic Language of Chemistry:
Students can interpret and extract meaning from the
symbolism of chemical formulas, chemical reactions, equations relating
chemical variables and chemical figures.
Conservation of Matter and Energy:
Through studies of chemical and atomic reactions,
students will identify and explain how matter and energy are conserved.
Chemistry Connections to the Community:
Students obtain chemical literacy to make
connections and informed decisions about their consumer choices,
environmental impact, and safety awareness about the chemicals in their
community.
Connect Abstract Concepts to
Observable Applications:
When observing various forms or examples of
chemistry in everyday life, students will apply abstract concepts from
class to identify chemical relationships and patterns to everyday
materials outside the classroom.
Individual
Student Goals
Class Preparation:
Students are required to come to class prepared to work.
This includes having read the text before doing the homework problems,
completing the nightly homework, bringing proper materials to class (as
per list above), showing a willingness to use classroom instruction
time, and cooperating with fellow students.
Class procedure:
includes homework review, presentation and discussion of new material,
and laboratory practice and application. Students are expected to
read the text before doing the homework problems. They will
benefit from taking good notes and participating in class
discussions. Working solutions on the board and at the desks will
engage students in the learning process.
Group Learning:
There are a range of student abilities and talents, and cooperative
learning becomes an important resource for all students. Students
will be working as groups in the laboratory with potentially hazardous
or corrosive materials. Mickey Mouse's favorite element is
Plutonium. Because of this, a high degree of self-discipline is
required to maintain a safe learning environment. A laboratory
safety contract will be strictly enforced.
Prep
for SAT II subject test in Chemistry on May 3, 2008 or June 7, 2008:
Successful students should take it
upon themselves to sign up and study beyond the class content for the
SAT II subject test. Teacher will point out areas of extra study
in class as well as tutoring beyond class. In order to prepare,
students should purchase the Sparknotes study book or online version at
the beginning of the course to follow along as the year progresses.
Grading Rubric
for student learning:
The
"A Student Consistently superior
comprehension and performance on assessments
100 - 93% A
Exhibits work with exceptional insight or special creative talents
92 - 90% A-
Tends toward self-direction in activities and participates in
class activities as listener, questioner or commentator
Completes all assignments
The "B" Student
Consistently strong comprehension and performance on assessments but
89 - 87% B+ May have
difficulties synthesizing concepts
86 - 83%
B Work is consistent
but offers little insight or special creative talents
82-80% B-
Shows occasional initiative but tends to rely on
teacher direction
Participates in class activities
as listener but is a less frequent questioner or commentator
Completes all assignments
The "C" Student
Inconsistent or fair comprehension and performance on assessments
Difficulties applying and synthesizing concepts
79 - 77%
C+ Generally addresses the explicit
but seldom offers little insight or special creative talents
76 - 73% C
Relies on teacher direction
72-70% C-
Participates in class primarily as a listener
Usually comments only if
questioned
Completes most assignments
The "D" Student
Minimum comprehension and performance on assessments
69 - 65% D+
Often misses explicit relationships
64 - 60% D
Relies on teacher direction
Participates in class
primarily as a listener
Comments only if questioned
Fair number of assignments are
missing
GRADE COMPOSITION
Unit Exams
30%: Exams will be administered at the conclusion of each
unit and will require advanced preparation and study. Completing
homework, taking notes, and collaborating on lab experiments will help
immensely for studying for an exam. Additionally students
may benefit by working together in study groups to review exam material
and attending a weekly tutoring session. Exams will assess
students in a variety of formats (multiple choice, mathematical problem
solving and essay) and will require students to employ recognition of
vocabulary, application of concepts, and synthesis of ideas. . If
you have a foreseeable absence on an exam day, you must inform me and
plan an alternate exam time. You may not take an exam for credit
after I have returned these to the class. If absent on the day of
the exam, you will have the amount of days missed to make up the
exam. Students must keep all exams for corrections at the end of
the semester to earn enrichment points.
Laboratory
25%: Lab experiments will occur most weeks with a
pre-lab to be completed prior to lab in the student notebook. A
pre-lab quiz may be given to judge student readiness and awareness of
the experiment. A passing score on the pre-lab quiz will allow
the student to participate in the exercise. Upon completion of a
lab, a post lab and formal write-up may be assigned showing analysis
using both qualitative and quantitative criteria. Experiments must be
reproducible. They should fail the same way each time. Laboratory
summaries will be turned in typed. Students must have appropriate
laboratory attire to participate in lab investigations: long pants,
covered feet (toes), long hair pulled back with clips or bands.
Laboratory activities should not be missed for co-curricular
activities. In the event that you miss a laboratory due to
illness, the scheduled time for lab make-up will be announced.
Quizzes
15%: Quizzes will review material from problem sets and
laboratory. You will be allowed to drop one of your lowest quiz
scores of each semester. In the event that you are unable to take
the quiz on the scheduled day, I will use this as one score to
drop. If you have a foreseeable absence on a quiz day, you must
inform me and plan an alternate quiz time. You may not take a
quiz for credit after I have returned these to the class. Quiz
corrections must be complete the day after the quiz is handed back in
order to earn back half the points lost. All questions and work must be
written out.
Homework/Notebook
10% (+5% second semester): Students will have nightly problem
sets that cover material for the quizzes and exams that should be
written and solved in a portfolio. Students should be prepared
with problems complete or at least tried upon coming to class. If
a student does not understand problem, you must write out the problem
and write out the Given, Find, Solve steps and ask questions the next
class day. You should expect, on average, to spend 15-30 minutes
with homework each night. Students must write the questions to
accompany each problem and show all intermediate steps used in problem
solving. In the event your homework is not complete, you can earn
half credit the following day only. There will be no exceptions! I will
drop three homework assignments at the end of the semester.Slow down!
You're going too phosphorus If absent, student are responsible for
getting their make-up work from fellow students or the teacher. The
portfolio will be collected for check ups at various points in the
semester.
Final Exam
15%: A comprehensive final exam will be given to all
students at the end of each semester. Chemistry, like mathematics
and language courses, is cumulative in nature and will apply previously
learned skills throughout the course.
Service
Learning Projects 5%: (Only 1st semester) Service learning
will connect our curriculum to meet the greater needs of our
community. These projects will allow students to connect their
knowledge of chemistry to aspects of Catholic Social Teaching.
Service projects will receive a grade that incorporates academic
achievement and responsibility to completing the community based
service.
Enrichment:
Enrichment opportunities will appear various times in the semester.
These opportunities allow student to go beyond the regular course work
and enrich their knowledge in the ever changing and developing science
world. If a student finds a news article or television show that
pertains to our class topic at the time, they may write up a one page
summary explaining significance of their finding and may present to the
class if time permits. A student can have no more than 3 missing
assignments to have this opportunity. Students who have missed
assignments must turn them in completed for zero credit to have this
option. Attending tutoring sessions will give the student 2 enrichment
points each time.
Attendance:
In the event of a foreseeable absence (ie. sports, appointments), I expect the student to inform me prior to
their absence from class. Since you will be on campus to participate in
sports activities, LSL events (ie. liturgy, rally set-up),
co-curricular activities, and fieldtrips, you must turn in the
assignment due while still on campus prior to leaving. For
planned absences, the student should be prepared with missed work on
his/her return to class. For unforeseen absences, all work, quizzes,
and exams must be complete in the same number of days the student was
absent. (ie. A student misses Monday and Tuesday, they have until class
Friday to get the work in, non-class days count)
The
Year at a Glance
1st Semester:
Unit 1: Introduction to the Science and Mathematics of Chemistry (Chpt
1 & 2)
Unit 2: Exploring Atomic Theory and the Periodic Table (Chpt 3
& 4)
Unit 3: Exploring Compounds and Molecules (Chpt 5 & 6)
Unit 4: The Mole Concept (Chapter 7)
Unit 5: Applying Chemical Equations and Stoichiometry (Chpt 8 & 9)
Final Fall Semester
2nd Semester
Unit 6: Causes of Change and Sates of Matter (Chpt 10 & 11)
Unit 7: Gas Laws (Chpt 12)
Unit 8: Solutions (Chpt 13)
Unit 9: Chemical Equilibrium and Acid Base Reactions (Chpt 14 &15)
Final Spring Semester
Students and Parents/Guardians:
In an effort to support Saint Mary’s College High School and our global
community’s awareness of waste, Ms. Schroeder’s Chemistry class
syllabus is online and can be downloaded or printed and read
After completion of reading the syllabus document, please sign the
following form and return to Ms. Schroeder by Friday, August 31st.
Academic Honesty:
As stated in the 2007-2008 Parent-Student Handbook, any sort of
infraction will be taken seriously with subsequent consequences.
Please sign, cut, and return to Ms. Schroeder
For any further guidelines or policies not mentioned in Ms. Schroeder’s
syllabus, I follow those that are stated in the 2007 -2008
Parent-Student Handbook
By signing this document, I understand the policies and procedures to
be a successful student of Chemistry
STUDENT SIGNATURE:
By signing this document, I have read and support the teacher and my
child in their efforts to have a successful year in Chemistry.
PARENT SIGNATURE:
Parent questions or concerns: