Honors Chemistry Green Sheet

HONORS CHEMISTRY GREEN SHEET

Honors Chemistry (pre-AP) is an accelerated college prep class. The rigueur of the class is meant to prepare students for further study in college level chemistry. It is hoped that students taking this course will continue their studies through AP Chemistry. This class requires problem solving abilities therefore it is recommended that students have done well in their math classes. You must have passed Algebra 1 in Junior High with a n A or B. You also must have finished Algebra2/Trig and be currently in Honors Geometry or Pre-Calculus or have successfully passed Honors Geometry freshman year and currently in Honors Algebra2/Trig.

During the course of the year the student will experience major concepts in chemistry and basic laboratory skills. All of the California Chemistry Standards will be covered will be:

¨  Measurements

¨  Atomic Structure

¨  Periodic Properties

¨  Chemical Bonds

¨  Nomenclature

¨  Chemical Reactions

¨  Stoichiometry

¨  Phase Changes

¨  Gas Laws

¨  Solutions,

¨  Acid and Base Titration

¨  Reaction Kinetics

¨  Equilibrium

¨  Electrochemistry

¨  Nuclear Chemistry

¨  Organic Chemistry

TEXT BOOKS:

The book is Modern Chemistry by Davis, et al published by Holt. These are new books and you will charged for damage from scuffed or bent bindings to more obvious tears and water damage. Since we have a class set of textbooks, your book should be kept at home to be used for daily homework (not in your locker!)

YOU WILL NEED THESE MATERIALS:

·  Three-ring binder (1 inch minimum) for chemistry only set up with 5 dividers

·  2 -3 #2 pencils (mechanical pencils OK)

·  blue or black pen

·  eraser

·  loose lined binder paper

·  NON-GRAPHING scientific calculator (no exceptions!)

·  You will need to buy a lab notebook($13.00) and goggles ($7.00) in class during the first week.

CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

All of the American High School rules will be observed at all times. No cell phones, i-pods, food, hats/hoods, or inappropriate clothing. The ringing of the bell signals the beginning of class. All students are to be in their assigned seats by the time the bell rings and be ready to begin the day's work. Any student not in their seat when the bell rings will be considered TARDY even if they are in the classroom. Tardy policies will be strictly enforced. Three tardies will result in an after school detention. If you can’t serve the detention, don’t get one. A missed detention will result in an administrative referral.

Students will continue to do their work up to the dismissal bell. DO NOT pack your backpack early and wait for the bell (or talk to friends)!! The dismissal bell is a signal TO THE TEACHER to excuse the class. Class will be dismissed ONLY when all students are in their assigned seats.

Mrs. Sykes uses a raised hand for the Quiet Signal in class. When she raises her hand, students should STOP talking immediately and raise their hand also to signal other students to be quiet. ( It is not polite to continue your conversation and have the class waiting or to shout "Shut-Up" to classmates)

HOMEWORK

This course moves very rapidly and because of this I recommend that you review your notes each night. If you have any questions, bring them to class the next day. Homework is assigned Monday through Friday and is always due the NEXT DAY at the beginning of the period. It is then turned in or kept in your Chemistry binder until collected. Assignments are turned in by placing in the Blue Assignments box in front of the room. If you are absent when assignments are collected, you must place your assignment in the Absent/Late box. Make sure you write “ABSENT ON ” and the dates you were absent across the top of the paper so you will receive full credit. . Returned assignments will be found in your period's Returned Assignments tray in the Student Center (right,front,counter). DO NOT throw any returned assignment away. They are to be kept in your science binder and will count toward the completeness of your chemistry binder grade.

All assignments and notes will be titled with your first and last name, date, period and teacher in the upper right corner of the page. It should look like this:

. Binder paper will have clean cut edges, frayed edges torn out of a spiral binder will not be accepted for credit (so cut off the frays). You may NOT take notes on the computer. Homework that is messy or difficult to read will not be accepted for credit.

All papers (tests, homework, labs) that are returned must be kept in your binder until after the semester finals. Example of problems to solve will be presented in class. It is important that you ask questions if the solution to the problems is not clear. Supplemental worksheets and book problems will not be collected but are necessary for adequate fluency in solving problems. Discussions of these problems will be the first few minutes of class only. Short homework quizzes will be given without warning. If you need further help on homework make, an appointment to see Mrs. Sykes or visit the tutors in the library after school. .

Every Monday the weekly schedule will be posted on the Honors Chemistry webpage. Worksheets, Labs, Tutorials are also posted on the webpage. The access to the webpage is www.chemistryking.com . You must log in as a student (you must contact Mrs Sykes for the enrollment key) and make sure you log in each time you visit because I check the log-in records. Study groups are strongly encouraged so you may help each other deepen the understanding of the concepts studied. You should expect to spend at least one hour of independent study for each night that classes are held for an honors level class.

Students should seek extra help as soon as they do not understand something since the course content builds from one day to the next. Mrs. Sykes is available for extra help after school by appointment. You may email me at or

Labs are very difficult to make up. Your lab partners depend on you to be in class. Much of the classwork is a team effort. Likewise, your classmates want the results of tests and quizzes as soon as possible. Therefore, students who are absent will be excused from no more than one lab or quiz per semester if the proper documentation of the absence is provided, in writing, to Mrs. Sykes and the absence qualifies as an excused absence by the State of California . Vacations and personal time are NOT an excused absence.

All makeup work and makeup tests must be completed within no more than the number of days you were absent. This does NOT include days missed for field trips and sport events. You are expected to have work done or turned in early. You must notify the teacher before you must be gone for a field trip or sports event.

Honesty:

The pressure to do well in school will sometimes cause students to resort to any means to achieve a grade on an assignment. Plagiarizing and copying assignments (including labs and homework), or cheating on tests and quizzes will not be tolerated. All work is to be done individually. Failure to do so will result in a parent call or conference and a “zero” on the assignment. To insure fairness to all students, video surveillance may be used during class.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN HONORS CHEMISTRY

It is important for you to know the following: Sitting yourself down with a stack of scratch paper and a calculator and working homework problems is the single most efficient way to teach yourself Chemistry. Less than 1% of you will be able to do well in the course (well meaning a 'B' or better) without working homework problems. There are several levels at which you can engage the homework, and your result - in terms of your course grade - will correlate with your approach to the homework. Here is a description of these different levels:

1.  The lowest level of homework engagement. You have read homework problems and looked at answers in the solutions manual. You 'understand' how the problems were solved. But can you say, "Any fries with that?"
Predicted course grade: 'F'.

2.  Worked homework problems while looking at the answers in the solutions manual or a classmate. You have fooled yourself into thinking you know something when, in fact, you do not. Without looking at the steps, you are unable to work problems - particularly under the time pressure of the exam. And the exams are 100% problems. Your result for Exam #1 comes as a big surprise; you are in moderately serious trouble.
Predicted course grade: 'D'.

3.  Worked homework problems yourself, but used your book to review concepts and to look up some equations. This is much better than engagement levels 1 and 2 and is the recommended starting point for deeper study. In fact, without doing more than this, you may achieve an average level of proficiency (average with respect to the rest of the class). You know more chemistry than Paris Hilton but the problem is you want to attend a competitive university and study pre-med.
Predicted course grade: 'C'.

4.  Worked homework problems without using either the answers or the book (you have committed important equations to memory; you understand all key concepts). You know what you are doing with problems which are very similar to those assigned in the homework. You have learned some chemistry!
Predicted course grade: 'B'.

5.  The highest level of homework engagement. You have worked homework problems without using either the answers or the book. (Hey, this has taken time, and you may have started at levels 2 ,3 or 4 above before achieving this level of problem solving proficiency.) Then you have 'dissected' key problems and thought about how your teacher might present different questions which test the same chemical concepts. You have devoted thought to how these other problems might be approached quickly in a testing situation. You have gone the recommended on-line sites that help you understand the concepts and have taken the practice tests. It's really a matter of pride with you.
Predicted course grade: 'A'.

PERSONAL INFORMATION SIGN & RETURN, PLEASE Period ______

Name (as it appears in school computer) ______

Preferred Name ______

ID number______

Grade______

Mother/Guardian's Name ______

Home Phone ______

Cell Phone ______

Work Phone ______best time to reach you

Name of work ______

Email address(es) ______

Father/Guardian's Name ______

Home Phone ______

Cell Phone ______

Work Phone ______

Name of work ______

Email address(es) ______

With whom do you live? ______

Primary Language spoken in home ______

Secondary Language spoken in home______

Medical problems of which I need to be aware (check all that apply):

* Near Sighted * Wear contact lens

* Asthma * Epilepsy

* Seizures * Allergies: ______

* Diabetic * Other: ______

* ADD/ADHD * Other: ______

The medications I take regularly are ______

Do you need to sit in a special location in the room? ______Where?

NAME ______PERIOD ______

Write your schedule below. As it changes, let me know.

The after school activities which I take part in are

c  Fall sports______

c  Winter sports ______

c  Spring sports______

c  Fall drama

c  Spring musical

c  Fall Marching Band

c  Spring Jazz Band

c  Clubs ______

______

Which science classes have you had in Jr and Sr High school?

Which math classes have you had in Jr and Sr High school?

Do you have a computer at home? Yes No

What platform do you have? PC Mac

Do you have Internet access at home? Yes No

Type of Internet Access None Dial-Up High Speed

The college I am thinking about attending is ______

In college I’m interested in majoring in ______because ______

______

I have heard Honors Chemistry is ______

My greatest fear about Honors Chemistry is ______

I decided to take Honors Chemistry because ______

My greatest weakness seems to be ______

I consider my strength(s) to be______

My grades are usually ______

About how many hours of TV do you watch in a day ?

______0-2 hrs ______3-5 hrs _____ 5-7 hrs _____ more than 7 hrs

About how many hours of games do you play in a day ?

______0-2 hrs ______3-5 hrs _____ 5-7 hrs _____ more than 7 hrs

About how many hours of homework do you do each day ?

______0-2 hrs ______3-5 hrs _____ 5-7 hrs _____ more than 7 hrs

STUDENT PLEDGE

I, ______, have read these course expectations and promise to:

print full name

c  follow the rules established by Mrs. Sykes and American High School;

c  bring supplies, non-graphing scientific calculator and science binder to class every day

c  organize my time for homework , studying, and will seek help when needed;

c  put forth a positive effort to succeed in class and support my classmates.

______

student signature date

PARENT PLEDGE

I, ______parent / guardian of the above student, have read these course expectations and promise to:

print full name

c  help my student acquire the materials needed for science class ( paper, pencil, binder, non-graphing scientific calculator, etc. );

c  ensure that my student arrives to school on time, rested, nourished and with the necessary materials;

c  provide a schedule and place appropriate for my student to study at home ;

c  make every effort to attend Back-To-School Night on Thurs., Sept.22@ 6:00pm ______

parent signature date