Advanced Chemistry Assignments

Week 16: Monday, December 8th – Friday, December 12th

We've finally made it to the last full week of 1st Semester! After next week's exams, you'll be halfway done with Sophomore year. Here's the plan:

Mon. 12/8

• review quiz

• stoichiometry practice

• Stoichiometry WS 2

• DUE: More Mole Conversions WS

Tue. 12/9

• Decomposition of Baking Soda Lab

• DUE: Stoichiometry WS 1

Wed. 12/10

• limiting reagents

• Quiz #8B: The Mole

• DUE: Stoichiometry WS 2

Thu. 12/11

• percent yield & percent error

• DUE: Decomposition of Baking Soda Lab

Fri. 12/12

• Quiz #9A: Stoichiometry

• DUE: Limiting Reagents WS

We have a lot of assignments due this week, so make sure you're keeping track of everything. Keep working on that practice exam, and have a great week!

Week 15: Monday, December 1st – Friday, December 5th

Welcome back from break! I hope you enjoyed your week off and got lots of rest and relaxation. We only have two weeks left to learn about the mole and stoichiometry before taking our 1st Semester Exam. Here's the plan for the first week of December:

Mon. 12/1

• start Unit 8: The Mole

• intro to the mole, molar conversions, and mole ratios

• Mass-Mole Conversions WS and Mole Ratios WS

Tue. 12/2

• SNOW DAY – NO SCHOOL

Wed. 12/3

• Molar Conversions Stations Lab

• Quiz #7B: Chemical Reactions

• DUE: The Great Oreo Conspiracy!

Thu. 12/4

• review lab & mole worksheets

• DUE: Mass-Mole Conversions WS; Mole Ratios WS

Fri. 12/5

• Quiz #8A: The Mole

• start Unit 9: Stoichiometry

• Stoichiometry WS 1

• DUE: Molar Conversions Stations Lab

If you like math, you'll love what we're doing this week! If you're not a huge fan of math, don't worry – I promise that it's not that difficult. I hope you have a great week, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 14: Monday, November 17th – Friday, November 21st

We've finally made it to Thanksgiving Break! This week, we'll learn how to balance chemical equations – a critical skill for future success in all levels of Chemistry! – and we'll wrap up with a fun little lab. Here's the plan:

Mon. 11/17

• Quiz #6-2B: Compound Masses and Calculations

• practice predicting chemical reactions

• DUE: Types of Chemical Reactions Lab

Tue. 11/18

• balancing chemical equations

• DUE: Predicting Chemical Reactions WS

Wed. 11/19

• practice balancing chemical equations

Thu. 11/20

• Quiz #7A: Chemical Reactions

• DUE: Balancing Chemical Equations WS 1

Fri. 11/21

• review quiz

• The Great Oreo Conspiracy!

• DUE: Balancing Chemical Equations WS 2

Parents and guardians: please note that we have Parent-Teacher Conferences on Tuesday, November 25th from 8am-3:30pm. You can use this link to sign up for any available spot to discuss how your child is doing in my class. It would be great to talk with you!

I hope you have a restful and relaxing Thanksgiving Break, and I'll see you in December!

Week 13: Monday, November 10th – Friday, November 14th

Hello, future scientists! For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to start our next unit on Chemical Reactions, which is a concept we've been talking about all year so far, but now we're going to learn about how to identify the different types of reactions. Here's the plan for this week:

Mon. 11/10

• review quiz

• empirical formula calculations

• Empirical Formulas WS

Tue. 11/11 🇺🇸 

• Quiz #6-1B: Compound Names and Formulas

• start Unit 7: Chemical Reactions

• types of chemical reactions

• DUE: Mass Ratios & Percent Composition WS

Wed. 11/12

• Quiz #6-2A: Compound Masses and Calculations

• predicting chemical reactions

• DUE: Empirical Formulas WS

Thu. 11/13

• Types of Chemical Reactions Lab in Mr. Knopick's room across the hall

• DUE: Identifying Reactions WS

Fri. 11/14

• review lab

• review quiz

• practice identifying & predicting chemical reactions

• DUE: Predicting Chemical Reactions WS

We only have one more week of school after this and then we'll take our well-deserved Thanksgiving Break. Stay warm this week, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 12: Monday, November 3rd – Friday, November 7th

Hello again, I hope you enjoyed your extra hour of sleep this morning! For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to move on to Unit 6: Chemical Compounds, which is pretty straightforward but extremely important for our future understanding of concepts in the course. Here's what we're doing for the first week of November:

Mon. 11/3

• review quiz

• start Unit 6: Chemical Compounds

• ionic compound names and formulas

• Naming Ionic Compounds WS 1: Monatomic Ions

• Naming Ionic Compounds WS 2: Polyatomic Ions

• DUE: Beanium Lab

Tue. 11/4

• Quiz #5B: Atomic Models

• molecular compound names and formulas

• Naming Molecules WS

Wed. 11/5

• practice naming chemical compounds – bring your charged Chromebook to class!

• DUE: Naming Ionic Compounds WS 1: Monatomic Ions, Naming Ionic Compounds WS 2: Polyatomic Ions

Thu. 11/6

• Quiz #6-1A: Compound Names and Formulas

• intro to percent composition, mass ratios and empirical formulas

• DUE: Naming Molecules WS

Fri. 11/7

• review quiz

• intro to mass rations and percent composition

• Mass Ratios & Percent Composition WS

I'll be out on Wednesday taking my AP Computer Science students on a field trip, so my goal this week is to get as much instruction done as possible in the first two days of this week so that you can practice while I'm out and get prepared for the quiz on Thursday. Naming chemical compounds is very straightforward and regimented, so as long as you follow the proper steps, you'll get the right answer every time.

I hope the time change doesn't make you too cranky this week! 😴 As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 11: Monday, October 27th – Friday, October 31st

It's my favorite time of the year – Halloween! 👻 Here's the plan for this spooky week:

Mon. 10/27

• finish Atomic Spectra Activity (as necessary)

• intro to electron configurations

• Electron Configurations WS

Tue. 10/28

• isotope naming and notation

• Isotope Naming and Notation WS

• calculating average atomic masses

• Average Atomic Mass Calculations WS

• DUE: Atomic Spectra Activity

Wed. 10/29

• Beanium Lab

• DUE: Electron Configuration WS

Thu. 10/30

• HALLOWEEN DEMOS! 🧙‍♀️ in Mr. Knopick's room across the hall

Fri. 10/31 🎃

• finish Beanium Lab (as necessary)

• Quiz #5A: Atomic Models

• DUE: Isotope Naming and Notation WS; Average Atomic Mass Calculations WS

If you're going on the Leadership Retreat, make sure you come to class before you leave that morning so that you don't miss the Halloween Demos. I hope you have a great week and get lots of candy! 🍬 As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 10: Tuesday, October 21st – Friday, October 24th

Welcome back from your second 3-day weekend! During this abbreviated week, we'll be starting one of my favorite topics in all of science – the atom. Here's what we're doing for the first week of 2nd Quarter:

Mon. 10/20

• Fall Break – NO SCHOOL

Tue. 10/21

• start 2nd Quarter

• start Unit 5: The Atom

• start "Atom: Clash of the Titans" video

• DUE: Lemon Battery Lab; Element Poster Gallery Walk

Wed. 10/22

• finish "Atom: Clash of the Titans" video

• Models of the Atom WS

Thu. 10/23

• Atomic Spectra Activity

• DUE: "Atom: Clash of the Titans" Video WS

Fri. 10/24

• review Atomic Spectra Activity

• intro to electron configurations

• DUE: Models of the Atom WS

• Quiz #4C: The Periodic Table must be completed by today!

If you'd like to try to improve your 1st Quarter Grade, you can take Quiz #4C: The Periodic Table by this Friday. If you score higher than you did on either Quiz #4A or Quiz #4B, I'll issue a grade correction.

I hope you find this week's topics to be as interesting and exciting as I do! As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Have a wonderful week!

Week 9: Monday, October 13th – Friday, October 17th

Welcome back from your 3-day weekend! This week, we'll wrap up our unit on the periodic table with a poster project and an inquiry lab where you have to figure out the procedure. Here's what we're doing for the last week of 1st Quarter:

Mon. 10/13

• periodicity activity

• finish Periodicity WS

• Periodic Trends - Check for Understanding WS

• start Element Poster Project

Tue. 10/14

• Quiz #4A: The Periodic Table

• work on Element Poster Project

• DUE: Periodicity WS; Reactivity of Metals Lab

Wed. 10/15

• review quiz

• finish Element Poster Project

• prep Lemon Battery Lab

Thu. 10/16

• Lemon Battery Lab (due Tue. 10/21)

• DUE: Element Poster Project

Fri. 10/17 – Early Release; End of 1st Quarter

• Quiz #4B: The Periodic Table

• Element Poster gallery walk

• DUE: Any missing work from 1st Quarter!

I've posted some ChemQuiz.net practice quizzes in Google Classroom, so make sure you look over those before you take the real quiz in class on Tuesday. Also, Friday is an "Early Release" day, so I'll send out the altered bell schedule later in the week.

You're getting another 3-day weekend, so I hope you enjoy it as much as the one you just had! Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!

Week 8: Monday, October 6th – Thursday, October 9th

Hello again! It may be Autumn on the calendar, but it sure doesn't feel like it. This week, we'll continue our work on the periodic table with a variety of activities, including a fun little lab. Here's what we're doing for this abbreviated week:

Mon. 10/6

• finish Periodic Table Coloring Activity

• start "BBC's Chemistry: A Volatile History – Order of the Elements" video

Tue. 10/7

• finish "BBC's Chemistry: A Volatile History – Order of the Elements" video

• DUE: Periodic Table Coloring Activity

Wed. 10/8

• periodic trends

• Periodicity WS

• DUE: "BBC's Chemistry: A Volatile History – Order of the Elements" video WS

Thu. 10/9

• Reactivity of Metals Lab

• Parent-Teacher Conferences @5-8pm - sign up here!

Fri. 10/10

• Teacher PD Day – NO SCHOOL

We only have one more week left in 1st Quarter, so make sure you're keeping up with your work! I've graded every paper that has been handed to me, so your current grade in ProgressBook is accurate and updated. If you'd like to improve your grade, you can take the "C" version of any quiz we've had so far; remember, I keep the highest grade for each quiz. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I hope you enjoy your upcoming 3-day weekend!

Week 7: Monday, September 29th – Friday, October 3rd

And just like that, it's October! 🎃 I hope the new school year is going well for you so far. This week, we'll wrap up our unit on the properties of matter and move on to one of the greatest achievements of humankind, the periodic table. Here's the plan for this week:

Mon. 9/29

• Law of Definite Proportions notes

• finish Conservation of Mass WS

• fix SI Scavenger Hunt

• DUE: "BBC's Chemistry: A Volatile History – Discovering the Elements" video WS

Tue. 9/30

• Law of Definite Proportions Lab

• DUE: Conservation of Mass WS

Wed. 10/1

• review lab

• Quiz #3A: Properties of Matter

Thu. 10/2

• review quiz

• start Unit 4: The Periodic Table

• introduction to the periodic table

• DUE: Law of Definite Proportions Lab

Fri. 10/3

• start Periodic Table Coloring Activity

• Quiz #3B: Properties of Matter

Parents: Please use this link to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences on Thursday, October 9th. You can also reach out to me through email any time you have any questions or concerns.

Tuesday's lab gives us a chance to try out the new Bunsen burners we ordered! It's a classic reaction; you'll love it. Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Week 6: Monday, September 22nd – Friday, September 26th

Hello again, and welcome to Fall! 🍂 This week, we'll continue with our work on properties of matter – should be an easy week after Homecoming weekend. Here's the plan:

Mon. 9/22

• review quiz

• Steel Wool Activity

• DUE: Accuracy, Precision and Error WS

Tue. 9/23

• Quiz #2B: Scientific Measurements

• Classifying Matter POGIL

• DUE: Physical vs. Chemical Changes WS

Wed. 9/24

• finish POGIL

• start "BBC's Chemistry: A Volatile History – Discovering the Elements" video

• DUE: Steel Wool Activity

Thu. 9/25

• finish video

• Law of Conservation of Matter notes

• DUE: Classifying Matter POGIL

Fri. 9/26

• Conservation of Mass WS

• DUE: "BBC's Chemistry: A Volatile History – Discovering the Elements" video WS

I hope you fun this past weekend and you're looking forward to a great week. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 5: Monday, September 15th – Friday, September 19th

Welcome to the last week of summer! Here's the plan as we wrap up our unit on scientific measurements with a quiz and move on to some actual chemistry with Unit 3: Properties of Matter:

Mon. 9/15

• volume conversions

• Significant Figures WS 1 & 2

• Accuracy, Precision and Error WS

• DUE: SI Unit Conversions WS 2; SI Scavenger Hunt

Tue. 9/16

• Density Blocks Lab

Wed. 9/17

• finish Density Blocks Lab

• DUE: Significant Figures WS 1 & 2; Accuracy, Precision and Error WS

Thu. 9/18

• Quiz #2A: Scientific Measurements

• start Unit 3: Properties of Matter

• DUE: Density Blocks Lab

Fri. 9/19

• Unit 3 notes

• Physical vs. Chemical Changes WS

I hope you have fun at all of the Homecoming festivities! As always, let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!

Week 4: Monday, September 8th – Friday, September 12th

Hello, future scientists! Now that we've learned some basic concepts about chemistry and the scientific method, we're going to focus on refining our quantitative techniques. This means we're going to work on making proper measurements and working with numbers, including significant figures (or "sig figs"). Here's the plan for the first full week of September:

Mon. 9/8

• finish lab equipment notes (for real this time!)

• making scientific measurements with proper sig figs

• Quiz #1-1B: Nature of Science and Chemistry

• DUE: Alchemy Lab

Tue. 9/9

• dimensional analysis & scientific notation

• SI Unit Conversions WS 1 & 2

• Quiz #1-2A: Lab Equipment & Techniques

Wed. 9/10

• review quiz

• start SI Scavenger Hunt

• DUE: Significant Figures WS 1 & 2

Thu. 9/11

• finish SI Scavenger Hunt

• Quiz #1-2B: Lab Equipment & Techniques

• DUE: SI Unit Conversions WS 1 & 2

Fri. 9/12

• practice sig figs, scientific notation, SI conversions & scientific measurements on ChemQuiz.net

• DUE: SI Scavenger Hunt

My plan is to give you as much time as possible in class to work on these assignments so you can ask me for help. It may seem like a lot, but some of these topics are review from middle school and past math classes, and you'll be able to get most of them done pretty quickly. I hope you have a wonderful week, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 3: Tuesday, September 2nd – Friday, September 5th

I hope you enjoyed your 3-day weekend! Here's what we're doing in class this week as we wrap up Unit 1 with our first quiz:

Mon. 9/1

• Labor Day – NO SCHOOL

Tue. 9/2

• finish Pseudoscience Mini-presentations

• What is Chemistry? notes

Wed. 9/3

• Lab clean-up & equipment ID (across the hall in Room 210)

• Quiz #1-1A: Nature of Science and Chemistry

• DUE: Scientific Method WS

Thu. 9/4

• Alchemy Lab (across the hall in Room 210)

• review quiz

Fri. 9/5

• review Alchemy Lab calculations

• finish lab equipment notes

• Quiz #1-1B: Nature of Science and Chemistry

The Alchemy Lab is one of my favorite lab activities of all time, so I hope you enjoy it too. As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great abbreviated week!

Week 2: Monday, August 25th – Friday, August 29th

Welcome to the first full week of school! I hope that school has started well for you and any issues with your schedule have all been worked out. Now that we've had a couple days to get to know each other and set some expectations, we can get to work! Here's what we're doing in class this week:

Mon. 8/25

• finish Ob-scertainer Activity and share

• What is Science? notes

Tue. 8/26

• Lab safety (across the hall in Room 210)

• Logic Stations Lab (across the hall in Room 210)

Wed. 8/27

• Scientific Method WS

• start Pseudoscience Mini-presentation

Thu. 8/28

• finish mini-presentations

• DUE: Logic Stations Lab

Fri. 8/29

• share mini-presentations

• DUE: Pseudoscience Mini-presentation

Please let me know you have any questions, and have a great week!

Week 1: Thursday, August 21st – Friday, August 22nd

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year! I'm excited to have you in class, and I hope you're looking forward to a good year of learning about chemistry.

Advanced Chemistry is a challenging course that explores matter and energy as well as the changes they undergo as they interact. Students will need strong Algebra skills, an interest in scientific issues, and a willingness to work hard in order to be successful in this course. Over my career, I’ve found that Chemistry is often one of the first classes that truly measures a student's readiness for college, so some of my students have been surprised at the amount of work required. You should expect to be challenged by this course.

Here's what we're doing in class for the first week of school:

• Welcome to Advanced Chemistry! - first day presentation

• Class Rules

• Class Contract - get it signed!

• What is Science? - notes

• start Obser-tainer Activity

I hope you have a great first week and you're able to get some rest this weekend before we attempt to go to school for five full days without strange bell schedules or burning birds. Let me know you have any questions!

Everything below this divider is from the 2024-2025 school year.

Week 36: Monday, May 19th – Friday, May 23rd

Hi there! We only have two weeks left in class, so we'll wrap up our work on Unit 16: Acids & Bases this week and then do some exam review before taking the written portion of our 2nd Semester Exam in class on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. Here's the plan for our last regular week of classes:

Mon. 5/19

• Quiz #16A: Acids & Bases

• DUE: Acids & Bases WS 4 – Neutralization Calculations

Tue. 5/20

• review quiz

• 2nd Semester Exam Lab Practical demos

• DUE: Acid-Base Titration Lab

Wed. 5/21

• Quiz #16B: Acids & Bases

Thu. 5/22

• 2nd Semester Exam Lab Practical walk-through

• DUE: bring in a 100% cotton white T-shirt to soak overnight!

Fri. 5/23

• TIE-DYING!

• 2nd Semester Exam Review packet

Make sure you bring in a 100% cotton white t-shirt on Thursday so that you can soak it overnight in the sodium carbonate (washing soda) solution to get the best tie-dye results on Friday. If you're going to be out on the Exped trip this week, you can bring in your t-shirt before you leave, or you can bring it in Friday morning before class. It needs to soak for at least 15 minutes before you apply the dye to get the fibers to open up to allow the reactive dye molecules to attach.

Enjoy your 3-day weekend! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 35: Monday, May 12th – Friday, May 16th

Hello, everybody! We only have a few weeks left in class, so we're going to continue our work in Unit 16: Acids & Bases with two more lab activities this week:

Mon. 5/12

• acid-base neutralization reactions

• Quiz #15B: Water & Solutions

Tue. 5/13

• pH & pOH calculations

• set up lab for tomorrow

• DUE: Acids & Bases WS 1 – Introduction

Wed. 5/14

• Natural Indicators Lab

• DUE: Acids & Bases WS 2 – Reactions

Thu. 5/15

• finish Natural Indicators Lab

• practice titration

• DUE: Acids & Bases WS 3 – Introduction

Fri. 5/16

• Acid-Base Titration Lab

• DUE: Natural Indicators Lab

Next week we'll take our last quiz of the course, and then we'll begin to prep for the 2nd Semester Exam, including time in the lab to practice techniques such as centrifuging and decanting. We'll also tie-dye T-shirts on Friday, May 23rd, so make sure you pick up a 100% cotton white T-shirt before then. Have a great week, and say goodbye to the Seniors – you'll be halfway done with high school before you know it!

Week 34: Monday, May 5th – Friday, May 9th

Welcome to May - we're almost done with the school year! Here's the plan as we begin to wrap up Unit 15: Water and Solutions with two more activities and a quiz this week:

Mon. 5/5

• water quality testing outside at the Cuyahoga River – wear shoes you don't mind getting a little muddy!

Tue. 5/6

• complete Water Quality Index (WQI) worksheet

• colligative properties of water

Wed. 5/7

• Plastic Bag Ice Cream!

• DUE: Water Quality Index (WQI) WS

Thu. 5/8

• Quiz #15A: Water and Solutions

Fri. 5/9

• review quiz

• begin Unit 16: Acids & Bases

Congratulations to the sophomores for winning the class cheer competition at the E3 Celebration! I'm sorry that I missed it, but I should be there next year to see if you can repeat. Also, good luck to those of you taking AP exams this week! I'm sure you'll do great.

I hope you have a wonderful week, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 33: Monday, April 28th – Friday, May 2nd

Hello again! I hope you're ready for a full five-day week; we haven't had one for a while. Here's the plan as we add calculations to Unit 15: Water and Solutions:

Mon. 4/28

• review molarity calculations

• intro to percent concentrations

Tue. 4/29

• review % concentrations

• intro to dilution calculations

• DUE: Concentration of Solutions WS 1 (Molarity)

Wed. 4/30

• Supersaturation Lab

• DUE: Concentration of Solutions WS 2 (% Concentrations)

Thu. 5/1

• intro to Water Quality Index

• DUE: Concentration of Solutions WS 3 (Dilutions)

Fri. 5/2

• E3 Celebration!

• practice concentration and water quality index calculations

Next week we'll go down to the Cuyahoga River to perform the Water Quality Index test (weather depending, of course), and then we'll take Quiz #15 before moving on to acids and bases. Have a great week, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 30: Monday, April 7th – Friday, April 11th

Hi there! Here's the plan for this week as we get deeper into Unit 14: Bonding and Molecular Shapes:

Mon. 4/7

• Lewis dot structures for molecules

• intro to shapes of molecules (VSEPR)

• DUE: Bond Polarity & Electronegativity WS

Tue. 4/8

• practice identifying shapes with Molecule Shapes PhET

• bond polarity vs. molecular polarity

• DUE: Lewis Dot Structures – Ionic Compounds WS

Wed. 4/9

• Molecular Geometry Lab

• DUE: Lewis Dot Structures – Molecular Compounds WS

Thu. 4/10

• finish Molecular Geometry Lab

• practice VSEPR on ChemQuiz.net

Fri. 4/11

• Quiz #14A: Bonding and Molecular Shapes

• intro to intermolecular forces

• DUE: Molecular Geometry Lab

This is our last regular week for a while – next week we'll have shortened periods on Monday and Tuesday due to state-mandated testing for ELA (boo!), followed by a four-day weekend (yay!), followed another week of shortened periods due to state-mandated testing (boo!). Fortunately, most of what we'll be learning next – including solutions and acids & bases – is pretty straightforward, so we should be fine despite all the interruptions. I hope you have a great first full week of April, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 29: Monday, March 31st – Friday, April 4th

Hello again everyone, and welcome back from Spring Break! We only have nine more weeks of school, much of which will be broken up by extended weekends and state testing, so it should go by pretty quickly. Here's the plan as we wrap up Unit 13: Nuclear Chemistry:

Mon. 3/31

• start "Uranium: Twisting the Dragon's Tail – Part 2" video

Tue. 4/1

• finish "Uranium: Twisting the Dragon's Tail – Part 2" video

• finish Nuclear Chemistry Infographic poster

Wed. 4/2

• Nuclear Chemistry Infographic poster gallery walk

• DUE: Nuclear Chemistry Infographic poster

Thu. 4/3

• start Unit 14: Bonding and Molecular Shapes

• ionic vs. covalent bonds and Lewis dot structures

• Bond Polarity & Electronegativity WS

• DUE: "Uranium: Twisting the Dragon's Tail: Part 2" Video WS

Fri. 4/4

• whiteboard lewis structures

• intro to VSEPR and shapes of molecules

If you haven't picked a topic for your Nuclear Chemistry Infographic poster, hop into Google Classroom and pick a topic from the list so that you can finish your poster in time for Wednesday's gallery walk. You can claim your topic by commenting on the assignment in Google Classroom or by sending me a message through Remind or Gmail. I hope you have a great week back from break, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 28: Monday, March 17th – Friday, March 21st

Welcome to 4th Quarter and the last week before Spring Break! Here's the plan as we continue on into Unit 13: Nuclear Chemistry:

Mon. 3/17 🍀 

• Start 4th Quarter!

• radioactive half-life calculations

• DUE: Radioactive Decay WS

Tue. 3/18

• Half-life of a Penny Lab

Wed. 3/19

• review lab

• Quiz #13-1A: Nuclear Chemistry

• start "Uranium: Twisting the Dragon's Tail" video

• DUE: Radioactive Half-life WS

Thu. 3/20 🌸

• review quiz

• finish "Uranium: Twisting the Dragon's Tail" video

• DUE: Half-life of a Penny Lab

Fri. 3/21

• Quiz #13-1B: Nuclear Chemistry

• start Nuclear Chemistry Infographic poster

• DUE: "Uranium: Twisting the Dragon's Tail" Video WS

Nuclear chemistry is a lot of fun, so I hope it'll make this week fly by so you can mentally get through these next five days as quickly as possible. Thanks for all of your hard work in the first three-fourths of the course so far, and have a fun and relaxing Spring Break! 🩴

Week 27: Monday, March 10th – Friday, March 14th

We've made it to the end of 3rd Quarter! After this week, we'll only have one week of classes before we all get a well-deserved week off for Spring Break. Here's the plan as we wrap up Unit 12: Gas Laws:

Mon. 3/10

• Molar Mass of Butane Lab

• DUE: Gas Laws WS 2 – Gay-Lussac's & Combined

Tue. 3/11

• Quiz #12-2A: Combined & Ideal Gas Laws

• DUE: Ideal Gas Law WS

Wed. 3/12

• review quiz

• "MythBusters – Exploding Water Heater" video

• DUE: Molar Mass of Butane Lab

Thu. 3/13

• Quiz #12-2B: Combined & Ideal Gas Laws

Fri. 3/14

• Early Release Day

• start Unit 13: Nuclear Chemistry

• intro to nuclear chemistry

• End of 3rd Quarter – ALL OUTSTANDING WORK AND QUIZ C's ARE DUE BY TODAY!

I hope all the sunshine today offsets losing an hour this morning. Have a wonderful week, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 26: Monday, March 3rd – Friday, March 7th

Hello again, and welcome to March! Here's the plan for this week as we continue our work on gas laws:

Mon. 3/3

• practice gas laws calculations

• DUE: Gas Laws WS 1 – Boyle's & Charles'

Tue. 3/4

• practice gas laws calculations

• DUE: Gas Laws Stations Lab

Wed. 3/5

• Quiz #12-1A: Gas Laws

• DUE: Gas Laws WS 2 – Gay-Lussac's & Combined (front only)

Thu. 3/6

• review quiz

• ideal gas law calculations

Fri. 3/7

• Quiz #12-1B: Gas Laws

• practice ideal gas law calculations

Have a great week, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 25: Monday, February 24th – Friday, February 28th

Welcome to the last week of February! For the last week of Black History Month, I'd like to tell you about Alma Levant Hayden (1927-1967). Ms. Hayden was born in Greenville, South Carolina, and graduated with honors in 1947 from South Carolina State College, an HBCU. Originally planning to be a nurse, she found herself so interested in chemistry that she "just didn't want to part from it". Hayden graduated from Howard University with a master's degree in chemistry, and became an expert in spectrophotometry, the measurement of how substances absorb light, and was hired by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She was appointed Chief of the Spectrophotometer Research Branch in the Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, and may have been the first African-American scientist at the FDA. Ms. Hayden came to national attention in 1963 when she led the team that exposed that the common substance in "Krebiozen", a controversial and expensive alternative cancer treatment, was simply creatine, which occurs naturally in the body and does not cure cancer. Her successful take-down of this fraud highlighted the importance of having government agencies to ensure drug safety for its citizens as well as the need to develop and support scientists of all backgrounds so that our country can continue to thrive. At a career forum for young women in 1962, Hayden told the attendees, "Always try to do the very best and to be the very best in whatever group you are working with."

Here's the plan for this fragmented week:

Mon. 2/24

• intro to gases & gas laws

• Quiz #11-2B: Thermochemistry

Tue. 2/25

• ACT – NO SCHOOL for Sophomores

• work on Gas Laws Simulation from home

Wed. 2/26

• Gas Laws Stations Lab

Thu. 2/27

• gas law calculations

• DUE: Gas Laws Simulation

Fri. 2/28

• Gas Laws Stations Lab

After this week, we'll only have two weeks before the end of 3rd Quarter, and then another week after that will be Spring Break. Hang in there, and have a great week! Please let me know if you have any questions at all.

Week 24: Tuesday, February 18th – Friday, February 21st

Good morning! I hope you've been enjoying the winter wonderland during this three day weekend. This week for Black History Month, I'd like to tell you about St. Elmo Brady (1884-1966), the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry. Dr. Brady was born in Louisville, Kentucky and graduated from Louisville Colored High School in 1903. He then attended Fisk University, an all-black college in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was encouraged to study chemistry and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1908. He briefly taught at Tuskegee University before taking a scholarship offer to study at the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign, where he earned his M.S. in chemistry in 1914 and completed his Ph.D. after only two years, giving an oral defense of his 228-page dissertation, titled “The Scale of Influence of Substituents in Paraffine Monobasic Acids. The Divalent Oxygen Atom,”. In 1917, Dr. Brady married Myrtle Marie Travers, who taught English at Tuskegee, and they had two sons, St. Elmo Brady Jr. and Robert Brady. In 1920, he accepted an offer to chair the chemistry department at Howard University, an HBCU (Historically Black College/University) founded in 1867, where he initiated the first graduate program in chemistry at an HBCU. He returned to Fisk in 1927, where he taught general and organic chemistry to hundreds of students, assembled an outstanding chemistry faculty, developed an undergraduate curriculum, and coordinated construction of the first modern chemistry building at an HBCU. After retiring from Fisk, Brady spent 14 years collaborating with educators at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, to help build their chemistry department.

Here's the plan to wrap up thermochemistry this week:

Mon. 2/17

• Washington–Lincoln Day – NO SCHOOL

Tue. 2/18

• Hess's Law calculations using heats of reaction

Wed. 2/19

• practice Hess's Law calculations

• DUE: Thermochemistry WS 5 – Hess's Law

Thu. 2/20

• Quiz #11-2A: Thermochemistry

Fri. 2/21

• review quiz

• intro to gas laws

Make sure you use the ChemQuiz.net practice quizzes that I posted on Google Classroom, because your quiz on Thursday will have very similar problems. We'll take the make-up quiz next week on Monday, and then you'll work on a gas laws simulation at home on Tuesday while the freshmen take the PreACT and the juniors take the ACT. I hope you have a great week – stay warm!

Week 23: Monday, February 10th – Friday, February 14th

Hello again! I hope you've enjoyed your surprise 4-day weekend and stayed warm during the ice storms. This week for Black History Month, I'd like to tell you about Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to fly in space. Dr. Jemison was born in Alabama in 1956 to a maintenance supervisor and an elementary school teacher. She entered Stanford University at the age of 16 and graduated with degrees in chemical engineering as well as African and African-American studies, and she later earned her medical degree from Cornell University. Because she was inspired by watching Star Trek as a child, she applied to NASA to become an astronaut, and in 1992, she served on an eight-day Space Shuttle mission that conducted microgravity investigations on bone cell research while orbiting Earth 127 times. In 1993, she became the first astronaut to appear in an episode of Star Trek. Dr. Jemison is a member of Fortune 500 companies’ boards, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and she also leads the "100 Year Starship" project, a global initiative to ensure the capabilities of interstellar travel by 2112 while transforming life on Earth. Very impressive!

Here's the plan for another abbreviated week of thermochemistry:

Mon. 2/10

• intro to thermochemical equations

• Thermochemistry WS 4 – Thermochemical Equations

Tue. 2/11

• Combustion of a Candle Lab

• DUE: Chemical Calorimetry Lab

Wed. 2/12

• intro to Hess's Law calculations using heats of formation

• start Thermochemistry WS 5 – Hess's Law

• DUE: Thermochemistry WS 4 – Thermochemical Equations

Thu. 2/13

• Hess's Law calculations using heats of reaction

• finish Thermochemistry WS 5 – Hess's Law

• DUE: Combustion of a Candle Lab

Fri. 2/14

• Teacher PD Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

Next week, we'll take our second thermochemistry quiz on enthalpy and Hess's Law, so make sure you don't forget everything during your time off. Have a great week, and enjoy your 4-day weekend!

Week 22: Monday, February 3rd – Friday, February 7th

Happy Black History Month! Before I list this week's activities, I'd like to tell you about Dr. Percy Lavon Julian (1899-1975), who was a Black chemist whose work laid the foundation for human hormone production. Julian, born in Montgomery, Alabama, was the son of a railway clerk and the grandson of enslaved people. At the age of 17, because of his academic abilities but due to the lack of a high school for Black students in Montgomery, he was accepted as a "sub-freshman" at DePauw University, taking classes at a nearby high school in addition to the regular college courses he took. He was elected to the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society and graduated with a B.A. degree in Chemistry in 1920 as valedictorian of his class, and went on to earn his M.A. degree from Harvard in 1923 and Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 1931. In 1935, he completed the research that would result in the total synthesis of physostigmine, which led to the process that made it readily available for the treatment of glaucoma. This work established Julian’s reputation as a world-renowned chemist at the age of 36. Despite Julian's achievements, the Board of Trustees did not allow him to be appointed to the teaching staff at DePauw, so he went into industry, producing numerous patents and successful products, including a fire-retardant foam that was widely used in World War II to extinguish gasoline fires. His biomedical research made it possible to produce large quantities of synthetic progesterone and hydrocortisone at low cost. During his life, Dr. Julian was also widely recognized as a steadfast advocate for human rights, and in 1973, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the greatest honors a scientist can achieve.

Here's the plan for this week as we dive deeper into thermochemistry:

Mon. 2/3

• review quiz

• intro to enthalpy

• Thermochemistry WS 3 – Heat Change

• DUE: Ice Cube Calorimetry Lab

Tue. 2/4

• Quiz #11B – Kinetic Theory & Calorimetry

• practice enthalpy calculations

Wed. 2/5

• Chemical Calorimetry Lab

• DUE: Thermochemistry WS 3 – Heat Change

Thu. 2/6

• intro to thermochemical equations

• Thermochemistry WS 4 – Thermochemical Equations

Fri. 2/7

• Combustion of a Candle Lab

• DUE: Chemical Calorimetry Lab

With two labs this week and some challenging topics, I'm hoping we have minimal interruptions. If you're out of class for any reason, please do your best to keep up with what you miss so that you don't fall behind. This will be our last full week of school for a while, because for the next three weeks we'll only have four school days each week due to teacher in-service, a holiday and the ACT. I hope you have a great week, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 21: Monday, January 27th – Friday, January 31st

Hello again, and welcome to the last week of January! As it warms up outside, we're going to start learning about the role that thermal energy plays in chemistry as we begin Unit 11: Thermochemistry. Here's the plan:

Mon. 1/27

• review quiz

• start Unit 11: Thermochemistry

• intro to heat, kinetic theory and the Laws of Thermodynamics

• Thermochemistry WS 1 – Fundamental Concepts

• DUE: Change of Physical State Lab

Tue. 1/28

• Quiz #10B – States of Matter

• calorimetry calculations

• Thermochemistry WS 2 – Calorimetry

Wed. 1/29*

• calorimetry calculations practice

• DUE: Thermochemistry WS 1 – Fundamental Concepts

Thu. 1/30

• Ice Cube Calorimetry Lab (due. Mon. 2/3)

• DUE: Thermochemistry WS 2 – Calorimetry

Fri. 1/31

• review lab

• Quiz #11A – Kinetic Theory & Calorimetry

* Some of you in 3rd period will be out on Wednesday for the CTE site visits, so make sure you complete the calorimetry worksheet and use the practice quiz on Google Classroom. That way, you'll be prepared for Friday's quiz.

Kent State's Chemistry & Biochemistry Department is hosting Explore Kent Chemistry Day on Saturday, February 8th from 9:30am–2:00pm. While there will be some similarity to the field trip we took earlier this month, there will also be an opportunity to hear from representatives at NEOMED (for those of you interested in possibly going to medical school), and there will be opportunities to talk directly with professors about their research in case you're interested in doing lab work through College Credit Plus. Also, free lunch! Sign up for free here, and let me know if you have any questions.

As always, I hope you have a great week!

Week 20: Tuesday, January 21st – Friday, January 24th

Wow, a five-day weekend! I hope you're all resting and staying warm. For this short week, we'll finish up Unit 10: States of Matter with a lab and a quiz:

Mon. 1/20

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day – NO SCHOOL

Tue. 1/21

• Cold Day – NO SCHOOL

Wed. 1/22

• Cold Day – NO SCHOOL

Thu. 1/23

• Change of Physical State Lab (due. Mon. 1/27)

• DUE: "NOVA: The Race for Absolute Zero" video & WS

Fri. 1/24

• review lab

• Quiz #10A – States of Matter

I've created two practice quizzes for you on ChemQuiz.net to help jog your memory and prepare you for Friday's quiz. I also linked to them from Google Classroom to make them easier to find.

Don't forget to attend the College Credit Plus meeting this Thursday at 7pm in the RHS Auditorium if you have any interest in doing lab research at Kent State this summer or next school year.

Make sure you get enough sleep tonight so that you're ready to go back tomorrow, and enjoy your short week of school!

Week 19: Monday, January 13th – Friday, January 17th

Hello again! I hope you had fun on last week's field trip and saw lots of interesting things at the KSU Chemistry & Biochemistry Department. I have another chemistry opportunity to share with you below the schedule. This week, we're going to move very quickly through an easy but fundamental topic – states of matter! Here's the plan:

Mon. 1/13

• 1st Semester Leftovers Mini-Quiz on percent composition, mass ratios, empirical formulas, percent yield and percent error

• start Unit 10: States of Matter

• start States of Matter jigsaw activity

• DUE: Mass Ratios & Percent Composition WS; Percent Yield WS

Tue. 1/14

• review 1st Semester Leftovers Mini-Quiz

• work on States of Matter jigsaw and share

• Deadline to register for the Perry Initiative's Medical Student Outreach Program!

Wed. 1/15

• Lauric Acid Lab

• finish States of Matter jigsaw and share

• 1st Semester Leftovers Mini-Quiz Make-up (as necessary)

Thu. 1/16

• 1st Semester Leftovers Mini-Quiz Make-up (as necessary)

• start "NOVA: The Race for Absolute Zero" video & WS

Fri. 1/17

• finish "NOVA: The Race for Absolute Zero" video & WS

• Quiz #10A – States of Matter

• DUE: Lauric Acid Lab

• Deadline to register for the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad!

The Chemistry Olympiad is an annual competition to find the best Chemistry students in the United States. The first round takes place locally in March, but you have to register for it by this Friday. We've had several Roosevelt Chemistry students move on to the National competition in the past, so if you're interested in trying, register for the exam and then look at these past exams to get an idea of what's on them. When I participated in the Chemistry Olympiad in high school, I didn't qualify for Nationals, but I got the highest score at my school, so it was a real confidence boost for me that helped convince me that I could study science in college. If you're interested in giving it a shot, I can help get you ready!

Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Week 18: Monday, January 6th – Friday, January 10th, 2025

Happy New Year! 🥳 I hope you all had an enjoyable Winter Break and are fully rested and recharged to finish up this school year strong. We're going to start out this week with some review and also filling in some gaps from topics we didn't have time to cover 1st Semester, and then we're (hopefully!) going to go on a field trip to KSU's Chemistry Department on Thursday. Here's the schedule for the first week of 2025:

Mon. 1/6

• review 1st Semester Exam

• intro to percent composition, mass ratios and empirical formulas

Tue. 1/7

• practice percent composition, mass ratios and empirical formula calculations

• Mass Ratios & Percent Composition WS

• intro to percent yield and percent error calculations using stoichiometry

Wed. 1/8

• percent yield and percent error in limiting reagent calculations

• Percent Yield WS

Thu. 1/9

• Field trip to Kent State's Chemistry Department!* Be at the front entrance (near the cafeteria) ready to leave no later than 8:40am. We'll eat lunch during 8th period when we come back at noon. I'll let you know if any of these details change!

Fri. 1/10

• 1st Semester Leftovers Mini-Quiz on percent composition, mass ratios, empirical formulas, percent yield and percent error

• start Unit 10: States of Matter

• start States of Matter Jigsaw

• DUE: Mass Ratios & Percent Composition WS; Percent Yield WS

* I'm waiting for a final confirmation of our field trip from Kent State, so if our plans change in any way, I will let you know!

I hope you have an awesome first week back! As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 17: Monday, December 16th – Friday, December 20th

Welcome to exam week! The plan is pretty straightforward – study for the 1st Semester Exam so you can earn the best grade possible and enjoy your Winter Break. Here's the schedule for this week:

Mon. 12/16

• review quiz

• prepare for the exam!

• DUE: Limiting Reagents WS

Tue. 12/17

• prepare for the exam!

• Quiz #8/9B: Molar Conversions & Stoichiometry

• DUE: ANY OUTSTANDING WORK FROM 2nd QUARTER MUST BE TURNED IN BY TODAY!

Wed. 12/18

• 1st period exam – 7:30-9:00am

• 2nd period exam – 9:15-10:45am

• Lunch – 10:50-11:20am

• 6/7th or 7/8th period exam – 11:25am-12:55pm

• Open study – 1:10-2:29pm

Thu. 12/19

• 9th period exam – 7:30-9:00am

• 10th period exam – 9:15-10:45am

• Lunch – 10:50-11:20am

• Make-up exams – 11:25am-12:55pm

• Open study – 1:10-2:29pm

Fri. 12/20

• 3rd period exam – 7:30-9:00am

• 4/5th or 5/6th period exam – 9:15-10:45am

• Lunch – 10:50-11:20am

• Make-up exams – 11:25am-12:55pm

• Open study – 1:10-2:29pm

• DUE: ANY QUIZ C's FROM 2nd QUARTER MUST BE COMPLETED BY TODAY!

I'll also send out the exam schedule flyer on Remind and on Google Classroom as a picture so you can save it to your phone. You have plenty of prep material: I gave you a paper copy of the 1st Semester Practice Exam in class and posted the key on Google Classroom; I put together a Google Doc with links to 39 different practice quizzes on ChemQuiz.net that will let you focus on specific topics on which you'd like to improve; and you have your past quizzes from class, which cover all the material on the exam.

Good luck on this exam and all of your other exams this week! Please let me know if you have any questions at all, and I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing Winter Break. See you next year!

Week 16: Monday, December 9th – Friday, December 13th

We've finally made it to the end of 1st Semester! The plan is to learn how to do stoichiometric calculations so that we can go on Winter Break with everything nicely wrapped up. Here's what we're doing for our last full week of class before Semester Exams:

Mon. 12/9

• review Molar Conversions Stations Activity

• start Unit 9: Stoichiometry

• Stoichiometry WS 1

Tue. 12/10

• stoichiometry practice

• Stoichiometry WS 1

• Quiz #7B: Balancing Equations & Mole Ratios

• DUE: Molar Conversions Stations Activity

Wed. 12/11

• Decomposition of Baking Soda Lab

• DUE: Stoichiometry WS 1

Thu. 12/12

• review lab results

• limiting reagents calculations

• Limiting Reagents WS

• DUE: Stoichiometry WS 2

Fri. 12/13

• Quiz #8/9A: Molar Conversions & Stoichiometry

• DUE: Decomposition of Baking Soda Lab

I think a good number of you are going to be impressed by how much you've learned in the past few weeks and how useful stoichiometry can be, especially when we do the lab on Wednesday. It's a skill that you'll use throughout chemistry at every level, including next semester of our class, AP Chemistry, and college Chem. Have a wonderful week!

Week 15: Monday, December 2nd – Friday, December 6th

Welcome back! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Break and were able to get some rest so you're fully recharged and ready to go for this final sprint to the end of the semester. Here's the plan for the first week of December ☃️:

Mon. 12/2

• review balancing chemical equations

• Balancing Chemical Equations WS 2

• DUE: Balancing Chemical Equations WS 1

Tue. 12/3

• intro to moles and mole ratios

• Mole Ratios WS

• Quiz #6B: Chemical Reactions

Wed. 12/4

• start Unit 8: The Mole

• calculating molar masses

• Molar Masses WS

• DUE: Balancing Chemical Equations WS 2

Thu. 12/5

• intro to molar conversions

• Quiz #7A: Balancing Equations & Mole Ratios

• DUE: Mole Ratios WS

Fri. 12/6

• review quiz

• Molar Conversions Stations Activity

• DUE: Molar Masses WS

There are only 12 school days left to get through stoichiometry next week, and I want to take at least one day two weeks from now to go over everything that will be on your 1st Semester Exam, which will look a lot like your quizzes. Imagine taking all your quizzes so far, stapling them together, and maybe cutting the number of questions by 25%, and that'll be your exam.

I hope you have a great week back, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 14: Monday, November 18th – Friday, November 22nd

We've finally made it to Thanksgiving Break! 🦃 I'm really proud of you all for sticking with Advanced Chemistry for this long. For this last week before break, we're going to wrap up our short unit on chemical reactions. Here's the plan:

Mon. 11/18

• identifying and predicting chemical reactions

• Quiz #5B: Chemical Compounds

• Predicting Chemical Reactions WS

• DUE: Identifying Reactions WS

Tue. 11/19

• Types of Chemical Reactions Lab

Wed. 11/20

• review lab

• practice identifying & predicting reactions on ChemQuiz.net

• DUE: Predicting Chemical Reactions WS

Thu. 11/21

• Quiz #6A: Chemical Reactions

• DUE: Types of Chemical Reactions Lab

Fri. 11/22

• review quiz

• start Unit 7: Balancing Chemical Equations

This will be a nice place to pause until we return from break and tackle balancing equations, the mole and stoichiometry. As always, let me know if you have any questions. I hope you have a relaxing Thanksgiving Break, and I'll see you in December!

Week 13: Monday, November 11th – Friday, November 15th

Greetings, future chemists! For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to wrap up our short unit on naming chemical compounds and then start Unit 6: Chemical Reactions, which we'll work on up to Thanksgiving Break next week. Here's the plan:

Mon. 11/11 🇺🇸

• ionic compounds with polyatomic ions

• Naming Ionic Compounds WS 2: Polyatomic Ions

• DUE: Naming Ionic Compounds WS 1: Monatomic Ions

Tue. 11/12

• molecular compounds

• Naming Molecules WS

Wed. 11/13

• practice identifying and naming compounds in class and on ChemQuiz.net

• DUE: Naming Ionic Compounds WS 2: Polyatomic Ions

Thu. 11/14

• Quiz #5A: Chemical Compounds

• start Unit 6: Chemical Reactions

• types of chemical reactions

• DUE: Naming Molecules WS

Fri. 11/15

• review quiz

• Identifying Reactions WS

This should be a pretty straightforward week, because we'd like to get through predicting and balancing chemical reactions by the end of next week so that we have enough time to tackle stoichiometry when we come back from Thanksgiving Break. Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Week 12: Monday, November 4th – Friday, November 8th

Hello again, I hope you enjoyed your extra hour of sleep this morning! For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to wrap up our unit on atomic models and move on to Unit 5: Ionic and Molecular Nomenclature. Here's what we're doing for the first week of November:

Mon. 11/4

• review Quiz #4-1B: The Periodic Table

• calculating average atomic masses

• Average Atomic Masses WS

• DUE: Electron Configurations WS

Tue. 11/5 🗳️ 

• Beanium Lab

Wed. 11/6

• Quiz #4-2A: Atomic Models

• DUE: Average Atomic Masses WS

Thu. 11/7

• review quiz

• start Unit 5: Ionic and Molecular Nomenclature

• intro to ionic compound names and formulas

• Naming Ionic Compounds WS 1: Monatomic Ions

• DUE: Beanium Lab

Fri. 11/8

• Quiz #4-2B: Atomic Models

• ionic compounds with polyatomic ions

• Naming Ionic Compounds WS 2

If you're going on the Exped day trip on Wednesday 11/6, you can take the quiz before you leave at 8:00am, or you can take it when you get back. Otherwise, you can wait to take the "B" quiz on Thursday. I hope you enjoy the early morning sunshine while it lasts, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 11: Monday, October 28th – Friday, November 1st

Good afternoon, I hope you've enjoyed this excellent weekend! For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to continue our work on understanding the atom and its properties. Here's what we're doing for the last week of October:

Mon. 10/28

• Quiz #4-1B: The Periodic Table

• review Models of the Atom WS, "Atom: Clash of the Titans" video WS & Atomic Spectra Lab

Tue. 10/29

• electron configurations & exceptions

• Electron Configurations WS

• DUE: Atomic Spectra Activity

Wed. 10/30

• Aufbau diagrams

• Aufbau Diagrams WS

Thu. 10/31 🎃

• isotopes & isotope notation

• online isotope practice on ChemQuiz.net

• DUE: Electron Configurations WS

Fri. 11/1

• calculating average atomic masses

• Average Atomic Masses WS

• DUE: Aufbau Diagrams WS

Do your best to not overdose on candy, and please let me know if you have any questions. If you're going on the Exped trip and/or the Leadership Retreat, make sure you check in with me by Tuesday afternoon to get your work in advance. I hope you have a wonderful week!

Week 10: Tuesday, October 22nd – Friday, October 25th

Hello, future scientists! I hope you're enjoying this extended weekend and getting outside to enjoying the warm weather while it lasts. For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to dive deep into the atom to try to uncover some of its mysteries. Here's what we're doing for this short first week of 2nd Quarter:

Mon. 10/21

• Fall Break – NO SCHOOL

Tue. 10/22

• BEGIN 2nd QUARTER

• Models of the Atom WS

• DUE: Reactivity of Metals Lab

Wed. 10/23

• review quiz

• start "Atom: Clash of the Titans" video

Thu. 10/24

• finish "Atom: Clash of the Titans" video

• Quiz #4-1B: The Periodic Table

• DUE: Models of the Atom WS

Fri. 10/25

• Atomic Spectra Activity

• DUE: "Atom: Clash of the Titans" video WS

I hope you find our activities about atomic models interesting, because it's probably my favorite topic in all of chemistry (physics, too). Some of it isn't going to make sense at first, but that's okay, because we'll only need to understand it well enough to be able to predict how atoms behave in chemical reactions. Have a great week, and let me know if you have any questions!

Week 9: Monday, October 14th – Friday, October 18th

Welcome to the end of 1st Quarter! It may be hard to believe, but after this week, we'll be 25% done with the school year. For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to wrap up our work on the periodic table and take a quiz so that we can go into another relaxing three-day weekend. Here's what we're doing this week:

Mon. 10/14

• start "The Order of the Elements" video

• "Chemistry: A Volatile History – The Order of the Elements" WS

• DUE: Periodic Table Coloring Activity

Tue. 10/15

• finish "Ordering the Elements" video

• more periodic trends

Wed. 10/16

• periodicity class activity

• Periodicity WS

• DUE: "Chemistry: A Volatile History – The Order of the Elements" WS

Thu. 10/17

• Reactivity of Metals Lab

• Periodic Trends - Check for Understanding WS

Fri. 10/18

• Early Release Day

• Quiz #4-1A: The Periodic Table

• DUE: Periodicity WS

• END OF 1st QUARTER – any outstanding work must be turned in by this day!

Congratulations on making it this far! When we come back next week, we'll start exploring the different models of the atom that have been proposed over the past two and a half centuries. Please let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Week 8: Monday, October 7th – Friday, October 11th

And just like that, it's October! 🍁 For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to take our Unit 3 Quiz and then start our next unit on the periodic table and atomic models. Here's what we're doing for the penultimate* week of 1st Quarter:

Mon. 10/7

• Quiz #3-1A: Properties of Matter

• DUE: Classification of Matter POGIL

• Parent-Teacher Conferences @5-8pm - sign up here!

Tue. 10/8

• review quiz

• begin Unit 4: Periodic Table & Atomic Models - notes

• DUE: Conservation of Mass WS

Wed. 10/9

• Quiz #3-1B: Properties of Matter

• start Periodic Table Coloring Activity

Thu. 10/10

• finish Periodic Table Coloring Activity

Fri. 10/11

• Teacher PD Day – NO SCHOOL

I hope you enjoy this short week and get some rest and relaxation over the upcoming three-day weekend! Let me know if you have any questions.

* Google it. 😁

Week 7: Monday, September 30th – Friday, October 4th

Hi there! I hope you had fun at Homecoming and were able to dry out after all the rain we got this weekend. For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we're going to continue our work on understanding matter and its properties. Here's the plan:

Mon. 9/30

• finish Law of Definite Proportions Lab

• Law of Conservation of Matter notes

• DUE: Steel Wool Activity

Tue. 10/1

• start "Discovering the Elements" video*

• "Chemistry: A Volatile History – Discovering the Elements" WS

• DUE: Law of Definite Proportions Lab

Wed. 10/2

• finish "Discovering the Elements" video*

Thu. 10/3

• Classification of Matter POGIL

• DUE: "Chemistry: A Volatile History – Discovering the Elements" WS

Fri. 10/4

• Conservation of Mass WS

Next week, we'll have our quiz on Unit 3: Properties of Matter on Monday 10/7 with the make-up on Wednesday 10/9. I hope you have an excellent week, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

* If you're going on the Exped trip on Tuesday and Wednesday, I've already posted this video and the worksheet in Google Classroom.

Week 6: Monday, September 23rd – Friday, September 27th

Hello, future scientists! For this week in Advanced Chemistry, we'll take our quiz on scientific measurements before moving on to our new unit on properties of matter with some fun labs that involve chemical reactions! Here's the plan for the first week of fall 🍁:

Mon. 9/23

• Quiz #2-1A: Scientific Measurements

• DUE: Density Blocks Lab

Tue. 9/24

• review quiz

• start Unit 3: Properties of Matter - notes

• Physical vs. Chemical Changes WS

Wed. 9/25

• finish notes on properties of matter

• Quiz #2-1B: Scientific Measurements

Thu. 9/26

• Steel Wool Activity (due Mon. 9/30)

• DUE: Physical vs. Chemical Changes WS

Fri. 9/27

• Law of Definite Proportions Lab (due Tue. 10/1)

The practice quizzes on ChemQuiz.net will help you on the quiz, so you'll definitely want to complete as many of those as possible. Have a great Homecoming week, and let me know if you have any questions!

Week 5: Monday, September 16th – Friday, September 20th

Hi, everybody! This week in Advanced Chemistry I'm hoping we can wrap up our unit on scientific measurements with some hands-on activities and a quiz that covers proper measurement techniques and estimating, scientific notation, sig figs, and percent yield and error. Here's the plan for the last week of summer:

Mon. 9/16

• math with sig figs

• Significant Figures WS 2

• start SI Scavenger Hunt

• Quiz #1-2B: Laboratory Equipment & Techniques

• DUE: SI Unit Conversions WS 2

Tue. 9/17

• finish SI Scavenger Hunt

• DUE: Scientific Notation WS

Wed. 9/18

• accuracy, precision and error

• Accuracy, Precision and Error WS

• DUE: SI Scavenger Hunt

Thu. 9/19

• Density Blocks Lab

• DUE: Significant Figures WS 2

Fri. 9/20

• finish Density Blocks Lab (due Mon. 9/23)

• Quiz #2-1A: Scientific Measurements

• DUE: Accuracy, Precision and Error WS

• Register for the PSAT on MyPaymentsPlus!

Make sure you're doing the practice quizzes on ChemQuiz.net that I post in Google Classroom! They're not for a grade, but they include detailed explanations for each of the questions, so they'll definitely help you learn tricky topics like sig figs that you can really only understand through practice.

I hope you have a wonderful week! As always, please let me know if you have any questions, and I'll see you in Fall. 🍂

Week 4: Monday, September 9th – Friday, September 13th

Hello again! I hope you had a good weekend and have recovered from all that rain on Friday night. Here's what we're doing in class as we move into our second unit of the course:

Mon. 9/9

• start Unit 2: Scientific Measurements

• dimensional analysis and SI conversions

• SI Unit Conversions WS 1

• Quiz #1-1B: Nature of Science and Chemistry

• DUE: Alchemy Lab

Tue. 9/10

• Quiz #1-2A: Laboratory Equipment & Techniques

• SI Unit Conversions WS 2

Wed. 9/11

• "Alchemy" video

• Scientific Notation WS

• online SI conversion practice on ChemQuiz.net

• DUE: SI Unit Conversions WS 1

Thu. 9/12

• review quiz

• introduction to accuracy, precision & significant figures

• Significant Figures WS 1

• DUE: SI Unit Conversions WS 2

Fri. 9/13 

• Quiz #1-2B: Laboratory Equipment & Techniques

• Scientific Measurements Stations Lab (due Tue. 9/17)

• sig figs practice

• Significant Figures WS 1

This is the beginning of math in chemistry, and we use numbers slightly different in science than the way they're used in other disciplines, so I hope you enjoy this new approach.

This week, I'm going to pass out PSAT practice exams to everyone. The PSAT takes place on Wednesday, October 9th in the morning at RHS and costs $19. It's a good way to practice for the full-length SAT, but more importantly, it's the qualifying exam for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship for juniors. Doing well on the PSAT could really pay off, and it looks good on a college application. Registration begins on September 20th on MyPaymentsPlus - I highly recommend taking it!

Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Week 3: Tuesday, September 3rd – Friday, September 6th

Hello everyone, I hope you're enjoying your three-day weekend! Here's what we're doing in class for this abbreviated week as we wrap up our first unit:

Mon. 9/2

• Labor Day – NO SCHOOL

Tue. 9/3

• finish sharing Pseudoscience Mini-presentations

• Quiz #1-1A: Nature of Science and Chemistry

• DUE: Pseudoscience Mini-presentation

Wed. 9/4

• review quiz

• lab clean-up & equipment ID (in Room 208)

Thu. 9/5

• Alchemy Lab (in Room 208) – due Mon. 9/9

• Quiz #1-1B: Nature of Science and Chemistry

Fri. 9/6

• dimensional analysis and scientific measurements

As always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 2: Monday, August 26th – Friday, August 30th

Welcome to the first full week of school! I hope that school has started well for you and you have any issues with your schedule worked out. Now that we've had a few days to get to know each other and set some expectations, we can get to work! Here's what we're doing in class this week:

Mon. 8/26

• finish Obser-tainer Activity and share

• finish What is Science? notes

Tue. 8/27

• Lab safety (in Room 208)

• Logic Stations Lab (in Room 208)

Wed. 8/28

• Scientific Method WS

• start Pseudoscience Mini-presentation

Thu. 8/29

• finish mini-presentations

Fri. 8/30

• share mini-presentations

• What is Chemistry? notes

• DUE: Scientific Method WS

Please let me know you have any questions, and have a great week!

Week 1: Wednesday, August 21st – Friday, August 23rd

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! I'm excited to have you in class, and I hope you're looking forward to a good year of learning about chemistry.

Advanced Chemistry is a challenging course that explores matter and energy as well as the changes they undergo as they interact. Students will need strong Algebra skills, an interest in scientific issues, and a willingness to work hard in order to be successful in this course. Over my career, I’ve found that Chemistry is often one of the first classes that truly measures a student's readiness for college, so some of my students have been surprised at the amount of work required. Your child should expect to be challenged by this course.

Here's what we're doing in class for the first week of school:

• Welcome to Advanced Chemistry! - first day presentation

• Class Rules

• Class Contract - get it signed!

• What is Science? - notes

• start Obser-tainer Activity

I hope you had a great first week and that you were able to get some rest this weekend before we attempt to go to school for five full days without strange bell schedules or burning birds. Let me know you have any questions!