AP Chemistry
Text: Chemistry The Central Science


Course Expectations


As with any relationship between people, we each come to this course with certain expectations. Since my expectations bear directly on your grade in this course, it is only fair that I lay out what I expect from you in this class.

1) I expect you to be in class every day ON TIME. On regular class days, you should bring your textbook, notebook, and pen or pencil to take notes with. On lab days, bring your lab writeup, lab notebook, pen, and pencil.
2) I expect everyone in this class to treat everyone else with respect. Listen when someone else speaks and bear in mind how you would like to be treated when working with others.
3) I expect everyone to do the homework every night, and to turn it in the next class day. Homework should be neat and legible, preferably on a single sheet of paper and definitely on a sheet NOT torn out of a notebook.
4) I expect that you will take notes on the material presented and discussed in class in a spiral notebook. It is better if this notebook is for AP Chemistry alone, but if you must use a notebook for several subjects, make sure one section is used exclusively for AP Chemistry. In addition, you should have a three ring binder to collect and keep the handouts and notes given out in class.
5) I expect everyone to be willing to help everyone else with understanding the material if necessary, but that any work you turn in will really be your work.

Just as I have expectations of you as students, you have a right to expect certain things of me as your teacher. Among these are:
1) I will treat you with the same respect that I expect of you.
2) I will be present in class on time unless I have informed you of other arrangements.
3) I will do my best to correct homework, tests and quizzes promptly and return them as soon as they are corrected (usually the next day).
4) I will announce tests well in advance (usually a week or so before the event), and will tell you what I expect you to be able to do on the test. I will also announce in advance when we are having a lab.
5) I will give help outside of class when asked if possible. If you need help, see me.

Materials you will need for this class:

notebook for class notes
pen and pencil
Lab Notebook for recording observations and doing calcuations for lab.
This is a separate notebook with graph paper.


Expectations     Page 2

Class Meetings:

AP Chemistry will be meeting during fifth period or sixth period through the year. Our lab period may run for longer than the block period, so you should plan on perhaps running over into lunch that day. In addition, in order to meet the lab requirements for AP Chemistry, we will have four AP Lab Saturdays during the year, on October 25th, November 15th, February 28th, and April 4th. These dates are required, so please put them on your calendar NOW, and do not plan anything else for those days. Care has been taken to choose days that interfere with other school activities as little as possible. The AP Lab Saturdays will run from 9:00AM to 12:00PM (noon) on each of those days.The plan is to cover the material so that we can have three weeks to review just prior to the AP Exam. However, if needed, we may also schedule meetings outside of the regular school day so that we can finish the material on time.

Class Policies


Attendance:

All students are expected to be on time for class. When the bell rings for the start of class I expect everyone to be in their seats, ready to begin class. We will begin class with a moment of silence in the Quaker fashion, and it is very disruptive to have people coming into class during this time. Latenesses are considered an absence after twenty minutes, and will be marked as such. Any work missed for an unexcused lateness or absence CANNOT be made up and will be entered as a zero. Anyone who is persistently late to class will have the consequences detailed in the student handbook. These may include lowering of your grade if there is no good reason for the latenesses. Work done by the class during an excused absence or lateness must be made up promptly and it is the responsibility of the student both to find out what the missing work is and to either complete it and turn it in (for homework) or arrange a time to make it up (for tests, quizzes, and lab work). If you know in advance of a planned lateness or absence, the best course is to let me know before the fact so that I can tell you what work you will be missing and you can be caught up when you return. For further information about excused and unexcused absences, refer to the Upper School Community Handbook.

Dress:

On any given day there may be any sorts of materials and chemicals out in the classroom. Therefore, shoes must be worn in the classroom at all times, and on lab days they must have CLOSED TOES. Anyone not wearing shoes will not be permitted in class.

Laboratory experiments:

The Chemistry lab can be an extremely dangerous place if care and foresight are not exercised. Each student will sign a safety contract before going into the laboratory for the first time, and anyone who violates the safety contract may be removed from the laboratory. Persistent violation of the safety contract or actions which may endanger the health and/or safety of others will not be tolerated, and may result in permanent banning from the laboratory and a zero grade for any subsequent lab exercises. Every student is expected to wear safety goggles and a lab apron when in the laboratory, as I always do.

Homework:

The purpose of the homework is to help you think about and learn the material. As such, it will probably be the case that you will not immediately know the answer to every question that you have for homework. Think about the reading and lecture material, look through the book for helpful information (particularly the index), and most of all don't give up until you have tried several different ways to approach the problem. I will grade each homework assignment based on the number of questions you are expected to answer. Each assignment may therefore be worth a different number of points. Your homework grade will be determined by your percentage of the total number of possible points. Homework is due the class following the assignment, unless otherwise noted. For each homework assignment, three points are for turning the assignment in on time (i.e. the next class). Homework may be turned in after the next class, but only with the loss of the three point premium. In any event, late homework is not accepted after we have taken a test or a quiz on a particular unit.

 


Grading system

While not carved in stone, grades are determined according to the following:

1) Averages for each of the different areas of evaluation in the class are determined. These areas include (but are not necessarily limited to): Homework; quizzes; tests; lab work and reports; final exam; class participation and interest.

2) Once averages are determined, the grade is calculated as follows:

Homework 5%
Lab work 20%
Quizzes 25%
Tests 35%
Final 15%

These percentages may be adjusted depending on the relative amounts and importance of each of the areas.


3) I recalculate averages periodically, but anyone who is really interested in knowing their average is urged to keep track of things themselves. I will not generally know your average up to the minute.