Expectations

The purpose of this chemistry course is to allow the students to discover and work with the relationships that are fundamental to chemical reactions through hands-on instruction. Chemistry is a rigorous course made more so at the Honors level. Students are expected to arrive in the classroom with high level of algebra comprehension. A keen sense of logic and reasoning will also be expected as the students will be asked to work in small groups to solve complex and multi-level problems. The lab experience will provide opportunities to master concepts, use problem-solving skills, and to apply those skills to real-world situations. Topics studied will include atomic theory, the periodic system, chemical bonding, writing and balancing chemical equations, stoichiometric calculations, predicting products in various reactions, aqueous reactions, equilibrium, thermodynamics, and gas laws.  Attendance is one of the most critical components for success.  If students must miss school, they need to be proactive about requesting missing assignments by email and seeking out tutoring or online help to catch up as quickly as possible.  

Grading in Honors and CP Chemistry have the same assignment types and category weights.  Grades are kept in power-teacher and students and parents can log into powerschool to view their grades live at any time.  Please Speak with your guidance counselor if you need login information for powerschool. 

Each Quarter grade is calculated using the following assignment types and category weights:

• 60% - Major Grades - these include:

  • Major Tests (Are weighted 2x as much as lab grades)

  • Major Lab Practicals

• 40% - Minor Grades - these include:

  • Quizes (30%)

  • Classwork/Homework (10%) - Note that HW will not be accepted late (unless due to absence) since the answer keys are posted in google classroom the next day.  Absent students must makeup HW grades within 1 week of the absence to receive credit.