Advanced Placement Chemistry Course Syllabus General Course Description: This course will cover a curriculum that aligns with the framework specified by the College Board. This framework, as published in the 2013 version of the AP Chemistry Course and Exam Description, outlines six “big ideas.” All course topics, activities, assignments, and laboratory investigations will align with these six big ideas.

Big Idea 1: The chemical elements are fundamental building materials of matter, and all matter can be understood in terms of arrangements of atoms. These atoms retain their identity in chemical reactions

Big Idea 2: Chemical and physical properties of materials can be explained by the structure and the arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules and the forces between them

Big Idea 3: Changes in matter involve the rearrangement and/or reorganization of atoms and/or the transfer of electrons

Big Idea 4: Rates of chemical reactions are determined by details of the molecular collisions

Big Idea 5: The laws of thermodynamics describe the essential role of energy and explain and predict the direction of changes in matter

Big Idea 6: Any bond or intermolecular attraction that can be formed can be broken. These two processes are in a dynamic competition, sensitive to initial conditions and external perturbations

A college-level chemistry textbook will serve as the basic reference for this course. Topics will be covered using the textbook and teaching methods that cover material in a spiral approach. Students will be required to review class material nightly. Homework problems and questions will be assigned daily. Laboratory work is performed regularly, and will comprise a minimum of 25 percent of instructional time. Laboratory investigations will be conducted collaboratively, require a comprehensive laboratory notebook to journal observations and collect data as well as individual written laboratory reports. All laboratory work must be preformed within the safety guidelines set forth by the Flinn Scientific and Rose Tree Media School District safety contracts. This course is intended for the serious student who desires a strong foundation in chemistry. Since this course meets six periods per week, there may be a schedule conflict with the remainder of the student’s schedule. Therefore, students selecting this course should identify an alternative elective to provide more flexibility in scheduling.

Students who select this course should count on studying the above topics at a level, which is comparable in content and difficulty to a first-year general chemistry course at the university level. Students taking this course will be encouraged to take the College Board Advanced Placement Exam. Prerequisites: 1 Chemistry (recommended) or a “B” or better in Chemistry. Textbook:

Brown, Theodore L., H. Eugene Jr. LeMay, Bruce E. Bursten, and Julia R. Burdge.

Chemistry, The Central Science. 9th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Education, Inc., 2003. Print.

Laboratory Manuals:

AP Chemistry Guided-Inquiry Experiments: Applying the Science Practices. New York,

NY: The College Board, 2013. eBook.

Nelson, John H., and Kenneth C. Kemp. Chemistry, The Central Science: Laboratory

Experiments. 10th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006.

Print.

Course Goals: • Students will use critical and independent thinking skills to make connections

from the classroom to the world at large. • Students will regularly apply math, verbal, and scientific skills to solve complex

problems and fine-tune problem-solving skills. • Students will use laboratory manipulations skills while maintaining a safe

laboratory environment and gain the ability to create their own procedures to solve a given problem.

• Students will be prepared to earn an acceptable score on the AP Chemistry exam.

Brief Course Outline:

I. Review Honors Chemistry II. Atoms, Molecules, and Ions III. Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry IV. Aqueous Reactions and Solution Stoichiometry V. Thermochemistry

VI. Electronic Structure of Atoms VII. Periodic Properties VIII. Bonding IX. Gases X. Intermolecular Forces XI. Chemical Kinetics XII. Acids and Bases XIII. Other Application of Aqueous Equilibrium XIV. Thermodynamics XV. Electrochemistry

Course Outline in Detail:

I. Review Honors Chemistry Properties of matter; metric units; significant figures; dimensional analysis II. Atoms, Molecules and Ions (Big Idea 1, 2)

Review the atomic theory of matter with a historical approach encompassing the work of Dalton, Maxwell, Thompson, Rutherford, Millikan, Mendeleev (and the development of the periodic table); naming compounds

III. Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry (Big Idea 1, 3)

Calculations with chemical formulas and equations; reactivity; predicting products; atomic & molecular weights; the mole; empirical formula from combustion analysis; limiting reactants; theoretical yield Sample Activity: Students will be given a problem set and asked to determine the limiting reagents for a chemical reaction.

IV. Aqueous Reactions and Solution Stoichiometry (Big Idea 3)

Solution terms; precipitation reactions; acid-base reactions; oxidation-reduction reactions; concentrations of solutions; solution stoichiometry and chemical analysis

V. Thermochemistry (Big Idea 5)

Nature of Energy; First Law of Thermodynamics; Enthalpy; Calorimetry; Hess’s Law; Enthalpies of Formation Sample Activity: Students will be given a problem set and asked to employ Hess’s Law to calculate the standard enthalpy change for a given reaction.

VI. Electronic Structure of Atoms (Big Idea 1)

A historical overview of the study of light and wave-particle duality including the works of Plank and Einstein; the use of line spectra; the generation of the Bohr model of the atom; electron configurations; elementary spectroscopy using

Lyman, Balmer, Paschin and Ridburg; the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle; atomic orbitals

VII. Periodic Properties (Big Idea 1) Atomic and ionic radii; ionization energy; electron affinity; electronegativity; the reasoning behind the trends and their applications to descriptive chemistry Sample Activity: Students will work in teams to organize a set of cards in correct periodic order using only atomic property data.

VIII. Bonding (Big Idea 1, 2)

Covalent and Ionic Bonding; Lewis Structures; Born-Habber Cycle; Crystal Structures; Formal Charges; Resonance; Polarity; Dipole Moments; Bond Strength; Molecular Geometry; VSEPR; MO theory; Hybrid Orbitals (and the relation to resonance structures) Sample Activity: Students will work with model kits to build models of simple molecules and asked to determine their molecular shape and polarity.

IX. Gases (Big Idea 2)

Characteristics; Kinetic-Molecular Theory; Pressure, Volume and Temperature relationships (as discovered through demonstrations); Boyles’ Law; Charles’s Law; Guy-Lussac; Graham’s Law; Ideal Gas Law; Deviations from Ideal Gas Law (van der Waal’s Equation); Effusion and Diffusion

X. Intermolecular Forces (Big Idea 2)

Characteristics of molecular motion of solids, liquids and gases; Ionic and Covalent Bonding; London Dispersion forces; Hydrogen-bonding; Ion Dipole; application of these forces in predictions of boiling points, viscosity and surface tension; Clausius-Clapeyron equation; crystal structures Sample Activity: Students will develop an explanation of how a fly walks up a wall using a list of required relevant vocabulary terms.

XII. Chemical Kinetics (Big Idea 4)

Collision theory related to frequency, energy and orientation of collisions including activation energy and catalysts; using initial rates to determine rate laws and reaction order; Arrhenius equation; reaction mechanisms; rate-determining step Sample Activity: Students will evaluate the rate constant for a given reaction from graphical data.

XIII. Chemical Equilibrium (Big Idea 6) Equilibrium concept; equilibrium constant expression related to forward and reverse reaction rates; calculating constants using both concentration and

pressure data (Kc and Kp); Le Chatelier’s principle to predict changes in the system Sample Activity: Students will work in collaborative groups to discuss and answer qualitative questions regarding the concept of equilibrium

XIV. Acids and Bases (Big Idea 6) Defining various definitions of acids and base: Brønsted-Lowery, Arrhenius, Lewis; conjugate pairs; relative strengths; autoionization of water to yield pH scale; analyze various titration curves of both strong and weak acids and bases; equilibrium constant expressions and calculating Ka and Kb from pH and visa versa; polyprotic acids; acid/base properties of salt solutions

XV. Other application of Aqueous Equilibrium (Big Idea 6) Common ion effect related to buffers and solubility products using Henderson-Hasselbalch equation; qualitative analysis scheme for separating cations into groups

XIV. Thermodynamics (Big Idea 3) Spontaneous processes; entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics; calculations of entropy changes; Gibbs Free Energy and equilibrium constant

XV. Electrochemistry (Big Idea 3)

Balancing Red-Ox equations; voltaic cells; cell EMF; Nernst Equation; spontaneity of Red-Ox reactions; relation of chemical equilibrium; corrosion and activity series; electroplating

XVI. Student-Choice Final Project Students will self-select their final project topic from a project menu which lists eight suggested topics. For example, “Discover how chemicals might impact the production of energy in the next 25 years OR use your knowledge of chemicals to propose a solution to the energy issues in our country.”

Laboratory Component: As previously stated, laboratory work is performed regularly, and will comprise a minimum of 25 percent of instructional time. The purpose of the laboratory component is to provide students with the opportunity to engage in investigative chemistry. These labs include both instruction-based experiments and inquiry-based experiments. The following experiments will be preformed over the course of the year:

Experiment 1: Basic Laboratory Techniques Experiment 2: Alum from Waste Aluminum Cans Experiment 3: Verification of Potassium Aluminum Sulfate in Synthesized Alum Experiment 4: What Makes Water Hard? (an inquiry-based experiment)

Experiment 5: The Hand Warmer Design Challenge: Where Does the Heat Come From? (an inquiry-based experiment) Experiment 6: Identifying an Unknown Metal Carbonate Experiment 7: Properties of an Alkyne Experiment 8: Determination of the Volume of CO2 in Pop Rocks® Experiment 9: Experimental Determination of the Ideal Gas Constant Experiment 10: How Do You Separate Molecules That are Attracted to One Another? (an inquiry-based experiment) Experiment 11: What’s in that Bottle? (an inquiry-based experiment) Experiment 12: How Long with that Marble Statue Last? (an inquiry-based experiment) Experiment 13: LeChatelier’s Principle Experiment 14: Titration of Aspirin Experiment 15: To What Extent Do Common Household Products Have Buffering Activity? (an inquiry-based experiment) Experiment 16: Producing Metals with Electricity

All students are required to maintain a laboratory notebook. The laboratory handout is to be placed in the notebook. Each experiment will begin with a title page where the title, purpose, and pre-lab questions are completed. While it is not necessary to re-write the pre-lab questions, the answers provided must be in complete sentences with the question stated in the answer. All data entered in the lab notebook must have numbers with descriptive units in correct significant figures. All calculations must be supported with work. In the case where a single calculation is repeated, the work of one sample calculation will suffice. If a graph of data is required, it is to be included in your lab notebook. All graphs require titles and labels. Each experiment will include an explanation of data and results, including the identification and explanation of relevant experimental errors. Finally, each experiment will include a written conclusion. The conclusion of the experiment should relate directly to the purpose of the experiment. All pages in the notebook are to be numbered. The notebook is to include a table of contents, which lists the title of the experiment and the page number where it can be found. This table of contents must be updated regularly.