APChemistry

AP Chemistry

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=10/23/2012--= Do your bookwork! Your test, by far, resembles the HW more than what your eyes will be drawn to in the reading. The awful-looking math that is in there (stuff with Rydberg, with Schrodinger) is to be understood *conceptually* more than *by calculating*. HW first!

Here's some things: Nothing is "all inclusive--remember that these PPT's are originally for my sophomores.



=9/3/2012--OK, here's the lab report format--I'd like you to have the "prelab" done for Wednesday (as described in the format posted here). Get started now so you'll have questions to ask in class tomorrow.= == =8.15.2012--A word on scheduling: If you are in my 5-6 period, you'll come to class at the beginning of 5th and stay halfway through 6th period ('til 12:35) before I send you to lunch. If you're in my 6-7 period you eat lunch at the beginning of 6th, and then leave in time to be in my room by 12:45. If you show up at the beginning of 6th, I reserve my right to point and laugh at you! :-)= =__Make sure to ask help/give help on the discussion board__. Asking for help improves your understanding (and grade). Giving help also improves your understanding (and grade)! When asking for help don't just say: "How do I do #76?", rather say "I feel like I'm supposed to try xxxx but I'm not sure how" or "I get to the point where I have xxxx and then I don't know where to go." You're looking for understanding, not just the answer, right? Answers are in the back of the book if that's all you're after. Understanding will allow you to do it the next time, on a quiz, on a test. That's the goal!=

=8.10.2012--Hey gang, I'm back after checking out for a while. I'm going to up some practice tests for you to attempt. They are password-protected, so you'll need the magic word. To get it, email me thru the wiki--Here's what I want: 1) Your user name/your real name: So I can know who's who! 2) Your request for the password!= =These practice tests cover the material we're doing in the first 5 chapters, but the chapter numbers don't entirely match up with our textbook. That's because they come from a different textbook. I don't want you to do every problem (and I'm NOT checking), but look at them all! Make sure that you can look at any problem and say "I could do this by doing X, Y, and Z...." And do try a good sampling. Got questions? Post 'em on the discussion board (linked at top). Pretty comfortable with your skills? Help answer someone else's question on the discussion board. I will be figuring some way to reward those who ask and/or answer questions, so go be busy there. All right, here they are:= == == == == =a;= = 7.2.2012--Hi all, thanks to those of you who've signed up. A good number of you have //not// enabled email contact (I didn't keep a list) and should update your profile so that I can spam the lot of you when I need to. I need a day or two to think, but I plan to get you working on discussing the summerwork on the discussion board in the near future (see the speech bubble icon above?). Keep tuned in. Hope you're enjoying summer and that your houses didn't blow away in yesterday's storm. = = = = 6.13.2012 This is for you, AP Chemists of 2012-2013! = = // When you apply for membership to the wiki, make sure that you enable email contact, using an email address that you actually check! I send out mass-emails and sometimes email individual students, it doesn't work very well if you don't get the memos! //= = If you missed picking up a book for your summerwork, I left a few in the school's main office with a signout sheet. Go there during summer hours (700-am-330 pm, Monday thru Thursday) to sign one out: Find Mrs. Berg (her desk is across from Mr. Juracka's office) or someone else to assist you. = = Read my couple paragraphs of "inspirational talk" below, then I'm asking you to do a couple of things below that. I will likely update this page again before the end of the summer, so check back later. Your introductory summer assignment is of course HERE, but check back to this wikipage for additions. =

//Coming soon: Practice tests in PDF form!// = = = Well, you signed up for this class, so now you've got some time over the summer to 'refresh' your chemistry knowledge from your first year of chemistry. This is always a bit of a tricky moment, because each of you is different, not all of you have had the same teacher for your first chemistry course, there are students taking this class that are coming from regular chem, from Honors chem, from Academy chem. Some of you are freshly out of chemistry, while many of you took chemistry two years ago. Regardless of what other students are doing, you have one goal this summer: To get yourself as prepared for your year in AP Chemistry as possible. = = = = At any point this year, your goal should be the same: To be self-aware and to be self-motivated. = = Being self-aware is  simple: You are fully aware of what you know, how well you know it, and how capable you are of showing/explaining this knowledge. How does one gain this insight? Well, it's easy, and it's hard. You "simply" have to do all your reading, take all your notes, and do all of your homework. Easy to say, harder to do. = = Being self-motivated is also fairly self-explanatory: I am not going to be sitting over your left shoulder at all times, making sure that you're reading, doing homework, and taking notes. In fact, I won't be checking your homework! You are joining the 'real world' here, and in the real world slapping some scribble on a piece of paper doesn't constitute 40%, or 20%, or even 5% of your grade. Homework is very important, however! How else can you become self-aware of your strengths and weaknesses if you are not trying out your skills? How will you know exactly what questions you need to bring to class, if you haven't identified them by banging your head into problems that, in spite of your best efforts, you can't quite complete? Just like I hope that no one ever asks me to land an airplane I am flying on, I hope that you never attempt to take a test that you haven't fully prepared for. The results are similar: Crash. Burn. = = = = OK, here's at least a start for what I'm asking for over the summer. = = 1) Work on your summer homework, which is the problems from Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The answers to all the even-numbered problems are in the back of the book, so it's not the answer that's so interesting: It's that you know__//how//__ to get to that answer! (Because the concept never changes, but the problems never repeat! Chemistry is just that: learn the concept fully; be able to do any one of a million possible problems based upon that concept.) = = 2) Go to the discussion board and make at least three posts over the chapter 1-3 homework: Ask at least one question; offer your thoughts/assistance in response to at least one other person's question. HINT: "What is the answer to..." is a lousy question, both for the purposes of this assignment and in general. Rather ask: "Why does the example problem in the book..." or "How am I supposed to know that..." or "Can I always assume that..." By the same token "The answer is 54.2 grams" is not helpful either. Not in the least. Instead, offer some advice on how to proceed. Or ask a leading question: "What did you do with the given information first?" = = My hopes for the discussion board is that it can become a place to turn to, a place where we can all be comfortable both asking and answering questions. I may, during the year, require you to do some posting, but I'm hoping that we can use it without me twisting your arms. =

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=5.21.2012--Well, check your mygradebook--If you are= =a) On the list of those who met the attendance and Prairie State scores minimum (unsure? ask me.)= =b) receiving a 80.0 % (not rounded)= =c) a senior= =You needn't come in for your final tomorrow. If you are not sure, question me tonight (email me thru wiki). If you fail to do that, COME IN TO THE FINAL--THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN IS YOU TAKE A FINAL THAT DOESN'T AFFECT YOUR GRADE. If you are supposed to take the final and do not, you receive a ZERO. That will be very, very bad. The final is tomorrow! Plan on 90 minutes: Whether you are period 5-6 or 6-7, you will start and finish your final exam tomorrow. Starts Period 5 for all 5-6ers, and for any 6-7ers who don't have a test 5th hour. If you arrive 6th hour, you will have through the 7th period to finish your exam. =

=4.30.2012--Read 21.3-21.4, do 24-38 evens. Put it in writing: What do you need help understanding?= =4.28.2012--Quiz for Monday--be able to= =a) balance a reaction in acid and/or base solution by method of half-reactions (21.1).= =b) If I tell you which half-reaction occurs as a reduction/which is an oxidation: Be able to label a galvanic (voltaic) cell for: which electrode has oxidation, which has reduction, what the sign (+ or -) each has, which direction electrons flow thru the external wire, which direction cations &/or anions flow thru the salt bridge. Do your reading examples and12-22 evens (remember about the book and its hydronium fixation), should be enough for balancing. Read further to get into galvanic/voltaic cells. Here's a bit of practice (based on former quiz I've given). Assume that each cell contains a solution made of MNO3, where M is either the Cr+3 or Fe+2 ion. Write the oxidation and reduction half-reactions on the top (much easier than our acid/base ones): These are the reactions that occur in the two cells. You'll want to read further into your book for some examples: I know there's a couple examples with a copper/zinc cell. Follow that one as your guide. I've updated the format of the quiz below to PDF, as when I downloaded it on a different computer it cut off the 2nd pair of ions in the text box at upper right. (That box shows whether each cell is an oxidation or reduction <--Hint!)= = = =4.26.2012--Read 21.1 and work on the packet. Balancing redox reactions in acid and base solutions. Pretty cool technique! I'd like you to have practiced this, going over the "how-to" in the packet and working on examples/exercises/evens 12-22. We're going to get one major skill a day; this is your skill for today.= = = =4.17.2012--I really want you to focus on 15.5 and evens 42 through 46. (You should be DONE through 46)= =Questions? Hmm...If only there was a place to ask such things....= = = =4.16.2012--3 things:= =1) Finish your essay (if you're doing it)= =2) Evens thru 15.36 for an absolute minimum, but you should read the next section and try the problems (Read 15.5 and try 42-46 evens.= =3) Do your calculations and finish your lab activity today to turn in. Quick Excel reminder: Put in data as so:= =I added the "." in cells C3 and D3 so it didn't calculate, but *you* put it in without the dot so it will calculate. Then single click on C3's cell, grab the button and drag it down all the way through your data so that it "ell-enns" all your "vol remainings". Then do the similar thing for the D column. Once you've got these, select two columns at a time (the pairings you need to graph) by highlighting them. Columns A and B are a simple click/drag, but you'll need to (I believe) "control click" the 2nd column when pairing A and C, and A and D. Once you've got *all* your data highlighted, click the "Chart Wizard" icon and do an "XY scatter" graph. To print them, you can title your graph and your axis by clicking "next" to advance through the process. Any way, once you're looking at a graph (you can make the graph be a new sheet if you like), on the "Chart" menu, select "Add trendline" and then pick a linear regression, and make sure to opt for "write equation" and "show R^2 value". Wording may be a bit different due to different versions of Mychrosoft Offise or because I'm all Mac-y whilst you're PC, but I think this should help you get started. Post questions on discussion board if you run into trouble; someone will come along to save you!= =4.14.2012--As I said, I've got a couple hoops that youcan jump through if you'd like an opportunity to improve your Ch. 13/14 grade. Here's the first hoop: Type a two-page "essay" whose purpose is for you to take a close look at your study habits and how it affects your performance. Points to address in your essay (This is definitely about your most recent performance, but you can reference the history of your year/your academic career):= =4.12.2012-- Quiz tomorrow --Given lab data, write rate equation; solve for k, units of k, etc. from 15.3. Tonight's HW: Read 15.4 and tackle the evens that accompany. I'll be checking in if you have any questions about either tomorrow's quiz or tonight's HW. Here's today's handout for those Manthas that ditched class. = =4.11.2012--MGB has been updated. Many of you need to use that info as motivation for tonight's assignment: Read 15.3 and r eally focus on the solved examples; examples 15.3 &15.4. Do on separate paper exercises 15.3 and 15.4. Read and complete your packet through this same amount of material. Finally, do evens 18, 22, and 24 at the end of the chapter. I'll be checking in periodically for questions: You'd better start asking, and answering them. No questions came out of the 13/14 review packet, and we see how that turned out. (Shellie, got packet up in PDF format!)= =4.10.2012--Sorry, just got home from baseball game, finished dinner a few minutes ago. Here's the 15 packet: Read the first 2 sections (15.1 & 15.2) and fill out/complete page one of the packet.= == =4.7.2012-- Afternoon edit: I'm uploading a PDF of review thoughts and questions for Tuesday's Ch. 13/14 test. Please, please, please spend a considerable dose of time on studying this weekend--Ask Q's here, and bring more Q's to class on Monday. You won't score well if you don't study hard (and I don't think all of you really understand what "studying hard" means yet. Time to redefine it!) = == =AP test-takers, are you working on the 1999 exam (linked on the AP Exam Review page at left)? I spent a couple of hours last night taking the test, and as always, I found several things that are important to think about. //You// need to be taking these practice tests, so that //you// find many important things to remind yourself of, or that you need to go back and relearn. I suggest that you __keep some kind of journal__ in which you take notes of things you see (usually when grading practice tests, or going over review materials) that you need to make notes on. If you take practice tests, but don't go back and "dissect" the test by doing corrections/relearning/writing down questions to ask me or others later, you are NOT getting the benefit you should be. Yes, this is time consuming--That's why you are committing to this review now, so that you can do a little bit at a time. You can't leave this until the last weekend before the test. The task will be too great at that time.= = I will update later in the afternoon with some review ideas for you about our Ch. 13/14 test on Tuesday. Start asking questions about HW problems or other concepts on the discussion board .=
 * =How was your daily performance? Do you take notes in class, ask questions? Do you (really) read your textbook? Are you doing your HW assignments on a daily basis? What do you do when you reach a point of frustration because you don't understand, because you can't solve a problem? Can you enumerate ways in which you might respond better? Do you listen to the discussion in class, taking notes as ideas are discussed, as practice problems are performed, as your teacher attempts to share the wisdom gained over 10 years of teaching this difficult class? Do you understand that, by far, the best opportunity for learning is through personal discovery during reading/studying practice problems/performing HW problem. Have you had moments where you say "Hey, __that__ helps me to understand this stuff!" Have you kept doing that thing?=
 * =Where is your focus? Are you you looking forward to deadlines, test dates, anticipating what types of things you'll be required to know on those dates? Are you focused only on the present, trying just to do today's work while blocking out both the past and the future? Are you focused on the past, trying to figure out yesterday's (or last week's) HW assignment while today's lesson is going on? (On a related note, I think a lot of the "side conversations" that are going on in class are of this variety: people are discussing last night's assignment, while entirely missing the featured discussion which is about "today". Of course, this means that they will have more difficulty with tonight's HW, necessitating side conversations tomorrow, meaning they miss ....)=
 * =Are you taking advantage of your opportunities to seek assistance? Are you using the wiki to pose your questions? Are you asking questions in class? Do you feel like you don't even know what questions to ask? Please put into words the thought processes and/or behavior patterns that keep you from asking questions. Not seeking available assistance is one of the least attractive student behaviors I'm aware of--I was once very guilty of it myself. Regret.=
 * =Do you feel that the grade you got (that you're getting) reflects your ability, your potential? Explain why you think there's a gap between what you want to/can achieve and what you have achieved. Are you satisfied?=
 * To be continued...

=4.4.2012-- Check out the new page at left, the "AP Exam Review" page. As of now it has links to old AP multiple choice tests (1999 and 1994) and old free response questions (with answers/rubric, and with Graded Student Examples, so you can see how different students were scored. We're having our equilibrium quiz tomorrow, in the style of Question 1 from one of the practiceFR tests.= =4.3.2012--Read and tackle HW from Ch. 14. Our timeline is looking like this: Thursday AP-style equilibrium quiz; Tuesday, Ch. 13/14 Test. Especially if you're taking the AP exam, it's time to start hacking out chunks every day (or at least several days a week) for review. If you want to borrow an AP exam review book, I have a limited quantity. (No writing in it, please!) The one quality that my 4- and 5- scoring students in the past had in common was a drive to succeed that drove them to study on a schedule. You can't //hope// that you do well. You can't rely on the //"I'm a good test-taker"// plan--You've got to __study__.= = = =4.2.2012-- Crud, I upped this (attempted to, anyway) right after I emailed y'all, but I guess it didn't save (my router needed resetting later...) Well, we'll look at it tomorrow. Here's the 2011 Free Response. I'm asking you to do problem 1 for tomorrow (but you can look over the rest, because, hey, it's chemistry!)= == =3.13.2012--Quiz tomorrow--I'm thinking some variety of calorimetry problem like we did at the end of Ch. 6, and an assortment of conceptual and mathematical questions about sections 20.1-20.3. Additionally, read 20.4 and try the problems that go with that section= =3.12.2012--OK guys, many of us are obviously not working hard on our HOMEwork. That means you've got catch-up to do from Ch. 6. But we're moving on! Read Ch. 20.1-20.3, do evens #14-36 .= =3.7.2012: Thoughts on mañana's quiz: 1) Know your units, know your units, know your units. 2) Can you do a hot metal/cold water problem? 3) Can you do a state-change/temp. change problem? 4) Hess: Be able to do problems such as in 40-43.= =3.6.2012--We're going to have a quiz on the 6.1-6.4 sections and problems 1-32, tomorrow. Questions on HW, notes, concepts? Make a post asking it! You're also to have read 6.6 and done problems through 38 evens. See you tomorrow! (Period 6-7, why did my sub talk about how good my 1st, 2nd, and 5-6th classes were, yet you "talked a lot"? You had better have your act together for tomorrow (IOW, have your reading and HW up to date, be ready for the quiz.= =3.4.2012--Here's the Thermo notes, in PDF format: = =3.2.2012-- Weekend HW: Read 6.1-6.4; do 10-32 evens from the textbook. WYSE page added on the left for WYSEguys (and gals).= =2.29.2012: I put some thoughts on the discussion page about our exam tomorrow...= = = =2.23.2012 Here ya go: This year's efforts:=

And last year's efforts (Hope I got the same answers! Might be interesting to compare: =2.22.2012--I forgot my HW at school! I'll check in on the discussion board, I'm sure there's a lively conversation already going on...= =2.14.2012--We're reading sections 19.1-19.4, doing __exercises__ 19.1-19.5 (in the reading sections, not at the end of the chapter. Quiz over this tomorrow.= =Ch. 19 Packet: = =2.10.2012--Buffer lab writeup info: Use this and your rubric to craft something that showcases your understanding, something that shows your effort, something you can be proud of:= =2.1.2012--How much time have you invested in your reading/understanding/homework? I am confident that I could learn to fly an airplane (if I put in the time and effort to learn how). I am also confident that if I jumped into a plane **//today//** and tried to fly it, I would die a fiery death in short order.=

=I am also confident that each of you can succeed at the problems in this chapter. However, without proper preparation, now, on your part, I am sure that the immolation of your 2nd semester grade is close at hand. (Go look up that word!)=

=I've got some PDFs for you! First is "problem 44", which is a scan of, you guessed it, problem 44. The next is a scan of other even problems from Ch. 18, up to partway into problem 42. (I didn't realize I had this scan--it'd be interesting to check it out vs. the "2012 version" that I have in the classroom now!) Finally, I've got the Ch. 18 study guide. Enjoy, and use them well.= remember: __**Having**__ the problems that I've done doesn't mean __**you**__ can do them. You try first, __**then**__ check against the key! ==

=1.28.2012--Important for you to work as hard as necessary for this weekend's assignment: Read 18.3 and 18.4 (pay special attention to understanding concepts and the practice problems!) Do evens in the range of 22-42. We're going to spend more than one day going over these, but if you don't make a strong move on it this weekend, you'll have a time-crunch problem next week! I'll be checking in on the discussion board today and (later) tomorrow, so post your questions. Please also help your classmates answer their questions. Explaining to others is how you really get good at this: How else do you think I got to be so awesome? :-)=

=1.26.2012--A rare guarantee from me: I //guarantee// this chapter test will NOT go well if you don't put in a lot of time working the homework problems. Keep pressing on with the 8-20 evens, and do some odds when you decide you need another practice problem. As always, I have the odd-problem answers (showing all work) in the classroom. Just ask to see it.= = Tomorrow, we'll have a quiz over the conceptual part of 18.1 book/packet. That is, what the NIE of SA/SB looks like, or WA/SB, etc. What's the pH (relative to 7) at equivalence point for each A/B reaction? (What does equivalence point mean??) In other words, it's to be a conceptual quiz not a calculator-based quiz. = = = =1.18.2012--I posted some review thoughts in a thread on the discussion page. You owe it to yourself to study as much for this test as possible. If you're just starting studying tonight, it's too late for that, but do what you can in the time you have left.= =1.17.2012--As promised, the equation sheet I'll provide on the final--Same as you get on the AP exam:= =12.17.2011--I want you to work on Ch. 17 reading/packet/even-numbered problems over our break. A couple of things to memorize: The formulas and names of strong acids and strong bases are critical to know. Near the end of the chapter is a list of ions that can act as bases/acids/or are neutral in water--You could make some flashcards of these for practice; they'll be important for our "hydrolysis" reaction problems. Here's the packet (covers almost all of the chapter; I'll see if I can update it so that it does).= =12.13.2011--I'm uploading the "notes" that each class put together on our organic survey. A couple of thoughts:= == =12.6.2011--OK, now our entire focus must be on finishing up Ch. 16 so that we can (effectively) test on Friday. Tonight, we're reading the last 'big' section: 16.6, LeChatelier's Principle. Correctly prepared, you should be able to predict the effects of:= = Read 16.6 and do 38, 40, and 41 at chapter's end .= = = =12.1.2011--December?! Try these on for size:= ==
 * =Don't pretend that because "Joe" took notes on "esters" and you copied them down, that you understand esters. You've got to read, think about, and consider these carefully! Otherwise it's only //slightly// better than worthless to you. (P.S.: I caught an error or two in these, not looking too closely. If you copy down someone else's error; it is __YOUR__ fault if you miss a test question based on this, not theirs.)=
 * =Ravi, if you can tell me what "unflavored geometry" is, I'll give you one dollar, U.S. currency. P.S. -- Your computer printout scanned lousily. Everyone needs to figure out what belongs in the illegible black boxes--Pester Ravi!=
 * =Adding or removing a reactant or product (to/from a system at equilibrium)=
 * =Increasing or decreasing the temperature (of a system at equilibrium)=
 * =Increasing or decreasing the pressure/the volume of a gaseous system at equilibrium=
 * =Adding a catalyst to a system at equilibrium=

== =11.30.2011--Another HUGE night of work for you. 1st, go back if needed and complete any reading/examples/your last night's HW if you didn't MASTER it the first try. Then for tonight, read 16.5 and do (fight/scrap/claw/post on Wiki) problems 30-36 evens in the book. Keep working on Organic--your notetaking and HW problems, your mini-presentation (starts Friday!) and review your functional groups for requiz Friday .= =11.29.2011--OK, we've mastered 16.1 and 16.2 (right?) and we're moving on to 16.3 and 16.4. Read those 2 sections and do 16-28 evens in the back of the chapter. If it's not working out for you, you don't have time to wait for it to magically sink in! Go thru the reading again, force yourself to understand the concepts and how they did the example problems, and if it's not working for you, I expect that you will be lighting up the discussion board like a pinball machine, and that you'll be at my door tomorrow morning when I get to my room. Some of you should be very aware that your passive behavior is NOT producing the results you would like, so it's time to be aggressive in how you pursue understanding!= ==== --So why don't you take some advice from a cheerleader and __be aggressive__! B-E aggressive! (Quote from Missy Pantone) ==== =11.28.2011--First, look! I found my draft from Friday night that I forgot to save up to the wiki. I put it up for posterity's sake. Tonight our HW was to read 16.1 and 16.2; and to do the even # problems that went with those sections, I believe it was 8-14 evens? Well, I'm going to pop over to the discussion board to see who's there, if anyone!= =11.25.2011--When we get back we're having an organic functional group quiz: esters, ethers, alcohols (1°, 2°, 3°), amines (1°, 2°, 3°), amides, ketones, aldehydes, organic acids (carboxylic acids), alkanes/alkenes/alkynes. There are plenty of resources out there online (here's a quickie: LINK) but two warnings:= =Make sure that you're being aggressive in your reading/note-taking/problem-solving.=
 * =Organic is semi-infinite, so don't spend hours studying things that we're not responsible for! Use your textbook information and questions as a guide for what you need to know.=
 * =Careful for errors out there: I peeked attwo sets of online flashcards; each contained one error. Make sure you're not studying errors (either your own or someone else's)!=

=11.5.2011--OK, I don't have huge HW for you, so use your time this weekend to master that which we've already undertaken. Make sure that you're comfy doing the HW thru 9.6, and we're going to have a quick quiz on Monday centered around this information. Ask q's on the wiki if you've got 'em, that's what its there for!= = = =11.3.2011--To do: Time for some of you to figure out how we get good at this stuff (and to get the grades to go along with it!)--by doing your homework completely, carefully, and correctly. From your textbook: Do 46-58, evens. Additionally, read section 9.6, do the packet that goes along with it, and try out 60 & 62 .= = = =11.1.2011 *UPDATED* --Here's the Kretsos tutorial/practice sheet I promised I'd up. For Thursday, read 9.5/do the packet problems as you go. Start doing the evens from this section as well. __I can tell you that if you don't do plenty of practice on this section (and the others, too!) that Ch. 9/10 will not go well for you. Apply yourself!__= == =10.31.2011--Have the problems suggested on the weekend (38-44 even) done for tomorrow. Read section 9.5; take notes and be sure to take note of your areas of concern/confusion/aggrevation. Make sure to print out a copy of the Chapter 9_10 Notes (which I upped on 10.27, down a few inches below!) and bring it to class.= =10.29.2011--Reading assignment: Let's get to section 9.4: Covalent Bonding/Predicting Lewis Structures. This is the one section of the chapter I don't have a corresponding section in the chapter packet I posted below. Take some notes (two-column style, leave some room for additions in class!) in your own notebook and try the examples. Pay special attention to terms resonance/resonance hybrid, oxo-acids (what is one?), coordinate bonds. What element tends to have an 'octet' that's shy of 8 electrons? What elements can host an 'expanded' octet? You're welcome to try some of the problems 38-44 evens, but I'd rather you //focus on the reading and note-taking discussed above.//= =10.27.2011--Tonight's assignment: Read 9.1-9.3 in your text. Take notes, (two-column format, leaving room in your right column to add more info during class!) Do 1-6 all and 28-36 evens from the back of the chapter. Don't wait to ask questions! Wiki discussion tonight != =Looky here! The first pdf file is from the textbook study guide, the Word doc is 14 pages of my own guidance. Print that one for sure, bring it to class .= =10.24.2011--We'll be picking a test date (Ch. 7 & 8) for this week. I'll include a few review thoughts. Also, here's the student study guide for both chapters. Use it as you will.=

=10.9.2011--Lab writeups two: I've updated our lab report format; I'd like you to complete your lab reports for both the "Molar mass of volatile liquid" lab and the "Molar volume of a gas" lab. Feel free to ask questions on the discussion board. Due Wednesday. Our Ch. 12 Test is also Wednesday .=

= = =10.4.2011--Hi. I'm going to give "light" HW tonight. I'd like you to do your calculations for both of our current labs. You're to turn in bee-you-tee-full calculations: Neat, using units, paying attention to sig figs, etc. For your molar mass of a volatile liquid, you can work on "neatening" the calcs on separate paper if your first attempt was sloppy or crammed into the margin of some scrap of paper. You also should calculate the % error for your molar mass, which you can now that you know the identity of your unknown. Remember to 'label' your calculations: "Calculated molar mass, trial 1". For % error, write out the "barebones" equation first, then substitute and solve.= = = =For today's lab, work your way through the calculations as the labsheet takes you through. It's really quite simple: There's the Dalton's Law calculation to find P H2, then there's the Combined Gas Law work to convert to what the volume would be at STP, somewhere we do stoich to find the theoretical moles of H2 formed; finally we take our V(H2) and moles(H2) to convert to molar volume. If you think you're lost, post Q's on the wiki!= = = =10.3.2011--More lab! I'm going to attach the lab here. You have the option to print it, but I want you to do "our prelab" treatment on it. (//See LabReportFormat_draft pdf below if yoiu're unsure what that means//.) Do a good background on it--I can think of a couple ideas that we talked about explicitly in class last week that should feature in your background section. As always, the lab packet's background can serve as a sort of "skeleton" for yours, but I want you to stamp your background with your ideas and understanding. "In your own words" means just that! Specific notes:= =I'll check back in later to update on what I want for the Molar mass of Vapor lab.= = = =10.1.2011--Here's the lab writeup info for the titration lab. Do a nice job, and remember you are to turn in YOUR WORK only. //Zero// grades will be given to those who copy the work of others. I'm happy if you discuss HOW to calculate, etc., but //you// are to put your final report together.= =9.30.2011--Stay tuned for updates with more particulars, but here's your current to-do list:=
 * =Picture procedure again-- Procedure change ! __**Step 2**__: Cut a piece of Mg ribbon about 3.5-4.0 cm long. Rub it with a piece of sandpaper until shiny. __**Step 3**__: Find the exact mass of it. If the mass is more than 0.045 g, trim the piece to less than 0.045 g. Record exact mas of your Mg strip.=
 * =I want you to do the prelab questions on separate paper, I'm collecting these tomorrow for part of this lab's grade!=
 * === Titration Lab due Monday . I'll update by Saturday midday.===
 * ===Do calculations for the molar mass of your unknown from Friday's lab. Bring to class on Monday, we'll finish lab if you need time, but you'll need the calculation before I give you the ID of your unknown.===
 * === PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE on your gas chapter problems. Get into the "General Problems," get into the "Conceptual Problems," Go back and do all of problems 1-9, which are summary-type problems .===

=9.29.2011--8pm--Sorry for the late-ish update, had Cub Scouts and just got home!=

=Please finish your procedure for tomorrow's lab. Pictures and symbols only! I'm checking it and you're getting points for it, so don't not do it. (Intentional double-negative!) I'm working on a lab report format, I'm going to attach a draft of it. What's done is the "prelab" part, which is what should be done prior to coming to lab.=

=9.27.2011--Keep working on our gases HW, you should be done through 58 evens (I think that's right?) and make sure to bring your Q's to class. I'll soon post what I want written up for your titration lab--Probably will collect that on Monday, but realize that we'll have other things brewing at the same time!=

=9.21.2011--New Chapter! Gases, Ch. 12. Read Sections 12.1-12.3. Print out my packet o' goodness (click below!) tonight, and read it/fill it out/calculate/answer up to (not including) the section on Gas Laws and Stoichiometry. This packet represents my take on gas law equations--I present them slightly different than a textbook, but the book and I agree on all!=

IF YOU CAN'T OPEN THIS WORD DOC //(Edit: I added a PDF so all should be good.)//, EMAIL ME THRU THE WIKI TONITE! DITTO IF YOU CAN'T PRINT! NO LAME EXCUSES TOMORROW!!!1 WHY AM I YELLING?
== = = =9.19/2011--Consider your calculations for the titration lab to be review for Wednesday's test ! Do the calcs for any trial(s) you got to today in class. Do you understand them? Get on your review for that test--//__many__// of you need a good result, but //__this is a challenging chapter__//!= =Go back to the book: Starting with the "Chapter Highlights" at the end, how do you feel about each bullet point? Seek example problems, explanations in reading, and try homework problems over any sticky areas. (If you aren't sure that you rule at a given concept, assume you need more practice with it!) Post Q's on the wiki discussion; help answer Q's of your classmates.= =9.16.2011-- Chapter 5 Test Wednesday 9/21/2011 (It's gotta be then, there's no other date you'll all be here!= =Here's what's needed for your lab writeup: Turn in MONDAY :=
 * ===Title===
 * ===Purpose (Brief!)===
 * ===Procedure (Very Brief!)===
 * ===Safety===
 * ===Observations/equations: This section is the most time-consuming, here is where you show that you know/understand/can do the equation writing required of you. I want you to number the reactions, to include your observations, and then to write the 3 equations indicated in the lab: the molecular equation (get those formulas written correctly!); the ionic equation (here you show your understanding of what happens to various chemicals when placed in water); and then your net ionic equation (here you show what **//changes//** in the course of the reaction). Make sure that all three of these equations are balanced, both for atoms and for charge. Make sure that you write ions correctly (There's no such thing as an ion that's Na 2 +1, correct?) At the least, have the symbols (s), (l), (g), (aq) written in the first and third reactions (the molecular and NIE). I don't expect/want these to be done on the computer; rather, I want you to give each set of equations plenty of room to breathe, so that you (and I) can clearly see what you've written.===
 * ===Questions section: Carefully and clearly answer the "review Questions" here. Make clear what you're answering by either A) rewriting the question in your lab, or B) making the question clear through the wording of your answer. For an example of B), for question #3 you could state: "The equation for the decompositon of H2CO3 is..."===
 * ===Discussion: Please summarize what you feel is important to keep in mind when predicting products and writing equations (molecular, ionic, NIE) for gas-forming, acid-base, and precipitation reactions. Writing NIEs is something that you'll have to do periodcially the rest of the year, so the better you can put this into words, the better you'll be at doing these equations. Use your lab packet background section, your textbook, and your class notes to gather your thoughts.I imagine this should be at least a few paragraphs!===

=9.13.2011-- Read the last section in Ch. 5, which is 5.9. Do problems 60-90 evens (or even beyond--you've got a test to get ready for!) We're now in review mode for Chapter 5 test, so make sure that you're tying it all together! I'm thinking Wednesday 9/21 for the test .=

=9.12.2011--Ack! Update too late! Well, we're to do our quiz tomorrow : NIE/predict products for gas-forming reaction, for acid-base reactions; also to assign oxidation numbers for elements in a compound/ion.= =• Read 5.6-5.8; do 50-58 even .= Here's today's notes, in quicktime format: media type="file" key="redoxnotes.mov" width="300" height="300"

=9.8.2011--You are to be actively seeking for areas of weakness/gaps in your understanding of the many topics of chapter 5. It's safe to assume that you're not where you need to be yet, so get on the ball! We're going to (theme of the year) keep pressing on, so whatever you don't understand tonight will be added to tomorrow's new topics, etc...= = Tomorrow we will quiz over the reading section from last nite. My plan is to definitely include solubility rules, to definitely include some "who's a strong acid/weak acid/strong base/weak base" see reading/notes/our mustknow page for full details. I also will include question(s) over parts of the section that I shan't tell you exactly what it's going to be. Make sure you fully read (for understanding) and understand your homework problems. I'm attempting to put pressure on you to improve your knowledge on your own time, which I'm not seeing out of too many of you. Find out what you find difficult, take notes about it, try to overcome, post Q's on the discussion board, __don't settle for not knowing!!__= =9.7.2011--Big chapter, that requires a lot of dedication to master! (I've seen your multiple choice parts of your exam, and it's obvious that some of you haven't been showing your best so far. Time to quit with the "Fake-PE-class-I'll-jog-a-couple-of-steps-because-my-teacher-just-looked-over" pace and start training as if you're going to be competing on the track team. Or Olympic team). Tonight's work: Read 5.1-5.5, make sure you either have done 18-48 evens or else you've tried and know exactly where your issues are in those problems. Check out our new page at the left margin: "AP must-knows". = =9.5.2011--Someone forgot (!!!) his/her book. Here's the problem that I talked about in the discussion thread about our lab.=

=9.4.2011--NaHCO3/Na2CO3 mixture postlab. Here's a PDF that outlines how I'd like to see your lab report crafted. Please take time to make a worthy product. If you have questions on how to get through your calculations, start a thread on our discussion board. Everyone, check to see if you can offer help to anyone seeking it there!=

= = =8.12.2011 Practice tests. You can do as much or as little as you wish. These are from another source, so not everything matches perfectly with our book. Chapters 1-3 are more or less parallel; Chapter 4 practice test covers what, in our book, is chapters 4 and 5. These are all password-protected, so email me to receive your password. (As you seem to be having some difficulties interpreting what I want from you, let me be very clear: I want __YOU__ to email me, not to text your friend for it: This way I can keep an eye on who's receiving my communications __//and acting on them//__!)= ==

=8.6.2011 I'm not going to twist your arms, but if your first assignment that I can see brings in two posts (by two weeks after the deadline), this is shaping up to be a challenging year already! Don't you have a desire to make a positive first impression?= = = =7.14.2011 There is a deadline now: Post your questions/answers/contributions by July 23!= = = =6.20.2011 This is for you, AP Chemists of 2011-2012!= =Read my couple paragraphs of "inspirational talk" first, then I'm asking you to do a couple of things below that. I will update this page again before the end of the summer (by 7/15/2011, I'm thinking?), so check back later. Latest update is colored blue. Your introductory summer assignment is of course HERE, but check back to this wikipage for additions.=

//Coming soon: Practice tests in PDF form!// = = = Well, you signed up for this class, so now you've got some time over the summer to 'refresh' your chemistry knowledge from your first year of chemistry. This is always a bit of a tricky moment, because each of you is different, not all of you have had the same teacher for your first chemistry course, there are students taking this class that are coming from regular chem, from Honors chem, from Academy chem. Some of you are freshly out of chemistry, while many of you took chemistry two years ago. Regardless of what other students are doing, you have one goal this summer: To get yourself as prepared for your year in AP Chemistry as possible. = = = = At any point this year, your goal should be the same: To be self-aware and to be self-motivated. = = Being self-aware is simple: You are fully aware of what you know, how well you know it, and how capable you are of showing/explaining this knowledge. How does one gain this insight? Well, it's easy, and it's hard. You "simply" have to do all your reading, take all your notes, and do all of your homework. Easy to say, harder to do. = = Being self-motivated is also fairly self-explanatory: I am not going to be sitting over your left shoulder at all times, making sure that you're reading, doing homework, and taking notes. In fact, I won't be checking your homework! You are joining the 'real world' here, and in the real world slapping some scribble on a piece of paper doesn't constitute 40%, or 20%, or even 5% of your grade. Homework is very important, however! How else can you become self-aware of your strengths and weaknesses if you are not trying out your skills? How will you know exactly what questions you need to bring to class, if you haven't identified them by banging your head into problems that, in spite of your best efforts, you can't quite complete? Just like I hope that no one ever asks me to land an airplane I am flying on, I hope that you never attempt to take a test that you haven't fully prepared for. The results are similar: Crash. Burn. = = = = OK, here's at least a start for what I'm asking for over the summer. = = 1) Work on your summer homework, which is the problems from Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The answers to all the even-numbered problems are in the back of the book, so it's not the answer that's so interesting: It's that you know __//how//__ to get to that answer! (Because the concept never changes, but the problems never repeat! Chemistry is just that: learn the concept fully; be able to do any one of a million possible problems based upon that concept.) = = 2) Go to the discussion board and make at least three posts over the chapter 1-3 homework: Ask at least one question; offer your thoughts/assistance in response to at least one other person's question. HINT: "What is the answer to..." is a lousy question, both for the purposes of this assignment and in general. Rather ask: "Why does the example problem in the book..." or "How am I supposed to know that..." or "Can I always assume that..." By the same token "The answer is 54.2 grams" is not helpful either. Not in the least. Instead, offer some advice on how to proceed. Or ask a leading question: "What did you do with the given information first?" = = My hopes for the discussion board is that it can become a place to turn to, a place where we can all be comfortable both asking and answering questions. I may, during the year, require you to do some posting, but I'm hoping that we can use it without me twisting your arms. = = =

= 5.1.2011: I'm checking in periodically, got any Q's? Post 'em. = = = =Angry Chemist Say: Use the wiki discussion board to post questions, to answer questions!=

=4/26/2011: Link to previous AP Free-Response tests, scoring rubrics, sample student tests graded with comments, etc...= [] = = =4.15.2011: Here's the 13/14 Study Guide.=

=4.9.2011: Our current work: Read sections 13.1-13.3 & 13.7. Do homework problems that go along with these sections (16-36 evens, 54-56). Also do the review questions 1-9 all and 14-15.=

=3.14.2011: Well, this is it. I hope you're burning the midnight oil on this one, because apparently we only have studied hard enough to ask one question in class today. I've put discussion threads up on the discussion board for each page of the practice test; if things don't go well for you tomorrow that's the first place I'm going to refer myself to (or refer your parents to if I start hearing from them). With proper practice this is a quite "doable" chapter, but I'm not seeing much evidence of proper practice outside of about 5 of you. DO NOT forget to look at the objectives list I posted below on 2.28.2011. That list was made while looking at your test. Feel free to start other threads on the discussion board on topics other than the practice test.= =3.12.2011: Practice test for Tuesday's Real Test. I took numbers off the problems, but couldn't/didn't get new numbers back on. Refer to Ch. 6/20 Objectives (below on this page) also--That refers directly to what I'm planning on testing you on.=

=3.6.2011: Here's the scanned lab for those of you not in class on Friday. It's a pretty lousy scan, but at least the file size is huge. See grading rubric below.= =3.5.2011: OK, our thermo lab is on Tuesday; you need to be prepping yourself by doing the prelab/making sure that you understand the lab procedure. I'm uploading the laboratory rubric I'll be using to grade your report. Read it carefully before starting (or be willing to go back and edit) your prelab. Your prelab consists of Title, purpose, background, procedure, and safety sections. You also should have data tables prepared. You will not be turning in the booklet I gave you, so you can either type or neatly print your prelab.= =I need to upload the lab for those of you who missed class on Friday. I'll get to that this evening.=



=3.2.2011: You are reading the rest of Chapter 6 and doing your darndest to get the rest of the even problems done. You'll be working in class tomorrow, but there isn't enough time to do all your work in class, so figure it out. Imagine ways in which I might check your progress and be prepared for such a possibility. Chapter 6 notes are up (they go as far as we've seen in class):=



=2.28.2011: For tonight: Read sections 6.5-6.7. I'm going to attempt to put up a PDF of my powerpoint. We'll see how well it transfers. You can print this, or save as reference, or take notes on in your notes. I'm also going to up an objectives sheet; this outlines what we're to be getting out of these two chapters.=

=2.25.2011: Where to next? We're going to go to the thermodynamic unit next--Chapters 6 & 20. (for the couple of you that I told "Ch. 15 next," what I meant was "Ch. 15 next-next.")= =I've got homework for you this long weekend:=

=Read sections 6.1-6.4 in your textbook. Do 10-32 evens at the end of the chapter. I'm thinking "Monday Quiz based on the homework." So maybe you should be thinking about that, too. A key for these problems:=

=1) Know what you're trying to find, and what the units should be.= =2) Be very good about using dimensional analysis, showing your units always!= =I don't know at what point of my academic life I realized that showing beautiful work with units meant the difference between guessing/hoping I was doing the correct thing, and knowing/seeing that I was doing the correct thing when solving problems, but that was the moment I started moving from "OK" to "Awesome" at doing such problems.= =So who wants to be awesome? Just try it (for once, if you haven't before!) and see if it helps your understanding. Get a big ol' notebook and say "I'm going to show all my work, and I don't care if it takes a half-page for each problem." Take a look at my Ch. 18 and 19 homework solutions for an idea of what I mean. I'll be monitoring the discussion board this weekend, so feel free to post questions.=

=2.23.2011: Edited for Brevity:= =It's the time of year where we really have to battle to keep our effort and focus where it needs to be to find success. Your keys are to be disciplined enough to do the needed work each day, and to push yourself beyond that first feeling of frustration when something doesn't 'click' immediately. Keep track of what you do know and what you don't know; bring your questions to class and __ask them__!= =You are capable of more than you may suspect, but to tap that potential you first need to ask more of yourself. For several of you, you need to ask MUCH more of yourself.=

=2.20.2011: OK, I'm going to up the book's study guide from Ch. 19. Make sure that you're working to finalize your understanding on Chapters 18 & 19! I'd like to see some discussion on this site's forum page, but that's up to you guys to get that rolling.=

=2.14.2011: Work your homework, check the examples in your book and notes for clues how to get through the areas that keep you stuck, and write down your thoughts/issues so that you can ask your questions, to me or to a classmate! Here's the packet that I've prepared with my thoughts:= =And here's the Chapter 18 Study Guide.= == =1.4.2011: Read 17.7 (Equilibrium of weak acids and bases). Pay special mind to the example problems, make sure you understand what steps were taken, and __**//why//**__ they were taken. Add to your homework list problems 40-58 evens. If you don't get all of these problems done tonight, be sure to try a couple from each section. (40-44 using pH to calculate ionization constants; 46-58 using ionization constants to calculate pH. See packet ideas about solving these types, and of course your book's examples should be very helpful.= =1. **3.2011: OK, time to get to work. Push yourself! Read Chapter 17.1-17.6, and do 12-38 evens at the end of the chapter. Figure out what you can do, what you can't do, and bring your questions to class!** = Here's the Ch. 17 Packet: It's a work in progress; I'll be updating it/amending it. Here's "The Box," which is used to do our math between values of [H3O+], [OH-], pH, and pOH (Click it to go through it): I can see that saving it to Flash made a couple small errors (at least on this computer): To calculate the concentrations of [OH] and [H3O], the math is 10 raised to the (-pOH), or to the (-pH). My superscripts didn't come out. :-(. Check the packet for them, written a bit clearer (but without fancy box-packaging).

=12.16.2010 Official Assignment: Read sections 17.1-17.3, Do the problems that go along with those sections (all problems thru the Brønsted-Lowry section). Brønsted-Lowry is the definition of acids/bases that we use the most, so this is the place to demand our best understanding!= =12.15.2010: Are you tuned in?= =I have 30 points to be given out tonight, applicable towards your test we took today. Here's the requirements: 1st, you must post the phrase "Holla!" in the post entitled "optional assignment."= =2nd, you must come to class tomorrow with problems 12-16 (evens) done from Chapter 17. If you are the only person to follow these instructions, you get all 30 points. If 2 people do so, each gets 15; 3/10 each and so on. You can decide if you want to share news of this with your friends or not :evilgrin: Hmm... Maybe they're more "acquaintances" than "friends". I can just tell them that my mom took my phone because I didn't help clear the table... = =12.4.2010: Clarification for weekend.= =Make sure you're caught up on your reading/HW problems. Read 16.1-16.4 and do the problems that go along. Remember: this is an important chapter, so keep up, work hard to understand, and bring your questions to class!= =12.1.2010: Uploading Study Guides for Chapters 11 (orgo) and 16 (Equilibrium). =

=11.24.2010: Sorry, didn't get this up as quickly as I would have liked. Over our break, head to the discussion forums and participate, particularly with regard to Ch. 11. I will be giving participation points to you all--please ask at least two questions, and offer help/your opinion toward the questions of at least two other classmates. For bonus credit, submit a link to an online discussion/tutorial/interactive website that follows our learning in Ch. 11. Organic chem is as simple as the amount of time/practice/thought that you've put into it!=

=11.15.2010: I'm out of school tomorrow. You'll be reading, taking notes, and generally getting AAAP (As Awesome As Possible) at our book's intro to Organic Chemistry, Chapter 11. Here's the deal: You are eventually going to take an open-note test over the topics and problems of Ch. 11. The notes you may use must be handwritten (by you)--no printer/photocopied notes are allowed. You also may use your exercise problems and any example problems you care to add to your notes.=

=Even with the notes, the test won't be "easy." You need to understand what you've done/how to do the problems. If you're searching through your notes blindly, hoping that the answer is in there somewhere, you'll be in some trouble with finishing on time and getting the correct answer.= =I strongly suggest that you:= • Organize your notes well, with headings that explain what you're taking notes on. • If you want your exercise problems/example problems to be of assistance on the test, you should somehow write what the question was, and not just the answer. "A carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol to form an ester" is helpful. "ester" by itself is not. • Know that Appendix E is your friend. This contains much of the rules for naming organic compounds. Our book is not very clear that Appendix E even exists! You'll need it. •I'm also going to look for some good links on teh interweb that give instruction/practice on naming/drawing organic compounds. To say the least, naming organic compounds is unlike what we've done thus far!

=11.7.2010: Quiz for Monday--Know (perfectly!) the two tables that we built in the packet on pages 7-9; be able to do problems such as 1-6 on page 9 of the packet.= =11.2.2010: Homework for tonight: Read sections 9.6 and 9.7; follow along in the Ch9_10notes packet, that you've printed from below. Do 60-74 from your book. If you're feeling energetic, you can try 76-88 as well, but I'm OK with you waiting for our big talk and the arrival of the Giant Molecular Model Kit. Bring your packet for notes in class.=

=If you aren't up-to-date in your HW, you need to get there NOW. We've already done 28-74 as of tonight's assignment, and we'll soon be up to 92 in Ch. 9 and we're going to include 2 sections of Ch. 10 as well. Those HW problems represent your opportunity to learn what you can do and what you can't do; and if you're not doing your best to keep up, and you are not bringing your questions to class, I've got news for you: That warm sensation isn't a warm bath, it's soup that's soon to be boiling on the stove--and you are what's for dinner!= =10.30.2010 As promised, our mini-powerpoint from Friday. Let me know if it doesn't work for you.= =10.28.2010: *UPDATED 8:14 pm* I tried to convince myself that today is Friday, but it's not. So, for tomorrow, please read 9.1-9.4, take notes as a starting point, and work on 28-44 evens at the back of the chapter. We'll get our 7/8 tests back tomorrow, if I can get the scantrons run before I leave school, I'll have grades on mygradebook by this evening. I'm going to upload the chapter 9 study guide PDF, and I'm upping a "Langellier-style" chapter packet as well. Print that Word doc, add to it when doing your reading, and bring to class so we can add notes to it in class. Missing from it is section 9.4--I teach that differently enough that I've got my "own thang" for that.= =10.25.2010 Here's the "Study Guide" that accompanies our Kotz textbook for chapters 7 & 8. Probably the best I can do as far as "packety" stuff. Students from past years have always reported liking these, so I'll be uploading them as we go.= =10.15.2010 Stay tuned this weekend--I'll be back with some thoughts--consider the discussion forum for sharing thoughts and ideas about your lab?=

=Paging Rob S.--Download and do your lab--Calculator only--over the weekend!= =10.13.2010: Reading assignment: Chapter 7.1 & 7.2 (pp. 292-303)= =Homework: Do 20-32 evens. //Show me your work in class tomorrow and I'll give you a bonus, no joke!//= Once again, the math is algebra, but the concepts are more involved: Pay attention and take notes about the relationships (direct or inverse) that exist between frequency (symbol v, "nu"), wavelength (can't draw symbol here, "lambda") and energy (E). Again, we have constants whose units are "boss" for their equations (Planck's constant, h, and the speed of light, c).

Do your work to the best of your ability each night and the road will be the smoothest it can possibly be for you. Let yourself get behind on work, or don't get your questions cleared up on a timely basis, and, well, you get what you get! It sounds funny, but the way to make life easy is to pay the price in hard work, __//every day//__!

I'll be checking in later to look for any Q's you have on reading or HW.

= **10.9.2010 Lab writeup:** = **Here are my desires for completing your lab report. Due Tuesday. Start a discussion if you need to communicate with each other!**

= **10.6.2010 Lab Update: Finding the Molar Mass of a Volatile Liquid** = For tomorrow, use your data to calculate the molar mass of your unknown liquid. (on separate paper: Make a new "calculations" section and "label" (tell me __what__ you're calculating) your calcs; use SF and units. Bring this to class tomorrow, and when you show me your value and calculations, I will spill the beans and tell you the identity of your unknown. Then we can do some % error calcs.

I may update this later (it's now 641pm). check back! = = =10.4.2010 Lab: Finding the Molar Mass of a Volatile Liquid= Here's our first lab: Print it out, we'll discuss some in class tomorrow, looking to do it on Wednesday. I hope to do another lab later in the week. This lab is on a Word document that has the procedure, data tables, and questions. We'll do our first lab using electronic data collection, using TI graphing calculators as part of the interface. Details in class tomorrow. =9.30.2010 Checkpoint: Where are you at? (Oh yeah--Quiz tomorrow!)= OK, we've been assigned reading and HW problems from //most// of the gases chapter (12.1-12.7, Even problems 14-68). As in all of our chapters, the "almost done" stage is the time to determine if we're right on track, if we're in a bit of trouble, or somewhere in between. If you're in a bit of trouble, now is the time to act! Post a topic on the discussion forum, make a study date with a classmate, bring a list of questions to class, or arrange to see Mr. Langellier on your own time. All can be effective, but you need to do something, and ASAP!

=9.25.2010 Postlab calculations, questions, and conclusion: (Also, HW below!!)= Now you should have the accepted value for the mass of KHP in your unknown sample, so please add another section to your lab: "__**Analysis**__" in this section: • Report the accepted value of mass of KHP (as before, write //what// the value is, don't just write the number. • Perform a percent error calculation, first writing the equation showing your substitution and making your answer clear.

"__**Postlab Questions**__" section: Answer the following. Either rewrite the question, or make sure that the wording of your answer makes clear exactly what the question was. DO NOT answer in such a way that the reader (me!) isn't clear what you are answering.

1. The lab procedure instructed you to make your NaOH with a target of having a solution concentration of about 0.1M. Does the success of your experiment rely on your concentration being exactly 0.1M, or can you have different values and still expect to get good results? Explain your answer fully.

2. What effect would each of the following occurrences have on this experiment's results? In other words, would the effect be to make the calculated mass of your unknown KHP sample too high, too low, or would there be no effect on your results? Answering these correctly requires that you first determine how the error affects the measurement you're taking in lab, and then tracing the effect of that (now too-high or too-low) measurement through your calculations to find the ultimate impact on your reported mass of your unknown KHP sample. I expect that you **explain** why your KHP mass would be reported as too high or too low by discussing how the error would affect calculations. If there would no be no effect on the reported mass of KHP, explain why there is no effect on your calculations. Situation A: You did not transfer all of the unknown KHP sample from the test tube into the titration flask. Situation B: You went several drops past the endpoint of the titration of your unknown sample. Situation C: You accidentally added several milliliters of deionized water to your NaOH sample after your standardization, but before you titrated your unknown. Situation D: You used 35 mL of deionized water to dissolve your unknown sample of KHP instead of the 25 mL that the procedure indicated you should use.

3. What is meant when we say that we "standardized our NaOH solution" in the first part of the lab? Why must the solution be standardized before you titrate your unknown?

"**__Conclusion__**" section: This is all to be done in complete sentences • Paragraph 1: Discuss the findings of your lab. Report your results, including the concentration of your standardized NaOH solution±std. deviation, your calculated mass of KHP, your accepted KHP mass, and your percent error. • Paragraph 2: Error analysis: How do you feel about the size of your percent error? For this lab, an error of less than 3% is ideal, of less than 8% is good; larger errors are indicative of larger technique errors (or perhaps calculation errors? It's always worth double-checking your work!) Discuss your percent error: If you had an error of 1.2%, don't be digging too deeply for imagined errors, you can say something to the effect of "This error is quite acceptable for the techniques used." If you had a larger error, what might have caused this error? (Don't say "I should have measured better" or "I added too much NaOH, or maybe too little...") Discussion of error must be done carefully. Don't say "I might have spilled some of the KHP" unless you know you did (and then don't use the word 'might'!). I don't want you to randomly imagine errors that 'might' have occurred. Better is to give informed reason for a too-high or too-low calculated mass of KHP. Post-lab question 2, above, gives the kind of exercise one must go through in order to propose a type of error that "might" have happened. If your percent error was large, it would be worth your while to check with your lab groupmates to see how their error turned out. If you all were 50% too high, it seems that you had a shared error--Would that have occurred during the standardization titrations, or during the unknown titration? If I may be so bold as to say it, this section of a lab conclusion rarely gets as much time and thought as it deserves. Let the length of this paragraph give you some idea of the importance I attach to error analysis. • Paragraph 3: Review of the learning: Why is titration an important skill for a chemist? What did you learn about technique, about chemical concepts and calculations? How will this help you as a student and as a chemist going forward?

=Weekend HW: Read sections 12.1-12.3 (Gas Laws) and do 14-42, every other even (14, 18, 22, 26...)= ===I am also going to upload my Ch. 12 packet. This is a companion to our chapter, and parallels it. I have written this myself, and it contains things for you to fill out/think about/do, and has a "Mr. Langellier spin," including many of my personal tips & tricks that help me to understand and remember better. My former students liked these packets, so give it a try! Have it alongside as you do your reading, and compare contrast the way I go over ideas with the book. (By the way, if your technique for "reading the chapter" is to do the problems and flip to the reading only in case of trouble, you're missing out!)===



=9.23.2010 About your lab...= For tomorrow, make sure you understand/can do the calculations for the standardization & titration, as well as the concept behind the "titration technique"--In other words, do you understand why titration works? I will not collect your lab until after the weekend, and will post here what I want you to do to complete your lab. There will be some error analysis and a conclusion, for sure. =9.23.2010 Random late-night thoughts= Just woke up from unintended catnap! A couple thoughts I put together earlier, some of which we talked about in class: • Know your solubility rules. Well. There are more than a couple MC problems on this test that are dead easy if you know your solubility rules, but you'll just be guessing if you don't. • When you're looking at a compound with the intention of doing net ionic equation, make sure to label it in your head as a strong acid/weak acid/strong base/weak base/soluble ionic/insoluble ionic/molecular compound. Once you've done that, it should be clear how to treat it for the net ionic equation. Review NIE summary in section 5.6 if you aren't clear how to treat each of these types of compounds in aqueous solution. • Know how to determine oxidation numbers for elements. You'll use this to determine if a reaction is a redox reaction, to determine who's been oxidized/who's been reduced, and to ID the oxidizing agent and reducing agent. • Dilution: What happens to the volume of the solution during dilution? What happens to the moles of solute during the dilution? What is the equation that's "so easy, you'll forget it®"? =9.22.2010 Check out the couple things below!= Participation points to be had! Add your thoughts to the new discussion thread. I'll get it started.

Due in class on 9.23.2010:

Need practice test problems? This practice test //(you *did* get the encryption password over the summer, right? I'll include it in the new discussion thread: Click "discussion" at top of page.)// includes things from our Ch. 5, with MANY good practice problems for Friday's test. Try 2-59, 61-71. Sampling from those should be a start; but review your reading, notes, and Ch. 5 HW problems is also essential. We covered some topics that aren't stressed as much on this practice test! Your job is to seek areas of weakness and to then make them areas of strength.

9.21.10--Lab procedure/data table Here: [[file:Acid_Base titrationprocedure.doc]]
I'll update this with postlab requirements: Calculations, how to report results, later tonight or tomorrow.

9/20/2010 Extra Practice on titration, a bit on redox:

Don't Forget* to [download/read/sign/have signed] your Safety Contract!! Linkage Here
(*if you prefer, forget and "hang out" with me at a later date for lab makeup, for reduced credit)

Practice Quiz! Time yourself--you need to be both __accurate__ and __quick__ in your problem solving!
This is a guideline, but not an identical twin to your quiz Friday. Do the whole quiz, THEN check answers. Flipping back & forth doesn't help prepare you as much! **<=====** Awesome, high-level practice here. Worthy of your quiz, your test, your lab...

Laboratory: Download file, but read directions here!

 * We are ONLY doing part A of the procedure. You may ignore all references to part B.
 * We're not doing a full report for this lab. I recommend printing the whole thing, but //**__at the minimum for tomorrow__ (9/17/2010)**//print pages 183-185 so that you can take your observations. These pages essentially serve as your procedure, as you are simply mixing several drops of each reactant in the wells of a wellplate (We're using wellplates rather than test tubes).
 * **What you'll be turning in Monday**: Review Questions 1-4 from page 181 of lab; and your data sheets, which will have your observations, as well as the molecular, complete ionic, and net ionic equations for each reaction. All work should be neat; please include charges on all ions and the state ( s, l, g, aq) on all reactants and products. All three equations should be balanced correctly. [Hint: if it won't balance, check the formulas of your products for correctness!]
 * Knowledge resources: The laboratory Discussion section, our textbook, our class notes and discussion. Labwork is a natural extension of what we've learned in our reading and discussion, so don't act like you don't have a rich source of information to help you write your equations!