About the teacher

My “prior life” before teaching was in the U.S. Navy, where I was a Medical Service Corps officer, a microbiologist.  I served with some truly great people, both in the Navy and USMC.  Some of my tours involved working as the Head of Microbiology at the National Naval Medical Center (now Walter Reed Hospital),  serving at the Naval Research Lab, and also doing disease outbreak and water quality work in the Middle East and Africa.  This included spending a couple of years working on diseases such as cholera, malaria, and H1N1 Swine Flu, which were some great examples of science doing positive things in the real world.   I earned a Ph.D. in Marine Sciences from the University of South Alabama.   Sadly, I did not get to play with dolphins.   My research area covered biogeochemistry, toxicology, and microbiology.  This was not nearly as cute as dolphins, but fortunately turned out to be more impressive when applying for a job with the Navy.   :)

Because of these experiences, I always try to get across in class how science works in the real world, both in research and in applied areas like medicine.

Before college and the Navy, I grew up in a tiny community in Mississippi that was even smaller than Washington Parish- There was one stop light in the entire county, and the nearest McDonald's or movie theater was an hour's drive away.  With a few exceptions like that, Washington Parish reminds me very much of where I grew up.  People here are nice, and fortunately, there are a few more restaurants and things around.  :)      My wife grew up in the area and also teaches biology here at FHS. 

I am very passionate about science, and hope to transfer some of that in teaching.  

Grading Scale:                 

93 – 100 A                        

85 – 92 B                           

75 – 84 C 

67 – 74 D

0 – 66 F  

Important things to know about the class:  

I know chemistry isn’t the only class people are taking, so you obviously have other responsibilities other than this class.  

So homework is usually assigned Monday morning (unless a test is coming up)…

…and is not due until Wednesday at 5PM. 

This class is not mostly vocab, but the homework is, in order to help you out if you happen to need it and give you some points that anyone can do with just a little effort.  Except in the most extreme cases, every student should be able to find 5-10 minutes during that time to help themselves out with those easy points.

To help out with some of the more complex topics, I recently started a YouTube channel.  I will have the same videos available on Google Classroom, but I'm also putting them on YouTube so anyone can get to them.  I'm also doing it with the idea that those students who end up taking college chemistry can use them as a refresher for some of the topics that will overlap (And most of the topics I have posted on YouTube you will definitely see again if you take college chemistry). 

Dr. Bruton's YouTube Channel   

Unit # / Topics

1 Introduction to Chemistry and Scientific Measurement

2 Atomic Structure, Electrons in Atoms, and Nuclear Chemistry

3 Chemical Bonding

4      Survey of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry

5      Chemical Names and Formulas; The Concept of the Mole

6      Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry

7 Intro to States of Matter; The Behavior of Gases

 Mid-Term Exam Review; Mid-Term Exam

8 Water and Solutions

9    Thermochemistry, Reaction  Rates, and Equilibrium

10 Acids, Bases, and Salts

11  Oxidation-Reduction Reactions and Electrochemistry

Final Exam Review; Final Exam

Materials List:

A notebook

Something to write with.

That's it !      

For the work that requires them, calculators will be provided in the room.  However, you are responsible for taking care of them.