Radnor High School
Course Syllabus
Advanced Placement Chemistry
I. Course Description
Advanced Placement Chemistry
1.0 Credit; Weighted
Length: Year; Format: Meets Daily
Prerequisite: Honors Chemistry and Advanced Precalculus
Advanced Placement Chemistry is a challenging second year chemistry course
which prepares students to take the AP Chemistry exam by providing college
level chemistry instruction. Success in AP Chemistry requires a serious
commitment to independent study and outside-of-class laboratory work. It is
intended for those students with a strong math and science background who
are interested in pursuing a career in science, medicine or engineering.
II. Materials & Equipment
Primary Text:
Chang, Raymond, Chemistry, 8th edition
Supplementary texts and workbooks which provide additional explanations
and problems:
Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions Workbook
Hague & Smith, The Ultimate Chemical Equations Handbook
Brown & LeMay, Chemistry, the Central Science
Zumdahl, Chemistry
Lab Manuals:
Laboratory Experiments are taken from several sources:
Vonderbrink, Laboratory Experiments for Advanced Placement
Chemistry
Slowinski, Chemical Principles in the Lab, 4th edition
Nelson & Kemp, Laboratory Experiments
III. Course Goals & Objectives
1. Students will attain a depth of understanding of the fundamentals of
chemistry and a reasonable competence in dealing with chemical
problems.
2.
Students will develop the ability to think about chemistry clearly and
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express their ideas orally and in writing with clarity and logic.
3. Students will develop their ability to use chemical calculations and
mathematical formulations of chemical concepts.
4. Students will develop college level laboratory skills.
IV. Course Topics (Summary Outline)
UNIT I – Review and extension of Chem I
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
Chemistry: The Study of Change
Atoms, Molecules, and Ions
Mass Relationships in Chemical Reactions
Reactions in Aqueous Solutions
Gases
Thermochemistry
UNIT II – Chemical Equilibrium, Acids & Bases
Chapter 14: Chemical Equilibrium
Chapter 15: Acids and Bases
Chapter 16: Acid-Base Equilibria and Solubility Equilibria
UNIT III – Chemical Kinetics, Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry
Chapter 13: Chemical Kinetics
Chapter18: Entropy, Free Energy, and Equilibrium
Chapter 19 Electrochemistry/Redox Reactions
UNIT IV – Electron Structure and Bonding, Interparticle Forces
Chapter 7: Quantum Theory and the Electronic Structure of Atoms
Chapter 8: Periodic Relationships Among the Elements
Chapters 9/10
Chemical Bonding I & II
Chapter 11: Intermolecular Forces and Liquids and Solids
Chapter 12: Physical Properties of Solutions
UNIT V – Miscellaneous Topics
Chapter 24: Organic Chemistry
Chapter 23: Nuclear Chemistry
Complex Ion Formation
V. Assignments & Grading
Laboratory Work:
Lab work is an extremely important part of any chemistry curriculum. Students
are required to keep a quadrille lined lab notebook as well as hand in written lab
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reports for each lab completed.
Grading Policy:
Semester grades will be based on the following percentages:
Tests: 60%
Labs: 30%
Homework: 10%
Students will be given the opportunity to take the AP Chemistry test in May.
Preparation for this test may require extra study sessions after school.
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