Honors Chemistry Course in the Fall
The purpose of this course is to provide clear concepts of many chemistry topics that will be taught in high school honor chemistry class.
We will reference to 2 text books:
Chemistry: Connections to Our Changing World, by H. Eugene LeMay.(note 1)
ISBN-13: 978-0130543837
Chemistry: The Central Science (13th Edition), by Theodore E. Brown.(note 2)
ISBN: 13: 978-0321910417, 10: 0321910419
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321910419/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The first book is the honor chemistry level, and the 2nd book is the AP chemistry level.
We will focus on the honor chemistry level, with some material from the 2nd book.
The idea here is: to teach the students a bit more than what is covered in the honor chemistry in high school, so that when he or she takes the honor chemistry class in school, it will be easy for the student.
Start from the concepts of the structure of the atoms (knowing the electron orbits and electron energy levels), the properties of the atoms, and the properties of the period table, we will continue study the interaction of the atoms that form molecules and ionic compounds. We will discuss the properties and geometries of molecules and ionic compound, the bonding forces within the molecules and between the molecules.
The interactions between the molecules will lead into the chemical reaction section. The balance of the chemical reaction equation, the molar / mass calculation of the reactants and products, and the thermal energy release or absorbed during the reaction will be discussed. We will review the chemical reaction in aqueous solution, that involve the calculation of molarity of reactant and products. We will also study the acid / base reaction and titration, the chemical equilibrium and the kinetics of the chemical reaction. For the last few classes, we will cover the properties of solution and electrochemistry.
Besides teaching the concepts of these topics during these lessons, we will do many examples / exercises in the class. We will also watch related videos to help student to understand better. At the end of each chapter, the homework will be selected from the exercises of that chapter in the textbook.
For the homework, I will print out the exercises in case students don’t have the text book.
Before each class, I will email out the class material so that student will have a chance to preview.
Below is the tentative schedule for these 21 lessons:
We will follow this schedule as much as we can, depends on how well the students learn in the class.
| Lesson # | Chapter | Topics |
| 1 | Chapter 2 | Atoms, Molecules and Ions |
| 2 | Chapter 2 | Atoms, Molecules and Ions (cont.) |
| 3 | Chapter 6 | Electronic Structure of Atoms |
| 4 | Chapter 6 | Electronic Structure of Atoms (cont.) |
| 5 | Chapter 7 | Periodic Properties of the Elements |
| 6 | Chapter 8 | Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding |
| 7 | Chapter 9 | Molecular Geometry and Bonding Theories and polarity of molecular |
| 8 | Chapter 3 | Chemical Reactions and Reaction Stoichiometry |
| 9 | Chapter 3 | Chemical Reactions and Reaction Stoichiometry (cont.) |
| 10 | Chapter 4 | Reactions in Aqueous Solution |
| 11 | Chapter 4 | Reactions in Aqueous Solution (cont.) |
| 12 | Chapter 5 | Thermochemistry |
| 13 | Chapter 10 | Properties of Gases |
| 14 | Chapter 15 | Chemical Equilibrium |
| 15 | Chapter 16 | Acid-Base Equilibrium |
| 16 | Chapter 14 | Chemical Kinetics |
| 17 | Chapter 19 | Chemical Thermodynamics |
| 18 | Chapter 11 | Properties of Liquid |
| 19 | Chapter 13 | Properties of Solution |
| 20 | Chapter 20 | Electrochemistry |
| 21 | Summary | Summary of AP Chemistry |
Note 1: For the book: Chemistry: Connections to Our Changing World, by H. Eugene LeMay
Cost about $14 for the used book from Amazon.
Note 2: There is 14th edition of this text book, but it costs about $117 even for the used book.
The 13th edition costs about $30 for the used book or $18 to rent from Amazon. We will use 13th edition in this course.