AP Chemistry
Warren East High School
2012-2013
Jennifer Cooper
jennifer.cooper@warren.kyschools.us
website: www.teacherweb.com/KY/WarrenEastHighSchool/JenniferCooper/
General Course Information
The AP Chemistry course will have many overall goals, however the three primary goals are:
1) to provide college-level chemistry instruction
2) to provide college-level laboratory experience
3) to prepare students for the AP Exam in such a way that they will have the best chance for success.
● In AP Chemistry, students will learn more in-depth chemistry than they did in their first-year course and build
upon their understanding of chemical concepts to prepare for the AP exam. The course work is rigorous and fast
paced since it is designed to take the place of two semesters of freshman inorganic chemistry. Therefore, it is
expected that AP Chemistry students complete a minimum 1 to 1 ½ hours of homework each night. Learning
from the textbook and doing the homework are the students' responsibility. The course meets all of the standards
designated by the College Board and covers all of the topics in the AP Chemistry Course Description.
Course Objectives
The objectives of the AP Chemistry course are that each student will:
 exhibit mastery of the major principles of chemistry with a focus on the major themes from the Course
description (structure of matter, states of matter, reactions, descriptive chemistry, and laboratory).
 demonstrate laboratory skills by using various types of chemical instrumentation, technology, and
scientific methodologies.
 solve scientific problems by making observations and collecting data.
Textbook and Materials
Primary Textbook: Chemistry The Central Science, 10th edition by Brown & Lemay
Supplemental Textbooks: General Chemistry, 5th edition by R. Chang and Chemistry, 6th edition by Zumdahl &
Zumdahl.
Students will need the following materials in order to be successful in the course:
 A 3-ring binder (minimum 3” rings) that is used only for the AP Chemistry course & tab dividers
 Composition lab book
 Graphing Calculator
 A computer with internet access
 lined and graph paper
Teaching Strategies
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Students will be engaged in many instructional activities during each unit, which will utilize guided
inquiry and student-centered learning.
All lectures will contain PDF notes and will be supported by the textbook. It is the students'
responsibility to read the chapters and work the problems.
The PDF notes can be accessed from www.apchemistrynmsi.wikispaces.com. The website also provides
video lectures that correspond to the notes.
●Required AP Chemistry Laboratory Program. Students will compile a laboratory notebook that will
include an abstract, the lab write-up, answers to lab questions and all data and observations.
●Unit exams will mirror the AP Exam. Exams will feature multiple choice questions and freeresponse questions. They will be graded and scored with AP grading policies and rubrics.
Summer Assignment
Every AP Chemistry student should have an in-depth knowledge of the following concepts prior to the first day
of school. These concepts will only be reviewed during the first days of class, and are the fundamental
components to understanding higher level chemistry. A detailed Summer Assignment with instructions and notes
is available on my webpage. The assignment should be completed by the first day of school to prepare for the
first exam.
Fundamental Chemistry Concepts:
 Chemical Reactions: AP Chemistry students should have an understanding of the different types of chemical
reactions, balancing equations, prediction of products, mass relationships and some stoichiometry.
 Nomenclature: A fundamental component to chemistry, each student is expected to write chemical formulas,
calculate empirical and molecular formulas, and write chemical equations. There is not enough time to re-teach
this information, and it is vital that students review and master the content before the end of the first week of
school.
 Atomic Structure and States of Matter: AP Chemistry students should understand the fundamental concepts of
atomic structure and how atoms form ionic and molecular bonds. Students should also have an understanding of
the kinetic molecular theory and how it relates to the states of matter.
Laboratory Component
The difference between college chemistry and the typical high school chemistry course are evident in the
laboratory work. The AP Chemistry Exam includes some questions based on experiences and skills students
acquire in the laboratory. Students will complete approximately 22 of the suggested AP Chemistry Labs in the
AP Chemistry Lab Manual for Students. There will a minimum of one day per week where students will be
required to arrive to class early or stay after class to set up or finish a lab. Formal lab reports must be
maintained in a composition notebook and follow a specific laboratory format.
Laboratory Dress Code: During laboratories, it is important to wear clothing that will not interfere with the experiments.
Students who come to lab inappropriately dressed or otherwise unprepared will NOT be allowed to participate in the
scheduled lab experiment and will receive a grade of zero (0) for that lab assignment. Remember that lab safety requires
each student to prepare for lab prior to arrival in order to be organized and efficient during the laboratory period. Protective
eyewear (goggles) will be provided in the lab and must be worn at all times, unless I state otherwise.
Grading Policy
Weight
Activity
Points
Tests
100
Quizzes
At most
50
Labs
Variable
Notebook
20
Homework
Variable
70%
25%
5%
Description
Consist of a multiple choice and a written part, each worth half the test grade. Most
questions will be AP style questions, and the test itself will model the AP test.
Consist of multiple choice and/or written questions. Quzzes will not necessarily model
the AP test, but may consist of AP style questions. Weekly Net Ionic Quizzes will
model the AP exam and will be graded using AP standards.
Each lab experience will require a pre-lab assignment and a formal write-up that
includes a statement of the problem, hypothesis, description of the experimental
procedure, organized experimental data, analysis of experimental data, and a
conclusion that relates to the hypothesis and problem including error analysis. Labs
will be completed in a lab notebook. Instructions for completing the lab notebook will
be given in class.
A notebook will be required and checked at the end of each unit. Notebooks are
required to have notes, page organizers, handouts, and completed example problems.
Homework will be assigned most nights and will consist of problems from the text,
supplemental materials from any of the texts and/or work sheets.
Course Planner and Content
Unit
Lecture and Lab Titles
Chapters
Month
1
Stoichiometry and Chemical Equations
Ionic and molecular species present in chemical systems: net ionic equations. Balancing of equations, including those for redox
reactions. Mass and volume relations with emphasis on the mole concept, including empirical formulas and limiting reactants.
Lab 9 Determination of Mole Relationships in a Chemical Reaction
Labs 1 and 2 Determination of Percent Water in a Compound and Empirical Formula
Lab 16 Analytical gravimetric determination
1, 3 & 23
August
2
Types of Reactions and Electrochemistry
Precipitation reactions and Oxidation-reduction reactions
Oxidation number, the role of the electron in oxidation-reduction
Electrochemistry: electrolytic and galvanic cells; Faraday’s laws; standard half-cell potentials; Nernst equation; prediction of the
direction of redox reactions
Lab 8 Determination of Concentration by Oxidation-Reduction Titration of H2O2
Lab 22 Synthesis, purification, and Analysis of an Organic Compound
Lab 20 Determination of an Electrochemical Series
Lab 21 Measuring Using Electrochemical Cells and Electroplating
4 & 20
August &
September
3
Thermo chemistry and Thermodynamics
First law: change in enthalpy; heat of formation; heat of reaction; Hess’s law; heats of vaporization and fusion; calorimetry
Second law: entropy; free energy of formation; free energy of reaction; dependence of change in free energy on enthalpy and entropy
Relationship of change in free energy to equilibrium constants and electrode potentials
Lab 13 Determination of Enthalpy Change Associated with a Reaction
5& 19
September
& October
4
Kinetics
Concept of rate of reaction, use of experimental data and graphical analysis to determine reactant order, rate constants, and reaction rate
laws. Effect of temperature change on rates, energy of activation; the role of catalysts, the relationship between the rate-determining
step and a mechanism.
Lab 12 Determination of the Rate of a Reaction, Its order and Its Activation Energy
14
October &
November
5
General and Solubility Equilibrium
Concept of dynamic equilibrium, physical and chemical; Le Chatelier’s principle; equilibrium constants
Equilibrium constants for gaseous reactions: Kp, Kc
Equilibrium constants for reactions in solution
Constants for acids and bases; pK; pH
Solubility product constants and their application to precipitation and the dissolution of slightly soluble compounds
Common ion effect; buffers; hydrolysis
Lab 17 Colorimetric or Spechtrophotometric Analysis
Lab 10 Determination of Keq for a Chemical Reaction
15 & 17 November
6
Acid-Base Buffer Equilibrium
Acid-base reactions; concepts of Arrhenius, Brønsted-Lowry, and Lewis; coordination complexes; amphoterism
Lab 6 Standardization of NaOH
Lab 7 Determination of Concentration by Acid-Base Titration
Lab 11 Determination of Appropriate Indicators
Lab 19 Preparation and Properties of Buffer Solutions
16
December
7
Atomic Structure and Periodic Properties
Atomic theory and atomic structure, Nuclear Chemistry
Evidence for the atomic theory; Atomic masses; determination by chemical and physical means; Atomic number and mass number;
isotopes; Electron energy levels: atomic spectra, quantum numbers, atomic orbitals; Periodic relationships including, for example,
atomic radii, ionization energies, electron affinities, oxidation states
Lab 14 Separation and Qualitative Analysis of Cations and Anions
8
8, 9 & 24 January &
Chemical Bonding
Types: ionic, covalent, metallic, hydrogen bonding, Van der Waals (including London dispersion forces)
February
Relationships to states, structure, and properties of matter; Polarity of bonds, electronegativities, molecular models, Lewis structures
Valence bond: hybridization of orbitals, resonance, sigma and pi bonds; VSEPR: Geometry of molecules and ions, structural isomerism
of simple organic molecules and coordination complexes; dipole moments of molecules; relation of properties to structure
Lab 15 Synthesis of a Coordination Compound and its Chemical Analysis
9
Gas Laws
Laws of ideal gases, equation of state for an ideal gas, partial pressures, kinetic molecular theory, interpretation of ideal gas laws on the
basis of this theory, Avogadro’s hypothesis and the mole concept, dependence of kinetic energy of molecules on temperature
Deviations from ideal gas laws
Lab 5 Determination of Molar Volume of a Gas
10
States of Matter
Liquids and solids from the kinetic-molecular viewpoint, phase diagrams of one-component systems, changes of state, including
critical points and triple points, structure of solids; lattice energies
Lab 3 Determination of Molar Mass by Vapor Density
11 & 12 March
11
Solutions
Types of solutions and factors affecting solubility
Methods of expressing concentration (use of normalities is not tested) Raoult’s law and colligative properties (nonvolatile solutes);
osmosis; Nonideal behavior (qualitative aspects)
Lab 4 Determination of Molar Mass by Freezing Point Depression
Lab 18 Separation by Chromatography
4 & 13
12
Unit Exam for Laboratory (Review)
Chemical reactivity and products of chemical reactions; Relationships in the periodic table: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal with
examples from alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens, and the first series of transition Elements; Introduction to organic
chemistry: hydrocarbons and functional groups (structure, nomenclature, chemical properties) Because chemistry professors at some
institutions ask to see a record of the laboratory work done by an AP student before making a decision about granting credit,
placement, or both, in the chemistry program, students should keep a laboratory notebook that includes reports of their laboratory
work in such a fashion that the reports can be readily reviewed.
2, 6, 7 & January
21, 22
10
February
March &
April
April
Additional Course Policies and Information
Assignment Deadlines:
 All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date specified by the teacher. Assignments
must be turned in even if you are absent from class. Late assignments will be docked 10% every day
that it is late and will not be accepted after the fifth day.
 Since many of the labs deal with chemicals that need proper storage; it is important that labs are not
missed. If you have an excused absence on the day of a lab, you must make arrangements to stay after
school the day you return to complete the experiment.
Make-Up Exams
If you are absent from class and it is excused, you will be given the opportunity to make up any missed work.
However, it is your responsibility to obtain missing assignments and the date I expect you to turn it in. There
will be no make up work for any other reason. Work not made up will receive a 0. Remember if your absence is
unexcused you will receive a 0 for any work turned in that day.
If you miss a test, quiz or lab due to an excused absence or field trip, you will need to make it up before school,
after school, or an arranged time or you will receive a 0. Typically labs and exams must be made up within one
school week of an absence due to the fast pace of the course. You will not make up TESTS or LABS in class.
Your grade will reflect a 0 in the computer until that grade is made up.
If you know ahead of time that you must miss an exam, please schedule the make-up exam in advance. If you
are ill on an exam day, you must schedule the make-up exam the day that you return. In general, you will be
given a one-day extension for each day that you were absent.
Study Hints
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Go over your class notes each night and be honest with yourself in judging whether you understand what
was covered in class. Use the textbook for clarification and enrichment, and come to the teacher for
help when needed. If you are having trouble with a concept or problem, it is helpful to write questions
down in your notes so that you are prepared to ask questions in class. Although homework is only
worth 5% of your grade, it is the best preparation for the exams. If you chose not to complete
homework, you will have difficulty on the exams.
Form study groups and work as many practice problems in the textbook as needed. Students learn best
when they explain content to a peer.
Work carefully and consistently on lab reports. The experiments are designed to support content in the
course. There are specific lab questions on the AP Exam. Pay attention to lab safety and techniques,
common ion colors and reactivity, and mathematical formulas used in labs.
Use the livescribe videos and notes when you study at home. The videos go through the notes in detail
and describe how to work the problems. It is more beneficial to read the notes and chapters prior to
lecture.
Again, students that do chemistry homework will do better on a chemistry exam!