Lesson Plans

Chemistry: The Central Science 9th Edition ©2003

by Brown, LeMay, and Bursten

Teaching an Advanced Placement* Chemistry Course

The textbook used for this course is Chemistry: The Central Science (Brown, LeMay, and Bursten, 9th edition, Prentice Hall, 2003). Among its ancillaries is the new Instructors Resource CD, which contains all of the text's graphics, plus 30 lab demos in video format and 100 animations of core concepts. It also includes two Powerpoint presentations for each chapter, one with text, graphics, demos and animation, and the other with just the graphics from the chapter. Using this CD, the teacher can choose the presentation that best fits his/her style and/or classroom setup. The "Sample Exercises" within each chapter of the text are excellent to go through in class and then have the students work on the corresponding "Practice Exercises" immediately after—before assigning them exercises from the end of the chapter.

All tests and exams given throughout the course should be as close as possible to mini AP* exams! In order to do this, the teacher should find a good source of Free Response Questions from AP* exams of previous years. Stress to students from the beginning that free response questions will receive partial credit when tests and exams are graded and that it is, therefore, always important for them to show all their work in an organized fashion. The suggested exercises in each lesson should provide necessary practice in using the essential ideas of the chapter. Some of the exercises are integrative and analytical, and they help to improve a student's critical thinking skills. The test bank that comes with the textbook is an excellent source for the multiple-choice questions for tests and exams.

It is assumed form the onset that the students enrolled in this class have strong SAT scores and have done well in a formidable first-year chemistry course. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for the class to be able to keep up the rigorous pace that is necessary to achieve its goals.

The times that are given for the completion of each topic are meant as a pacing guide and are only AP*proximations. Also, a "week" does not include a time allocation for giving tests or performing the suggested labs. Pacing for Block Schedule can be determined by considering a block of 90 minutes to be equivalent to one day. However, each lesson includes suggestions as to how the same goals can be accomplished with the 90-minute block.

The inclusion of appropriate college level experiments into the course is important, not only because it tends to increase a student's overall performance on the AP* exam, but also because, beginning in 1999, there is a required laboratory-based question on the free-response section of the AP* Chemistry exam. When selecting which experiments to do, the major consideration should be that of providing the students with the broadest laboratory experience possible. AP* teachers should refer to the AP* Chemistry Course Description for a list of specific suggested experiments. Students should keep the laboratory notebook of their work in case a college professor asks to see it before making a decision about granting credit, placement, or both.

In these lesson plans, the suggested labs are included in most lessons because they relate directly to the material being studied. Some lessons suggest several experiments, while others do not have any worthwhile labs that are directly related to its material. It is important to realize that it is not at all necessary, or possible, to do each lab at the time of the lesson for which the lab is associated. As many of the suggested labs as possible should be done, but they may be scattered throughout the year into the days when it fits more easily into the class schedule. Treat these experiment suggestions as the earliest time in the course at which a particular lab should be performed.

Refer to Teacher's Annotated Edition of Laboratory Experiments for "Helpful Hints" and other advice.

The following publications by the College Board are strongly suggested: "1994 AP Chemistry Free-Response Guide with Multiple Choice Section," "1999 AP Chemistry Released Exam," and "Packet of 10 AP Chemistry Exams." These publications are released every four years or so. They contain not only the questions and answers for the exams, but they show the grading and scoring procedures used by the readers. There will probably be a 2003 or 2004 version that will replace the 1999, and so on. The important thing is to have complete exams, rubrics, and scoring guides for two separate exams that students will take at the end of this course for practice.

There is no longer a good source of acquiring AP* Chemistry Free-Response Questions from previous years on the internet because the College Board has begun enforcing its copyrights. However, it should be pointed out that the .pdf versions of the Free Response Questions for the last two or three years are available on the AP Central Web site. AP Central is the official online home for anyone involved in AP* courses. Here you can connect to other colleagues in the AP* community and to a variety of teaching and program materials. AP Central offers the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on AP* courses and exams, as well as unique resources and tools.

Course Topics in More Detail

1. The Fundamentals (1 week)
   1. Classifications and Properties of Matter
   2. Measurement (Units, Uncertainty, and Dimensional Analysis)
   3. Atoms, Molecules, and the Periodic Table
   4. Inorganic Nomenclature
2. Chemical Reactions (1 week)
   1. Chemical Reactions and Patterns of Reactivity
   2. Electrolytes
   3. Precipitation Reactions
   4. Acid-Base Reactions
   5. Redox Reactions
3. Stoichiometry (2 weeks)
   1. Atomic and Molecular Mass and the Mole
   2. Percent Composition, Formulas, and Combustion Analysis
   3. Reaction Stoichiometry
   4. Limiting Reactants
   5. Solution Concentration; M
   6. Solution Stoichiometry (Titration)
4. Thermochemistry (1 week)
   1. Energy and Its Conservation (The First Law of Thermodynamics)
   2. q, w, ΔE
   3. Enthalpy, ΔH
   4. Calorimetry
   5. Hess's Law
   6. ΔH°; ΔH_f°
5. Electron Structure and Periodicity (2 weeks)
   1. Electron Energy Levels and Quantum Mechanics
   2. Electron Configurations and the Periodic Table
   3. Periodic Relationships: atomic radii, ionization energy, electron affinity, and oxidation state
6. Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry (3 weeks)
   1. Ionic and Covalent Bonds
   2. Bond Polarity and Electronegativity
   3. Drawing Lewis Structures, Octet Rule
   4. Resonance and Exceptions to the Octet Rule
   5. Covalent Bond Strength
   6. VSEPR and Molecular Geometry
   7. Molecular Polarity
   8. Hybrid Orbitals
   9. Multiple Bonds
   10. Simple Molecular Orbitals
7. Gases, KMT (1 week)
   1. Characteristics of Gases and Pressure
   2. General Gas Law from Boyle's Law, Charles's Law, and Gay-Lussac's Law
   3. Avogadro's Hypothesis and Ideal Gas Equation
   4. Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure and Gas Stoichiometry
   5. The Kinetic Molecular Theory and Graham's Law
   6. Real Gases
8. Solids, Liquids, Changes in Phase, and Intermolecular Forces (2 weeks)
   1. Liquid vs. Solid
   2. Intermolecular Forces: ion-dipole, dipole-dipole, London dispersion forces, and Hydrogen Bonding
   3. Viscosity and Surface Tension in Liquids, and Critical Temperature
   4. Warming/cooling curves, enthalpies of phase changes
   5. Vapor pressure, boiling point, and melting point
   6. Phase diagrams
   7. Bonding in solids
9. Solution Properties (2 weeks)
   1. Solution Process
   2. Solubility and Factors Affecting It
   3. Concentration: M, m, %, w/w, ppm, mole fraction
   4. Colligative Properties: vapor pressure, boiling point, freezing point, and osmosis
   5. Colloids
10. Chemical Kinetics (2 weeks)
    1. Rate of Reaction and Its Measurement
    2. Concentration and Reaction Rate Law (Order and Rate Law Constant)
    3. Temperature, Collision Theory, and Activation Energy
    4. Reaction Mechanisms and Rate-Determining Step
    5. Catalysis
11. Chemical Equilibrium (2 weeks)
    1. Equilibrium and the Equilibrium Constant, K
    2. Magnitude of K
    3. K_p and K_c
    4. Calculations of K and Applications of K
    5. Le Chatelier's Principle
12. Acid-Base Reactions and Solution Equilibria (3 weeks)
    1. Acid-Base Theories: Arrhenius, Brönsted-Lowry, and Lewis
    2. Acid Strength
    3. Autoionization of Water, K_w
    4. pH and pOH
    5. Weak Acids and Weak Bases
    6. Calculations involving K_a and K_b
    7. Acid-Base Properties of Salt Solutions
    8. Common-Ion Effect, Buffers
    9. Titration Curves
    10. K_sp and Precipitation
13. Chemical Thermodynamics (2 weeks)
    1. Spontaneity, Entropy, and the Second Law
    2. Molecular Interpretation of Entropy
    3. Calculation of ΔS
    4. Free Energy Change
    5. Gibbs Free Energy and Its Calculation
    6. ΔG = ΔH – TΔS
    7. ΔG = ΔG°+ RT ln Q
    8. ΔG = –RT ln K (K = e^–ΔG°/RT)
       
14. Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry (2 weeks)
    1. Identifying and Balancing Redox Reactions
    2. Voltaic Cells
    3. E°, standard reduction potential
    4. Spontaneity of Redox Reactions, ΔG° = –nFE°
    5. Nernst equation: E = E° – log Q
    6. The faraday; Faraday's Laws and stoichiometry
15. Descriptive, Organic, and Nuclear Chemistry (2 weeks)
    1. Chemical Reactivity and Products of Chemical Reactions
    2. Relationships on the Periodic Table with Examples
    3. Introductory Organic Chemistry
    4. Nuclear Chemistry
16. Review and AP* Exam Practice (2 weeks)