Welcome to AP
Chemistry
with Mrs. Magdaleno
Room L105
Summary of the Course
This class is geared toward you taking the AP
Exam in May.
 This is a college level course, with required lab
work.
 This means that we will have to work diligently
in order for us to finish.
 We will move fast, and I expect students to
have good background from first year chemistry.
You will understand Chemistry as well as any
college freshmen at the completion of this
course.
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Approximate AP Score based on
%Correct
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5 – 66%
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4 – 50%
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3 – 33%
 Test Day = Monday, May 5th, 2014 at
8am
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Ways to help your student
Remind them to study their ion flash cards
Encourage them to keep a well organized
notebook (as discussed in their syllabus) This
will be very important when we get to the AP
Test Time
 Encourage them to practice estimating answers
without a calculator. They will not be able to
use them on the multiple choice portion of the
exam, so therefore they are not allowed to use
them in this class on the multiple choice exams.
 Purchase an AP Chemistry Prep Book such as
those by the Princeton Review, Barron’s, ARCO,
Cliff’s, AP Chemistry for Dummies etc.
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Remind them NOT TO PROCASTINATE. It will
be very hard to catch up.
 Attendance is very important! Please do not
plan vacations during the school year!
 They must schedule time each night for
chemistry, even if it is only 15 minutes to read
their notes and flashcards! They should expect
to spend 30 minutes to 1 hour each night on
average.
 Students should keep all lab reports in a
separate notebook. Colleges may ask to see
evidence that they performed certain labs before
they give them credit for the lab at their college.
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Assignments You Should
Expect Every Unit:
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Below are the assignments that students
can expect for each unit.
Daily Homework
Reaction Predictions
Lab Reports
Tests and Quizzes
They will receive more detailed daily
calendars for each unit.
 This calendar will be posted on my website
as well.
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Daily Homework:
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Expect homework to be assigned on a daily basis.
Homework should be attempted each night. You
are responsible for asking questions on problems
you do not understand and making corrections to
your homework.
These problems will be the student’s preparation for
exam questions and possible homework quizzes.
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Homework for the entire unit will be collected on
test day.
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All textbook problems should have the question
written in ink with the answer below it in either ink
or pencil.
Reaction Predictions
Understanding what will form in a
chemical reaction is a key concept in AP
Chemistry.
 We will introduce these in unit 2 and you
can expect a reaction prediction practice
worksheet every 2 weeks until the AP
exam.
 These reactions will also be a part of
every unit essay test.(except the first one)
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Laboratories:
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Each unit you will do one or more lab(s).
These will help prepare you for the one or two
lab questions on the AP essay exam that will
target one of the labs we do this year.
Most labs will require a formal write-up based on
a given format. All labs and write-ups should
be kept in a separate section in your notebook.
Some labs will take more than one class period
to complete and some will be guided inquiry
labs which may also take longer.
Students will be required to make up labs you
miss.
Homework Policies
Lab Reports will receive:
 Full-credit when turned in on the due date.
 Labs will receive 10% less credit each day to
maximum of 50%
 NO CREDIT if more than one week late.
Homework Packets will receive:
 Full Credit when turned in on the due date.
 Half Credit when turned in late.
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In the case of an absence, it is the STUDENT’s responsibility to get
the needed information. Leaving early for a sporting or other school
event does NOT excuse you from turning in your work on time
before you leave! You also must make up all laboratories that you
miss!!!
Test and Quizzes
Each test you take will resemble the actual AP
Exam that you will take in May.
 Most tests are two days with the first day
consisting of multiple-choice and the second
made up of essay questions.
 They will also work each week on a set of
predicting reaction problems once we reach that
point in the course.
 They can also expect random quizzes on naming
compounds, writing formulas and ions
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Materials needed for this class
3 ring binder (minimum of 2 inches) for
each semester.
 Dividers – to separate materials for each
unit, for reaction worksheets and labs.
 Scientific Calculator – TI 83 Graphing
calculator is fine.
 Textbook
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Grades
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Grades will be based on a total points system
with the approximate percentage of points
coming from the following categories:
Unit Tests – 55%
Labs & Quizzes– 25%
Homework – 10%
Final Exam – 10%
A 86-100%
B 75-85%
C 63-74%
D 50-62%
F 0-49%
Test Redemption & Extra Credit
No Unit Test Grades will be dropped.
 Lowest Unit Test Grade will be redeemed
(or replaced) with your grade on the final
exam (if it is higher than your lowest
exam score)
 Extra Credit will only increase your grade
percentage by 1% maximum per
semester.
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Attendance & Tardies
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Attendance is extremely important in this class! Please avoid taking
any vacations that will cause you to miss school days. It will be
very difficult to make-up your work and understand it!
YOU MUST BE HERE AND BE ON TIME!!!!
Tardiness results when a student is not in his/her
seat when the class bell rings. Each student will
receive one free tardy, then following process will be
followed
 1st Tardy – Verbal Warning.
 2nd & 3rd Tardy - Teleparent Contact.
 4th Tardy - Teleparent and Detention assigned
 5th Tardy
Attendance Contract and possible drop
from class
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