Welcome to chemistry! We will have a full year of learning the language of this foundational science. We will start off the year understanding the structure of an atom the characteristics of elements by investigating atomic theories and periodic law. This is the foundation for the whole course, like learning the alphabet of a new language. From there come the topics of bonding and compounds which result in new physical and chemical properties. This will be like us using our alphabet to form words. From there, we will move on to using the Law of Conservation of Matter to understand chemical reactions. This is like combining our words to form sentences. By the end of the semester, we will be able to form “chemical sentences” and have a good foundation to apply for the rest of the year. For second semester, we will understand the concept of a mole and use stoichiometry to further understand chemical reactions. We will then learn about thermochemistry, mixtures and solutions, gas laws, and reaction rates- understanding what is happening on a molecular level and how that affects physical and chemical properties. We will then explore the properties of acids, bases, and solutions, followed by exploring redox reactions. Throughout our course, we will learn in a variety of ways- labs, group work, writing, etc. I am looking forward to a great year!

August 13 (Week 1)

We started off chemistry this week by receiving our textbooks and taking a look at expectations, procedures, and safety guidelines for class. We received some notes and classwork that will guide our unit for the next few weeks and help organize our notebooks. We found out a bit about what we already know about chemistry and started to investigate a mystery of a burned towel. In doing so, we reviewed some science terms like parts of the scientific method, variables, quantitative and qualitative data, and observations. We talked about how to do our homework and how to rank our own understanding. We then had a preview of some of the concepts you would encounter in homework this week. I am looking forward to Week 2 as we will continue to investigate our burned towel mystery and incorporate some new information about measurements from Chapter 2. Here is a link to the slides we used today, which has helpful videos and links to even more videos that could help in homework this week: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/117Qtxtq_xzKCRHFqADYQinXUDWU6Cr5XAaA8oc420uI/edit?usp=sharing

August 20 (Week 2)

This week we started by reading an article on flammable items and considered which ones might have contributed to our mystery of the burned towel. We took some notes on some of the topics that were covered in chapters 1 & 2. After this we went through a series of stations related to the burned towel. At station 1, we used graduated cylinders and scales to measure the density of the bathroom tile affected by the burn. At station 2, we took data about the towel itself, measuring the area and watched a few videos about flammability, physical, and chemical properties. At station 3, we practiced designing an experiment to try to determine what might have caused the fire. At station 4, we considered 4 different clear liquids that may have been involved and measured their density. We will finish these stations next week. We took a few minutes to introduce the concepts of percent error, significant figures, and rounding to help prepare for next week. Here is link to the slides we used today: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1egtCpz8Dh4u6h4slgPrpLblTFeunHTNjTuFSMcizlTU/edit?usp=sharing

August 27 (Week 3)

This week in chemistry, we began by finishing our stations on the mystery of the burnt towel, and hit the highlights together as a class. Then we took notes on what was covered in homework last week including analyzing data, states of matter, chemical and physical properties and changes, and the law of conservation of mass. In the midst of notes we did 2 demonstrations and tried to determine which was a physical change and which was a chemical change. One involved a hydrogen peroxide reaction sped up by yeast (“elephant toothpaste”), while the other involved lighting a candle in standing water, covering the candle, watching it go out and the water rising. Both involved the rising of a liquid, but each represented a different type of change, showing that sometimes more information is needed than visual to ascertain the type of change happening. We revisited our mystery and by using some mass spectrometry charts to compare the unknown solution to we were able to determine that nail polish remover was the culprit for causing the towel to catch fire. We will write an essay on this to defend our position that it was indeed nail polish remover. Here are the slides that guided our class: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kgbTBhoQdhijqyPwqHfMnC0OgXMdEryxVj8P7HmhWHU/edit?usp=sharing

September 3 (Week 4)

Today in chemistry we began with a warm up on physical and chemical properties and changes. We reviewed how to calculate percent error and then demonstrated the law of conservation of mass using baking soda, vinegar, a graduated cylinder, a balloon and a scale. Then we moved on to demonstrating three methods for separating mixtures: chromatography (with ink and filter paper), distillation (by boiling sugar water), and filtration (using a colander to separate beads and sugar crystals). We took notes on mixtures and the separation of them, then did a simulation using paint samples of how scientists organized the periodic table. We finished taking notes and then created a graphic organizer on the classification of matter. The homework for this week is to study for the test next week which is over the sections that we have done in chapters 1-3. The slides that guided our class are here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SkQJ8tchaJoMZeybUsDq20pb0bS9799TIJYDDRFajHQ/edit?usp=sharing

September 10 (Week 5)

This week in chemistry we took our first test over chapters 1-3. We did a short exercise after this learning how to use observations of what we can see to infer what may have happened. This will come in handy as we enter our next unit as we see how scientists conducted tests to try to determine what exactly it is that everything is made of! These are the slides that guided our class: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SVj1LWe6xkHlbufnNFfFsKOO4w8ozhgBlRHPV2KlkSA/edit?usp=sharing

September 17 (Week 6)

This week in chemistry we began by taking notes on the discovery of the atom and its subatomic particles. We practiced identifying the atomic number, mass, and mass number using the periodic table. Then we did a simulation with Chex Mix where we calculated its overall atomic mass by finding the mass and percent abundance of each type of piece. We received tests and essays back and then spent a little time previewing our next chapter. Here are the slides that guided our class: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BqUAZGzZIDKU3aCi6vnkFZ7UU5k6-CCVs9EjjkrE_hA/edit?usp=sharing

September 24 (Week 7)

Yesterday in chemistry we went over our homework worksheet about the atomic structure. And then we dove right into notes on this past chapter about how scientists figured out the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and how we are to write those configurations. This week we practiced, practiced, and practiced until we got to a better understanding of writing electron configurations, noble gas configurations, and electron dot diagrams. The slides that guided our class are here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UwHLFzftsGdB79LZ5XjHX93w6CM8EDA2FE8cZnmJuqc/edit?usp=sharing

October 1 (Week 8)

Today in chemistry we went over our homework worksheet on electron configurations. We continued with some warm up questions on electron dot structures. We then took notes on the structure of the periodic table and the trends that it displays. We used our new vocabulary that applies to the periodic table to play games of 20 questions to guess one another’s elements. I also pulled small groups to observe a few transition metal elements to observe the qualities that make them metallic. Finally I introduced the instructions for an element project. We will have a test next week over chapters 4-6! Here are the slides that guided our class: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Z_sI_bKj8ruBRfz-2hTHFfwv32V8SuHjWOzXMfhjnVU/edit?usp=sharing