Integrated Physical Science Summer Assignment
2016-2017 School Year
Welcome to Advanced Physical Science (PreAP)! We are eagerly anticipating a great year in science. In order to ensure the best start for each student next fall, we have prepared a Summer Assignment that reviews basic metrics, math review, chemistry and physics concepts previously studied. Most of the information in the packet will be familiar to you, but is designed to strengthen your foundation in chemistry and physics and ensure that all students are on a relatively even plane. It is important for everyone to come prepared and ready for the first day of class. While we will have a brief review of these concepts at the start of school, extensive remediation is not an option as the course only allows for a semester of each class.
The Summer Assignment is due the FIRST MONDAY OF SCHOOL – NO EXCEPTIONS! There will be a test covering these basic concepts included in this packet the first full week of school. Copying this assignment or simply trying to fill in the blanks will put you behind all semester!
We hope that you are gearing up for an exciting, challenging, and rewarding academic course. It will build your knowledge base, enhance your work habits and your organizational skills, and you will grow as an independent, critical thinking, learner. You are all certainly fine students, and along with motivation and hard work, you will find this class a successful and rewarding experience.
Finally, we recommend that you find a “study buddy” and spread out this assignment over time. Both Chemistry and Physics takes time to process ad grasp the level necessary for success. Taking this course requires dedication and is a great investment in your education, so prepare yourself and arrive ready to learn.
Video tutorials for Chemistry will be available on Blackboard by mid June. In order to view the videos, you must enroll in the summer Blackboard course named IPS summer assignment. The password needed to enroll is IPS2016. You also may contact us during the summer vial email or twitter. Email addresses are and You may sign up for Ms. Poe’s Remind 101 text message account by sending the message @ipschem to the number 81010.
Good websites for assistance: The Physics classroom, chemmybear.com, apluphysics.com, and khan academy.
Have a great summer!
Sincerely,
Ms. Poe and Mrs. Hammond
Unit 1: Nature of Chemistry
Content Outline: Scientific Equipment and Safety (1.1)
Test Tube Rack – used to hold and dry test tubes.
Thermometer – used to measure how much heat energy is in an object.
Test tubes – used to hold small amounts of pre-measured substances.
Digital Balance – used to determine the mass of smaller, lighter objects.
Triple Beam Balance – used to determine the mass of larger, heavier objects.
Scoopula – used for transferring dry chemicals.
Weigh Boat – used to weigh or transfer chemicals (usually dry).
Pipette – used to transfer liquid from one container to another. (Increments are very small – usually .25 mL per increment.)
Beaker – used to measure large volumes of liquid. (Increments are larger than a graduated cylinder – usually 25 -50 mL per increment.)
Graduated Cylinder – used to measure volume of liquids – more precise than a beaker. (Increments are smaller than a beaker – usually 1 mL per increment.)
Bunsen Burner – used to heat liquids and substances in glassware or ceramics.
Ring Stand - Bunsen burner goes on the stand and a wire screen goes on top of the ring. The wire mesh is used to hold glassware and ceramics while heating.
Beaker Tongs – used to pick up hot objects and small glassware.
Test Tube Tongs – used to hold test tubes over flames or in beakers of hot fluid.
Heat Resistant Gloves – used to handle hot objects.
Normal Laboratory gloves – used in laboratory anytime chemicals are to be used.
Goggles – protects your eyes.
Meter stick- measures length.
Erlenmeyer Flask - glassware with a wide base and with sides that taper upward to a short vertical neck; allows contents to be mixed by swirling.
Volumetric Flask – used for making liquid solutions of precise volumes.
Microscope – used to magnify very small items for easier viewing.
Microscope Slides – used for holding specimens on the microscope.
Scientific Equipment and Safety- Continued
I. Safety Rules (10 Commandments of Safety)
1. Know what equipment is being used and what it is used for.
2. Never do anything in the lab without instructions OR without your teacher’s permission.
3. Never eat or drink in the lab OR eat, drink, or sniff the lab chemicals.
4. Know your safety symbols and identify all possible dangers.
5. No open shoes in the lab. Pull long hair up when needed.
6. Make sure your lab area is clean and uncluttered.
7. Dispose of materials properly.
8. In case of any accident, inform your teacher.
9. Know where the nurse and emergency equipment are located.
10. Only 1 person per group at a time may go get supplies or use equipment.
II. Safety Symbols
Unit 1: Nature of Chemistry
Content Outline: Review of the Scientific Method (1.2)
I. The Scientific Method
A. Observation
1. This observation of something in nature leads you to a question such as “Why or How did that happen?” or “What if…?”
2. Types of observations in science:
a. Qualitative (Sounds like quality.)
i. These are qualities (descriptions) that an object possesses, such as color, shape, and texture.
b. Quantitative (Sounds like quantity.)
i. These are numbers dealing with amounts of an object(s), such 9 bowling balls, ½ of a cake, 2 quarters and 3 dimes.
3. Areas of observation in science:
a. System – a specific portion of matter (Anything with mass and takes up space.) in a given region of space that has been selected for study during an experiment.
i. Open system – this type interacts by exchanging matter or energy with the surroundings.
· An example would be you (the open system) surrounded by the air and
environment around you (surroundings).
ii. Closed system – this type does NOT interact with the surroundings. There is NO exchange of matter or energy.
· An example of a closed system would be almost any lab exercise done in a
controlled lab environment.
b. Surroundings – areas outside and surrounding the system.
B. Research
1. You look through textbooks, scientific journals, and maybe on the Internet to see if you can find an acceptable and logical answer to your question.
a. If you cannot find an acceptable answer, then you might design an experiment to test your question and hopefully find an acceptable answer to your question.
C. Formulating a Hypothesis
1. A hypothesis is an educated (because you have performed some prior research) guess about the possible outcome of an experiment, such as the one you developed.
a. It may get proven, or it may not. If it is not proven, then you might need to redo or modify your hypothesis and then retest it.
b. It needs to be an “If … then” statement, such as “If water boils at 100° C, then we should be able to heat and measure water on a stove to prove this.”
i. The “If portion” is your initial question.
ii. The “then portion” is your educated guess about the outcome of the experiment.
c. Your hypothesis must be testable.
D. Procedure of the experiment
1. You must have a step-by-step descriptive procedure for your experiment.
a. You must list quantities of items, such as chemicals, temperatures, or time.
b. You must also state all the equipment needed to perform the experiment in each step.
E. Experimentation and Data Collection
1. This is the actual performing of the experiment using the procedure you developed.
2. You need to be making quantitative and qualitative observations the entire time your experiment is being performed.
a. To help keep the data in an organized, easy to understand format, you need to construct data tables.
i. Data tables usually tell us information such as the Independent Variables (IV), Dependent Variables (DV), and constants.
α. Independent (controlled) Variable – this is the part of the experiment you are
controlling, but modifying, to see if it has an effect on the outcome of your
experiment. Some examples would possibly be: temperature, time, concentration.
b. Dependent (changing) Variable – this is the outcome you are measuring. It is
dependent upon the outcome of your experiment. It may change as you modify the
Independent Variable being tested. Some examples would be: number of bubbles
produced, % change in decomposition, or change in color.
c. Constants – These are conditions that are the same (uniform) for all parts of the
experiment. They are kept constant and unchanging.
b. Data tables allow you to measure your accuracy, precision, and percentage of error.
i. Accuracy – the closeness of measurements to a correct or accepted value.
ii. Precision – the closeness of measurements to the same quantity. The quantity may or may not be the accurate value, though.
3. You must perform the same exact experiment several times to ensure your accuracy as it will be tested by your peers (other scientists) to see if you are telling the truth!
F. Analysis
1. This is where you will look over and think about your results.
2. At this point you will begin making graphs and calculations from your data tables and observations that you collected during the experiment.
a. Percentage error – the mathematical difference (value) between what you observed and
what was expected. Measured using the below equation:
% Error = (VObserved - VExpected)/ VExpected X 100
Here, V represents any value that is being measured. The closer your percent error gets to zero; the more it becomes a perfect outcome, not a perfect experiment. The farther away from zero, the worse your results are.
Example Problems:
1. Joshua uses his thermometer and finds the boiling point of ethyl alcohol to be 75o C. He looks in a reference book and finds that the actual boiling point of ethyl alcohol is 80oC. What is his percent error?
2. Betty Lou weighed an object on her balance and recorded a mass of 24.21 grams.Her teacher told her that there was obviously something wrong with her balance because it was giving her a reading which was 33.22% too high. What was the actual mass of the object?
3. The density of water at 4oC is known to be 1.00 g/mL. Lucille experimentally found the density of water to be 1.08 g/mL. What is her percent error?
4. You will begin theorizing (trying to prove) your hypothesis and backing it up descriptively using your collected data, graphs, calculations, and making models.
a. Theory – a broad, generalized statement that attempts to explain a body of facts or phenomena.
i. These can change over time as new data comes to light.
b. Scientific Law – These “never” change, as the outcome is always the same. For example,
Newton’s Law of Motion – an object remains in motion until acted upon by another object.
c. Model – these are structures or formulas used for representing hard to see or hard to understand concepts. For example, it is hard to see the Solar system; but you probably made a model of it back in the 6th grade.
G. Publishing
1. This is were you will communicate the findings/outcomes of your experiment so that others can
peer review/reproduce (to see if you are accurate) your work or use your work to expand their work.
Unit 1: Nature of Chemistry
Content Outline: Scientific Measurement (1.3)
I. Quantity
A. This term is used to describe something that has magnitude, size, or amount.
B. This is not the same thing as measurement.
1. Measurement is a process that scientists perform to represent a specific unit of some object. For example, you measured the length of a piece of paper to be 11 inches, or you measured out 3 cups of salt.
2. A measurement nearly always has a number plus a unit.
II. The SI System of measurement used in science.
A. SI stands for the French Le Système International d’Unités (International System of Measurement) that was globally accepted in 1960 at the General Conference on Weights and Measures in Sèvres, France.
1. It is used and recognized by all scientists around the world, despite the reluctance of Americans to adopt the system over the old English system of measurement.
B. The SI system is based upon 7 Fundamental Units of Measurement. They are:
1. Length (l)
a. Length is measured in meters (m).
2. Mass (m)
a. Mass is measured in grams (g).
i. Mass is measured using a scale or balance.
b. Mass is different from weight.
i. Weight a measure of the gravitational pull on matter (an object).
ii. Weight is measured on a spring scale and measured in Newtons, after the great scientist Isaac Newton, who worked with gravity.
c. Weight can change from location to location (earth vs. moon); but mass does not change.
3. Time (t)
a. Time is measured in seconds (s).
4. Temperature (T)
a. It is measured in Kelvin (K).
i. To convert degrees Celsius (°C) to Kelvin:
273 K + °C ; for example à 273 + 27 °C = 300K
ii. To convert degrees Fahrenheit (°F) to degrees Celsius (°C):
(°F – 32) X 5/9; for example à (78° F - 32) X 5/9 = 46 X 5/9 = 25.6°C
Example Problems:
Convert the following to Kelvin:
1. 90o C ______
2. -20o C ______
Convert the following to Celsius:
3. 200 K ______
4. 273 K ______
5. 85° F ______
5. Amount of a given substance (n)
a. It is measured in moles (mol).