Rogers Chemistry - Syllabus
Welcome to the wonderful world of Chemistry – the study of the makeup of
matter. Ever wondered why rings of gold are “better” than rings of silver?
Why you can eat salt or use it to melt ice? In this course, we will study
matter from the quarks up, use these studies to predict the behavior of
matter, and explain some of the way the world works through our
conclusions.
Text: Meyers, Thomas, Oldham, Keith, and Tocci, Salvatori. Holt Chemistry. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
2004. Available online at my.hrw.com.
Required Materials: One DEDICATED notebook.
 Points will be taken for a notebook with notes from other classes.
 NO MARBLE NOTEBOOKS ALLOWED.
 Three ring binders preferable.
 If you’re using a spiral notebook, it must be AT LEAST 3 SUBJECT. If there are not folders in this
notebook, you need a folder for this class.
 All students must come to class with functioning writing utensils.
Classroom Rules and Consequences:
Be Prompt. Arrive in a timely manner, in uniform.
Be Prepared. Get out your notebook and a writing utensil and begin the catalyst (do now). Have homework out
to be collected, graded, or reviewed. All book bags should be placed on the floor or the chair behind you.
Be Productive. Bathroom breaks are first or last five minutes of class. Notes are generally based on a power
point presentation; note taking is required. All members of a team should participate in group work. Any time
given for independent work should be used for work, not chatter. No electronic devices except calculators are
permitted in the classroom.
Be Polite. Please don’t interrupt other students. Don’t cuss. And don’t make a mess of our classroom.
Consequences:
- 1st offence (non-pink slip violation) – verbal warning
- 2nd offence – seat change
- 3nd offence – classroom detention / written reflection / call home
Rewards:
- Perfect monthly attendance (must be in whole class every day) gets choice of positive call home, +2%
on a lab, +5% on a test, or a weekly homework pass.
- Anyone who participates in an extra curricular event (must have signed note from coach or coordinator)
can have a daily homework pass.
- The first class to reach the Big Goal (every student must receive an A on a major test) will get a pizza
lunch on me.
Grading:
Grading scale is based on Philadelphia School District scale. All grades will be tracked in School Net.
Assignments will be based on a points scale, where heavier assignments (a test) will be worth more points than
a lighter assignment (a quiz). No more than 2 of your lowest grades will be dropped from a report card period in
each of the following sections. Please note the weighting of the sections.
50% Tests /Quizzes / Major Labs
40% Class Work and Little Labs
10% Homework
Classwork / Participation:
There are usually two daily notes checks. The first check is the do-now, aka the catalyst, and the
second check is for a noted benchmark toward the end of class.
Checks are added up for a weekly class work grade.
Other class work will be graded and counted in this section.
Labs
Each lab will come with its own lab sheet that must be handed in.
Missed labs will not be made up.
If a student is excused from class, the lab is excused.
Other information about labs is in the lab contract
Homework
Homework is found on the website and is due weekly
Project
One project, with separate grading sheet, may be assigned per marking period. This will count as a
major test grade, while pieces of the project (topic selection, research, etc) may count as homework
grades.
Tests/Quizzes
Cheating results in a 50% loss of credit. If you share answers, you share a grade.
Tests can be submitted for re-grade within 24 hours of being handed back.
25% of missed points will be awarded for corrected answer
50% of missed points will be awarded for corrected answer and book page number or copied
sample from class that supports the correct answer.
Late Policy
Homework -1point if late. Not accepted after a week unless lateness is due to excused absence.
Other missed assignments only accepted one week after missed.
Pacing:
We will follow school district policy for chemistry, as is outlined here:
First Marking Period:
Unit 1: Matter and Energy!
Unit 2: Atomic Structure
Unit 3: Periodic Table and Trends
Unit 4: Ionic Bonds and Nomenclature
Unit 5: Covalent Bonds and Nomenclature
Unit 6: Chemical Reactions
Fourth Marking Period:
Unit 7: Stoichiometry
Unit 7a: Energy revisited
Unit 8: Gases
Unit 9: Intermolecular Forces
Unit 10: Properties of Solutions
Unit 11: Chemical Equilibrium and Kinetics
Unit 12: Acids and Bases