Chemistry I Honors Course Description
Mr. Niedenzu
2015-16
This course is designed to provide the student with a general introduction to chemistry concepts. The course includes a study of matter, scientific calculations, study of atoms, the periodic table, chemical bonding and structure, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, states of matter, gas laws and solutions, equilibrium, acids/bases, oxidation reduction reactions, electrochemistry and some organic and nuclear chemistry.
You must have a good algebra background to do well in this course as solving for variables in a calculation is very important in chemistry. If you struggle in math you will likely struggle some in chemistry. You should also have some understanding of logarithms. A scientific or programmable calculator is required for this course.
My wikisite will contain many review and practice problems, notes, sample tests etc. This link will contain many files of problems, worksheets, notes we use in Chemistry I - http://kurtniedenzu.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/Chemistry+I
My home page will have daily homework assignments and/or what we did in class that day so if you are not in school that day you will already know what you missed before you come to school the next day. http://kurtniedenzu.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/
Note that we will be incorporating iPad technology along with NOVA technology into the classroom. My wikisite will have a separate iPad page with details of what free programs students would need to download onto their wireless device if they have an iPhone or iPad (we will have some available in the class) – these apps will include things like Edmodo and QRScan.
Class rules
Students need to have access to the internet to access my wikisite and other resources we will use during the year.
Cell phone use is allowed only under certain conditions during the school day in class – if I see it or hear it while not allowed, it will be confiscated and turned in to the front office. We will be using cell phones some in class at various points in the year.
No food is allowed in class. Only clear, colorless water bottles containing water will be permitted.
Cheating will not be tolerated.
Late work will have a letter grade deduction for each day late (unless there is some extenuating circumstance).
Behavior issues will be dealt with “in house” – the administration has many other things to deal with and I will handle these issues as they arise. Also, be forewarned, I DO call parents at home and at work, and I will call you at home if you have been absent or are absent to check on things.
Required materials:
materials for taking notes
scientific or graphing calculator
graph paper
colored pencils
three ring binder to hold all papers returned – need to keep for PEP purposes
Absences: I will follow the CMS guidelines on absences, please recheck your handbook on this.
If you are absent and want to stay current – email me immediately at school
I will respond immediately!!!
Lab safety:
All students will undergo a review of lab safety rules and have to sign (along with the parents) that they have read the safety rules, watched the safety video, know where all the safety equipment in the room is located and the proper way to use it.
Homework:
I do not assign a lot of homework at once – the problems I do assign are carefully selected – some of the assignments are already on my web page, some will have answers with the questions.
Assignments/quizzes:
BEWARE: I will give short quizzes in class almost every day!!! I do give retakes on these if needed.
Missed assignments:
CMS allows you 5 days to schedule a time/due date to turn in missed assignments – remember it is your duty to take care of this!
Grades:
Grading and attendance will be done on Powerschool– there will be 4 categories listed – formal, informal, midterm exam and final. All grades other than the midterm and final will be listed as formal and informal – within each category I will operate on the point system and generally most classes will have over 1000 points accumulated for each quarter. A student’s grade will be determined by dividing the number of points earned by the number of points possible. Each assignment will be given a point value based on the difficulty of the assignment. All assignments that are checked for completion will be entered under the category “Informal”. All assignments that are checked for accuracy will be entered under the category “Formal”. Informal grades will count as 30% of a student’s average and formal grades will count as 70% of a student’s average. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg grading scale will be used. (NOTE CMS IS USING THE TEN POINT SCALE STARTING THIS YEAR 100-90 = A, 89-80 = B, 79-70 = C, 69-60 = D, 59-0 = F)
ALSO, note that the final exam in each course this year only counts as 20%, not 25%
Formal items include graded for accuracy tests, quizzes,formal lab reports, projects etc – informal items include homework, classwork, minilabs, video questions etc. Point distribution is as follows:
Quizzes: anywhere from 5 – 20 points
Homework: from 10 – 20 points
Lab reports: from 20 – 50 points
Tests: from 30 – 70 points
All students have the chance to make corrections on all exams (except the midterm and final). You have the opportunity to earn back one quarter for every point that you missed. Students must attend tutorials in to get help with the content and to complete the exam corrections.
You have 5 school days from the day the exam was returned to do so. After that, the grade you earned stands.
We will go over lab report format in class – be aware that this area is usually where many student’s grades suffer because they do not turn in reports on time! In general you will have a week to turn in reports after the lab is done.
Late assignments:
If an excused absence late work will be accepted without penalty if turned in the day the student returns (if he/she knew of the assignment). If the student was absent when the work was assigned (remember to look at daily wikisite information as to daily assignments if absent) the student has 5 days to make up assignment. If the student is present the day the assignment is due and the student knew about it, each day it is late will have a reduction of a letter grade.
Tutoring:
The chemistry department will have weekly scheduled tutoring availability – the schedule will be given to you during the first week of school. In the fall I have limited availability for tutoring due to coaching responsibilities. In the winter and spring I will be available after school each day for help.
Honors Chemistry is an accelerated comprehensive laboratory course designed to give the students a more conceptual and in-depth understanding of the concepts in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study in Chemistry. In Honors Chemistry students are expected to work independently on a variety of assignments and accept greater responsibility for their learning. The course will include the additional Honors objectives and an in-depth study of at least two of the listed enrichment topics. Students will design and complete at least one in depth independent study of chemistry directed questions. The curriculum will integrate inquiry and technology to explore the world of chemistry.
Honors Chemistry is intended to be a tenth or eleventh grade course for students accelerated in mathematics. Success in Honors Chemistry will require the student to: 1) operate with algebraic expressions to solve problems using direct inverse, combined and joint variation, 2) use logarithms and exponents to solve problems, and 3) describe graphically, algebraically and verbally real-world phenomena as functions and identify the independent and dependent variables. The Chemistry EOC exam is required to receive credit for this class. Students may not take Honors Chemistry in addition to SCS Chemistry.
Enrichment topics: (In depth study of at least two is required)
1. Crystal structure
2. Environmental Chemistry
3. Organic Chemistry
4. Nuclear medicine
5. Textile chemicals
6. Polymers
7. Forensics
8. Chemistry of computers
Honors Objectives: The following objectives are in addition to those in the Standard Course of Study for Chemistry. The numbers are to show placement in the SCS.
Objectives:
1.02-1 H Design, conduct and evaluate independent scientific investigations.
1 Evaluate student-generated hypotheses related to questions in chemistry by designing and carrying out independent investigations.
2 Relate the investigation(s) to current issues in chemistry (or research)
3 Prepare formal written lab reports with extensive analysis of data and sources of error.
4 Present findings to members of the community.
5 Develop creative approaches to chemistry topics.
2.01-1 H Apply quantum numbers to electron configurations.
2.02-1 H Analyze (calculate) average atomic mass from relative abundance and actual isotopic mass.
3.03-1 H Evaluate reactions to determine limiting reactant and percent yield.
4.02-1 H Summarize energy changes within a reaction to determine heats of reaction.
4.03-1-H Predict spontaneity by the use of Gibbs Free Energy.
5.05-1-H Analyze redox reactions by balancing via half reaction method or electron transfer method.
Independent Research Assignment (Honors Chemistry)
You will be creating a simple “web site” about an advanced topic in Chemistry. You should choose something that you find interesting and see how it relates to Chemistry. You will have a “home page” for your web site, four pages of content related to your topic, and a page of external links to related topics.