HAZELWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT
CHEMISTRY IN ACTION SYLLABUS
Course Description:
Chemistry in Action stresses the practical application of chemistry. The course is
an activity-based class requiring student involvement. Topics of study include
physical states of matter and their properties, chemical reactions, gases, and
metals. The second semester continues to stress the practical application of
chemistry. Topics of study include water chemistry, nuclear chemistry, hazardous
waste management, synthetic materials, forensics, and consumer chemistry.
This course is designed to meet the needs of the individual learner, permitting
students of a wide range of academic abilities to succeed while maintaining the
integrity of the subject mater. Quality writing is encouraged; laboratory skills are
developed; content knowledge is acquired; and process skills are used to
develop critical thinking.
Course Materials:
Modern Chemistry, published by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston – student text
Holt Chemistry Interactive Tutor CD-ROM
Holt Laboratory Program
Interactive Explorations in Chemistry CD-ROMs
One-Stop Planner CD-ROM with Test Generator
Video clips from united streaming
Course Expectations:
Acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and
ideas
 Develop questions and ideas to initiate and refine research
 Conduct research to answer questions and evaluate information and ideas
 Design and conduct field and laboratory investigations to study nature and
society
 Use technological tools and other resources to locate, select and organize
information
 Comprehend and evaluate written, visual, and oral presentations and
works
 Discover and evaluate patterns and relationships in information, ideas and
structures
 Evaluate the accuracy of information and the reliability of its sources
 Organize data, information and ideas into useful forms (including charts,
tables, graphs, outlines) for analysis and presentation
 Apply acquired information and ideas to different contexts in the school,
the workplace and everyday life
Acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond
the classroom
Acquire the knowledge and skills to recognize and solve problems
Chemistry in Action
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Identify problems and define their scope and elements
Develop and apply strategies based on ways others have prevented and
solved problems
 Develop and apply strategies based on one’s own experience in
preventing and solving problems
 Evaluate the processes used in recognizing and solving problems
 Reason inductively form a set of facts and deductively from general
premises
 Examine problems and proposed solutions from multiple perspectives
 Evaluate the extent to which a strategy addresses the problem
 Assess the costs, benefits and other consequences of proposed solutions
to problems
Acquire the knowledge and skills to make decisions and act as responsible
members of society
Sample Course Activities/Projects/Assessments:
Crime Scene Investigations
White Powders
A Lab on Fiber Analysis
Create a heating and cooling curve for a pure substance
Create a superglue fuming chamber
Mystery Metal
Making Ice Cream
Forensic ink chromatography
Testing for copper, nickel, and lead
Create a hot pack
Calorimeter lab
Make soap
Dating Radioactive Style
Polymers
Course Outline:
1. Matter
 Classification – chemical and physical properties
 Qualitative and Quantitative measurements
 Analysis and graphing
 Percent error and significant figures
2. Atomic Structure
 History of atomic structure – Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr, etc.
 Atomic number, mass number, weight, isotopes, particles
 Avogadros number, gram/mole conversions, and determination of
atoms present
 Arrangement and distribution of electrons
 Quantum models for electrons
3. Periodic Table
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 History of the periodic table – Mendeleev, Mosley, etc.
 Families and periods
 Atomic radii size
 Chemical reactivity, density, etc.
4. Chemical Bonding, names, and formulas
 Using, naming, and writing
 Formula masses and molar masses
 Empirical formulas and molecular formulas
 Ionic and covalent
 Bond energy, length, Van Der Waals forces, etc.
5. Nuclear Chemistry
 Fission and fussion
 Radioactive decay
6. Chemical Reactions
 Classify types
 Balance equations
 Activity series
7. Kinetic Molecular Theory
 Real and ideal gases
 Pressure and temperature
 Molecular composition of gases, liquids, and solids
 Changes of state/phase diagrams
8. Gas Laws
 Boyle’s
 Charles
 Combined Gas Law
 Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressure
9. Solutions
 Types of mixtures
 Solubility
 Dissociation
 ionization
10. Acids/Bases
 Properties
 Neutralization
 Arrhenius
 Bronstead - Lowry
11. Aqueous Solutions and Ph
 Hydronium ions and hydroxide ions
 Ph scale
 Determining pH – indicators and titrations
 Calculation W/pH and pOH
Course Curriculum Map:
Chemistry in Action
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Properties Used to Classify Matter -4 weeks
Atomic Theory – 4 weeks
Periodic Table – 4 weeks
Changes in Matter – 4 weeks
Kinetic Theory of Matter – 4 weeks
Energy Forms and Transfer – 4 weeks
Solutions – 4 weeks
Acids/Bases – 4 weeks
Lesson Protocol:
Engagement 2-5 minutes
Exploration 20-30 minutes
Explain 10-15 minutes
Expand/Extend/Elaborate 10-15 minutes
Evaluate 10-15 minutes
Course Power Vocabulary:
density
physical property
luster/reflectivity
hardness
specific heat
solubility
element
compound
molecular formular
structural formula
nonmetal
noble gas
dilute
concentrated
acidic
basic
solvent
solute
phase change
pressure
proton
neutron
isotope
atomic mass
periodic table
chemical bond
periods
physical change
valence electron
ionic
oxidation
reduction
products
Conservation of Mass
thermal energy
heat
nuclear
electromagnetic
frequency
exothermic
fusion
fission
Chemistry in Action
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chemical property
conductivity
reactivity
molecule
metal
solution
saturated
neutral
polarity
temperature
electron
atomic number
groups/families
chemical change
covalent
reactants
chemical equation
wavelength
mechanical
endothermic
Conservation of Energy
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