INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE SL/HL
CHEMISTRY 2014-2015
CANYON DEL ORO HIGH SCHOOL
CHRIS TRIMBLE
International Baccalaureate
Chemistry
IB Chemistry is a rigorous course
designed to provide students with a
solid background in the science of
chemistry. SL is traditionally a 2 year
course, we will be completing it in
one year. This will require a rapid
pace in order to be well prepared
for the IB assessments. The HL
course is a 2 year course, and
students who continue with HL will
have an expansion of each of the
topics taught in the SL curriculum. A
major aim of the course will be to
provide students with ample
opportunities to develop strong
laboratory techniques and analysis
skills. This course is designed to
prepare students for the IB
Chemistry SL exam given in May,
and for the HL test in 2016.
Students should be prepared to set
aside ample study time for this
course each week. There will be no
shortcut to success. This is likely to
be one of the most difficult exams
you will take. You will need to
study, study, study!
ASSIGNMENTS AND ACTIVITES
I am committed to presenting the
information in this course in an
interesting and varied way. Due to
the large amount of content which
will be covered, students should
expect somewhere between 30 and
60 minutes of lecture/discussion
during most class periods. Students
will complete a laboratory
experiment (requiring the full 90
minute period) approximately once
every other week. Other shorter
labs, demos, and hands-on activities
will be integrated into the
lecture/discussion periods.
Emphasis will be placed on critical
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thinking, problem solving, and
Student Obligations
inquiry in classroom assignments.
Attendance—
Regular assignments will include
Consistent attendance is crucial
chapter vocabulary, completing
to your success in this course.
study questions, solving a variety of
There are some activities which
problems, completing informal lab
cannot be completed outside of
analyses, and writing formal lab
class. Additionally, most of the
reports.
course concepts will be difficult to
learn simply by reading the
Textbooks and Required
textbook or copying another
Materials
student’s notes. Thus, failure to
attend regularly is likely to
 Scientific Calculator
adversely affect your grade,
 3-ring Notebook for class
and your performance on the IB
handouts and notes
exam
 3 Composition Books –
Standard size
Homework—
 Index Cards – LOTS
I have structured the assignments
 Brown, Catrin & Ford, Mike.
for this course in such a way as to
Standard Level Chemistry for
foster good study habits, which
the IB Diploma. Pearson
should stimulate learning and
Education, 2008.
critical thinking. My goal in
assigning homework is to help you
The Wiki
learn as much as possible. You
All the materials for the course can
should expect to spend at least
be downloaded from my wiki. It is
an hour studying and completing
your responsibility to visit the site
homework for this course each
to get materials as and when they
day.
are needed. In addition to the
course material you will find other
Exam Preparation—
helpful information there.
During the spring you will be
trimblechemistry.wikispaces.com
provided with multiple
Course Topics
opportunities for additional exam
preparation outside of class. These
 Unit 1: Chemical Safety,
will include both review sessions
Measurement and Data Processing and practice exams. You should
 Unit 2: Quantitative Chemistry
plan to attend as many of these
 Unit 3: Atomic Structure
sessions as you can. Simply
 Unit 4: Periodicity
attending class and completing
 Unit 5: Energetics
homework assignments is not
 Unit 6: Kinetics
enough preparation for this
 Unit 7: Equilibrium
challenging and comprehensive
 Unit 8: Acids and Bases
exam. If you plan on being
 Unit 9: Oxidation Reduction
successful on the IB exam you must
 Unit 10: Organic Chemistry
dedicate additional study time to
 Unit 11: Option A: Modern
test preparation. This time should
Analytical Chemistry
be spent throughout the year, not
 Unit 12: Option F: Food Chemistry just in the weeks immediately
preceding the exam dates.
Late Work -A 10% per day late penalty will be
assessed and can be turned in for a
maximum of 3 days late. After the
3rd day, the late work will not be
accepted. Since we will be going
over homework assignments in
class, you will not receive credit
for late homework assignments.
Make-up Work—
If you miss school due to an
excused absence, you will have
three school days to make up the
work for each single day missed.
Labs will be made up by obtaining
the missed data and completing the
assigned questions or lab report.
Lab will not be excused under any
circumstances. If your absence from
class is unexcused, you will not be
given credit for any assignments
due on the day you were absent, or
assigned on the day you were
absent.
In situations of legitimate hardship
or difficulty, I will be reasonable and
flexible, so please feel free to talk to
me if you are struggling. It is
important to me that everyone be
successful in this course. This will
require a team effort on all of our
parts.
Assessment
(i) Homework (5%)
Because of the challenging nature
of much of the material, and the
pace of the course, you will have
homework daily, and it is your
responsibility to complete
homework problems before the
start of the next class. I expect you
to make a reasonable attempt to
complete all problems before
coming to class. Homework is to be
completed in a composition book
and will be checked daily. Only
completed homework will be given
credit at the start of the period. You
will then be given a chance to ask
questions, clarify concepts, hear
correct answers, and see solutions
to some of the problems
Vocabulary
Students will be making notecards,
of the vocabulary words needed
assignments. The language of the
IB programme is unique and this
will help build familiarity.
(ii) Tests/Quizzes (40%)
Students will have one exam after
each unit of study. Exams will be
cumulative from the first day of
school but will emphasize more
recent material. Missed tests must
be made up in tutoring within one
week of the absence and only if the
absence is excused. If the exam is
not made up within the make-up
window, students will receive a 0 on
the missed exam.
Quizzes
Quizzes will be given as a means to
assess the previous night’s
homework and reading, after
homework questions have been
addressed. You may use your
homework on the quiz.
(iii) Laboratory (20%)
Laboratory inquiry and assessment
is done in the lab using safe
technique. All students are
responsible to keep a lab notebook.
The labs will be graded for your
overall grade and for Internal
Assessment. Specific lab grading
criteria will follow in a separate
document. Internal Assessment:
Most labs will include a formal write
up. These formal lab reports will be
sent for IB grading at the
completion of this course. Labs are
due on the due date, late labs will
be assessed a penalty.
(iv) Lab Skills (5%)
Lab skills will be assessed using the
IB rubric. You will be graded on
your ability to follow directions,
work with your lab partner and lab
safety. Lab safety is assessed for
each lab and a cumulative grade
will be factored into your lab skills
grade. A specific rubric will be
discussed before the first lab. These
points will be assigned at the end of
the semester.
(v) Classwork/Projects/Activities
(15%)
Work completed in class either
individually or as a collaborative
group will be assessed in this
category. In group or individual
projects will fall into this category
as well.
Group IV Project: Students in the
IB programme are required to
complete a project in the
experimental sciences. This project
will span over both semesters in
order to give you the best possible
opportunity for success. Part of
your final IB grade will be your
personal skills demonstrated
throughout this project. There will
be more on this later!!
(vi) Final Exam (10%)
Final exams will be end of each
semester. It is a multiple choice
cumulative exam over the entire
semester/year and will be similar to
the IB format and grading.
Grading Scale
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
0-59 F
The IB Grade
At the end of the year, each student
will receive a score (between 1 and
7) in IB Chemistry SL from the IB
organization. This score will be the
combined total of what is known as
the “External Assessment (EA)” (a
test, consisting of three parts, and
making up 76% of the student’s
grade) and the “Internal Assessment
(IA)” (lab work scored by the
teacher and reviewed by the IBO,
making up the remaining 24% of
the grade).
Contact Me
Email: ctrimble@amphi.com
Phone: 696-5622
trimblechemistry.wikispaces.com