Ms Garner's Chemistry Page

Course Outline

Welcome to Chemistry! This course will expose you to the physical world around us in many ways. We will investigate many different fields of chemistry and how they affect us, as well as the careers available in these fields. We will be not only reading and writing about scientific concepts, but we will also be exploring them as much as possible with an inquiry approach, which will allow you to make your own discoveries. In this way, the learning process becomes much more personal, memorable, and therefore more valuable you.

Some of the topics which we will be exploring are:

Scientific Method	Chemical Bonding	Acids + Bases
Matter	Formulas + Compounds	Organic Compounds
Atoms	Chemical Reactions	Nuclear Chemistry
Periodic Table	Solutions

Learning Objectives

1. Introduce the concepts of a variety of chemical fields. (Chemistry is everywhere!)
2. Focus on the application of chemistry to everyday life. (How does it affect me?)
3. Introduce careers related to chemistry. (Can I do this for a living?)
4. Develop problem solving, thinking, and scientific reasoning skills. (How do things function and work?)
5. Increase personal interest and knowledge in chemistry. (Everyone can have fun learning chemistry!)

Required Materials

Everyone is expected to have the following each day. You will not be able to return to your locker to retrieve any of these items:

1. Notebook–you must have a three-ring notebook alone for this class. There will be A LOT of handouts so sharing with another class suggested. I recommend having items dated and in order. This will keep units together so you can spend less time searching for papers and more time studying!
2. Pencil and paper– It may seem like a given, but this is a gentle reminder to the students that it is not my responsibility to supply you with these items. Given the amount of math involved and the inevitable mistakes that will be made, I recommend pencil and an extra large eraser.
3. Eraser – see #2.
4. Red pen – We will be correcting homework, quizzes, and tests in class together, so if you don’t have a red pen to do so, it will result in points deducted from your grade.
5. Calculator – It must have exponent, log, and anti log keys. Unless you are sharing your chemistry notebook with your math notebook, you will need two calculators, one for each subject.
6. Covered book – You will either buy or make a book cover for your text book. We will not be using these on a daily basis, so keep it in your locker or at home, but don’t lose it! (cost: $65.00) I will give you advance notice about bringing it to class.

Types of Assignments

We will discuss topics and concepts together in class and you will be given practice sheets to complete for homework. We will go over the answers together in class the following day, and you will use a RED PEN ONLY during these corrections. Part of your assignment grade will be the effort you demonstrated before coming to class, and part will hinge on how well you corrected the answers during class in red. After each chapter we will have a test which will resemble the study guide.

Throughout each chapter or unit, we will be conducting experiments and explorations into the concepts introduced in the textbook. These are meant to enhance your understanding of the material presented. Some of these will be quicky labs while others will require a formal lab write-up.

Grades

The grading will be weighted as follows:

Homework/ Classwork/ Labs: 40% of the final grade

Quizzes/ Tests/ Semester Final: 60% of the final grade

The grading scale is as follows:

90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, 0-50%=F

Daily assignments are 5-10 points, and tests are 25-70 points. Daily participation and completion of assignments is crucial. Updated grades will be posted on the internet each Friday after 3:00.

Make-up work: The student is responsible for collecting and completing all make up work marked ABSENT on top. Make up work for unexcused absences will not be accepted. There are three ways to obtain make-up work:

• Call a friend and find out what you missed. Take the time to exchange phone numbers with at least one person in class.
• You can also check the calendar on my website to see what you missed and possibly download the homework. This way you can try to complete it before you even get back to class.
• There is a calendar in my room with assignments posted and a box with any sheets available. You can get to these at any time without my help. If there is something you don’t understand I will be happy to clarify it for you.

Late work: I will accept late work for ½ credit up until the chapter test, then it remains a zero.

Extra credit: Opportunities will be given periodically but rarely in conjunction with other assignments so please do not rely on these points to boost your grade. The need for extra supplies from home or any extraordinary effort above and beyond the class expectations will be grounds for extra points.

Extra help: If you ever need extra help please feel free to ask! I’m usually here anytime during lunch and after school. I do recommend making an appointment since I often use this time to make copies, etc. I also have a link on my website to helpful chemistry tutorials that might clear up any questions that you have that the book doesn’t make clear.

I look forward to a fun and exciting year of learning together!