Testing.....Testing....Periods 1, 3, 5 & 8...Testing

With the mid-quarter being on Monday the 19th and the December 26th to January 2nd Holiday Recess approaching...this is prime time for an assessment.

I always marvel at the fact that students are always concerned about whether it is a test or a quiz.  Regardless of the name...it still counts the same and has the same effect on the overall average.  So getting a 85%  on a test is the same as getting a 85% on a quiz.  Here's a thought...do well on whatever its called!

Periods 1 & 8:  Sections 4 & 5 of Chapter 2.  A review guide was handed out to each student in attendance. 

Periods 3 & 5:  Naming and writing ionic compounds.  There were two mock timed test worksheets the past two days to gear them up and get some good old training in.  They will have a total of 40 names and formulas to interpret in 50 minutes.

One final note.  Mid-Term exams are currently scheduled for January 24th - 27th, 2012.  Wow..2012 soon.

I hope that mid-quarter grades will be satisfactory for all.  All the introductory work is done and chemistry tends to get tougher during quarter 2 and continues to challenge throughout the year.

Chemistry 431 Period 3 & 5: What's Up!

Chemistry 431 has spent the last few weeks studying the periodic table.  Its design is and structure looks somewhat haphazard to the untrained eye, but it reflects the structure and nature of the atoms of the elements.

Currently the classes are studying the nomenclature of ionic compounds.  Essentially the classes are learning how to write the names and formulas for a class of compounds made up of metal and non-metal elements.

Is it tough?  Yes. With a little studying and practice though it is easy.  There will most likely be a test within the week.

Active Chemistry & Community: What's up!

Periods 1 & 8 have been working in chapter two which focuses on the periodic table.  I am sure that most people have seen one at some point. At first it could be intimidating, but after you learn a few things about it most people get the hang of it.

The periodic table is set up in a way that demonstrates "periodicity."  That is to say that the chemistry of the elements cycles and repeats in a left to right pattern.

The classes have progressed through the following. 

• Studying the creation of the periodic table through the years.
• Studying trends in the properties of the elements, in particular; metals and non-metals.
• Chemical laws that support the existence of a very important particle called the atom.
• Studying the inter-relationship between the particles that make up the atom.

That is all for now.  The classes have had one quiz, about half a dozen home-work assignments, and three note-book checks.  There will be a quiz next week and I will update more on that later.

Rollercoaster Month

This past month has been a roller-coaster blur and did not lend itself to a "normal" schedule.  I have not had the opportunity to post this month.  So what's the problem??

• Storm Alfred knocking out power for a week. I had to move my family in with my parents...there is a reason I moved out!
• Professional Development - no school for students. (No period 3 or 8 classes)
• Veterans Day - no school for all. No period (1, 3, or 5 classes)
• Thanksgiving Day break.

Some classes met with some frequency and others did not especially when you consider the weekends.   

Also...the school calendar has changed again.

I plan on updating for classes this week later.  Thanks.

Announcements & Information

• The administration has defined the end of Quarter 1 as Tuesday, November 15th.
• Grades are due by midnight Sunday, November 20th.
• Report cards will be printed and distributed around Thanksgiving break. Not sure if they will be there before or after Thanksgiving day.

Food for thought: If you have a computer and printer at home for your son/daughter to use for school work try to be proactive and be certain that there is an ample supply of paper and additional ink cartridges.

What's a few degrees???

Well...it's the difference between rain and snow...school and no school...power and no power.

I hope everyone is doing well.  Like Wethersfield, East Hartford is in the dark...house was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit so I moved the family to Danbury to my parents house. 

Hope things improve quickly.

The first quarter ends on Friday...I think.

Period 5: Announcement - Quiz

A quiz on the Bohr atom and the Quantum Mechanical atom is scheduled for Period 5 tomorrow the 27th. 

This will be a summative quiz on the two modern models of the atom.  Topics addressed are foundational differences in these two models from the previous models of the atom studied.  It also focuses on the way in which electrons are patterned in an atom in terms of energy and position.  The quiz will focus on the work done in class and also chapters 2 and 7 of the textbook.

Another aspect of this quiz is that the students were given a non-graded "pre-test" on a few of these topics.  In an effort to assess my instruction for this unit, I have put these same questions on this quiz.  My hope is to evaluate the instruction and learning through this.  This was a recommended goal from the administration for this year as part of our evaluation process.

Active Chemistry & Community: Periods 1 and 8

Active Chemistry & Communitywill be finishing Chapter 1 of the text book by the end of next week.  There is a major graded assignments that will be due at that time. 

The Chapter Challenge Project:  Since the beginning of the chapter the student were asked to write a short script for a scene in a movie/show.  In that scene there should be a special effect of some sort.  The students get to choose the special effect and be the creative geniuses they are.  Two weeks ago a rough draft was handed in.  Last week a rubric of the areas of grading was handed out and should be a guide for crafting their final project. This week a period will be dedicated for time in the media center for the students to pool their work together and finalize thoughts.  The project will be due on the last day the class meets next week.

Period 3: Quiz!

A quiz on the Bohr atom and the Quantum Mechanical atom is scheduled for Period 3 tomorrow the 25th.  This will be a summative quiz on the two modern models of the atom.  Topics addressed are foundational differences in these two models from the previous models of the atom studied.  It also focuses on the way in which electrons are patterned in an atom in terms of energy and position.  The quiz will focus on the work done in class and also chapters 2 and 7 of the textbook.

Another aspect of this quiz is that the students were given a non-graded "pre-test" on a few of these topics.  In an effort to assess my instruction for this unit, I have put these same questions on this quiz.  My hope is to evaluate the instruction and learning through this.  This was a recommended goal from the administration for this year as part of our evaluation process.

  

Happy Mole Day!

Today is a day of celebration for chemistry folks called mole day.  The mole is a very specific number in chemistry and it is how chemists count and bundle atoms and molecules.

How many in a mole?  There are 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 particles.  Normally we try to write it like this 6.02 X 10²³.

For perspective:

• There is a one mole of water molecules in about 2 tablespoons.

• One mole of copy paper would stretch from the earth to the sun over a million times.

• One mole of pennies would fill in the all the space between the earth and the moon's orbit in stacks of 400 pennies.

• One mole of pennies would be enough to give everyone on the face of the earth about 1 trillion dollars.

Sometimes we forget how small atoms and molecules are.  Hopefully this puts atomic size into perspective

Happy Mole Day!

Chemistry 431: Period 3 and 5

Chemistry 431 has been working on Atomic Theory the past few weeks.  The concept of a fundamental particle called an atom has evolved over time.  The classes have been studying the key discoveries in the evolution of the atom.  There are two stages of evolution.  The first stage looks at the atom as a particle and the fundamental parts of electrons, protons, and neutrons and their inter-relationship.

The second stage of evolution focuses on describing the energy and position of electrons around the nucleus.  This stage draws a big distinction between the world of the atom and world we live in. They couldn't be more different and this is what is most challenging when studying the modern atom and the quantum mechanics that are used to describe it.  It is this current quantum mechanical model of the atom that best describes the chemistry of the elements. 

Active Chemistry: Periods 1 and 8.

To sum up the past couple of weeks.  The classes have been focused on Section 4 which is about a few basic physical properties of matter.  Properties such as strength, elasticity, malleability, and bounce were studied during the creation and testing of a Play-Doh like substance during lab. This introduced the concepts of composites when an additional material was added to see how the properties of the "Doh" changed.

Section 5 is focused on the property of density, another physical property.  Density is the ratio of a substances mass to its volume.  The lab work challenged the students to make mass and volume measurements of liquids and irregular solids.  This introduced the students to the techniques of massing by difference and water displacement. Lastly we will be practicing our problem solving skills using density.

The goal for the week would be to wrap up these concepts for a quiz at the end of the week.  

Been A While: Sorry!

Sorry to all for the lack of K in the Chemistry!  The past couple of weeks have been busy with progress reports and grades.  Also I have been fulfilling requests for letters of recommendation for the class of 2012.  This year I had quite a large number of requests and they all asked for them to get done at the same time as grades.  Talk about stars aligning!


I hope to get settled back into the swing of things, thanks for your patience!

Assessment Period 5 - Chemistry 431

Students in period five will be having an assessment this Friday, September 23rd. Topics will include, but not limited to...

Classification of matter, comparing and contrasting chemical and physical properties, comparing and contrasting elements, compounds, solutions, and heterogeneous mixtures, basic compounds and elements, working with data, converting between basic units of metric measurement, using significant figures in calculations, and solving word problems involving density.

Assessment - Periods 1 and 8 on THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22ND!!

Active Chemistry & Community classes period 1 and period 8.  The quiz will be on the first section of chapter one.  Skills and content to know will be...

Know the differences between an element and a compound.
Interpreting chemical formulas in terms of elements and the number of each.
Knowing the two types of pure substances in chemistry.
Knowing the two types of mixtures in chemistry.
Comparing and contrasting the chemistry of hydrogen and oxygen.
Defining the key terms in section one.

Most of the quiz questions are modeled after questions assigned in the textbook for homework or classwork.

Assessment Period 3 - Chemistry 431

Students in period three will be having an assessment this Wednesday, September 21st. Topics will include, but not limited to...

Classification of matter, comparing and contrasting chemical and physical properties, comparing and contrasting elements, compounds, solutions, and heterogeneous mixtures, basic compounds and elements, working with data, converting between basic units of metric measurement, using significant figures in calculations, and solving word problems involving density.

First Full Week! General Update

Just a little update with regards to classes so far.

Periods 1 & 8:  Active Chemistry & Community.  The classes are beginning to start work in their "logbooks."  The "logbooks" are notebooks in which all their chemistry work is put in on a daily basis, like a chemist would do in research.  The main laboratory experience for the week will be using electrolysis to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water.  Also, we will be experiencing the chemical properties of each.


Periods 1 & 3:  Chemistry 431. The classes have been working through introductory material regarding the classification of matter, comparing and contrasting chemical and physical properties, and how to work with numerical measurements in calculations. The lab of the week will be to determine the density of carbon dioxide gas from Alka-Seltzer. By the end of this week we should be at a point where a little test would be in order.  Details will follow.

Thank You Parents

I just wanted to say thank you to all the parents that took the time to come to open house at W.H.S. this past Thursday.  I hope that we will be able to have a successful year working together for the success of your child. Tomorrow will start the first full five day week of school and should provide an opportunity for each class to get into the "swing of things!"   If you signed up for "blog posts" please be patient with it and any constructive criticism will be appreciated...this "blog" is a work in progress.  Well, as Porky Pig says...That's all folks!  Thanks again!

First Few Days

The first few days of school have been about reviewing and reinforcing the routines and practices of the school such as the bell schedule and lunch waves, and my expectations in the classroom.

This week each class will experience their first double lab period which are back to back periods of chemistry.  This gives me an opportunity to reinforce safety measures and procedures in the lab and for the students an opportunity to gain experience working in the chemistry lab and to...wear goggles!!  They may leave the dreaded "goggle outline"... but they are a critical piece of safety equipment and goggles are a must!

By now each class has reviewed classroom policies, reviewed safety procedures, signed a safety contract.  Introductory work has included analyzing a graph with a Median-Fit graphing technique, analyzing marker inks with paper chromatography, observing properties of a few common chemicals, reacting aluminum with a solution of copper(II) chloride, setting up a chemistry log book, and of course...notes!

Open House is September 8th!

Parents, please come to the Wetherfield High School Open House on September 8, 2011. There will be 10-minute blocks for parents to visit their student's classes and meet the teachers.

Open House starts at 7 p.m and ends at 9 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

Ch..ch..changes!

Thursday (tomorrow) is the first day of school.  However we will be running a Wednesday bell schedule.  So keep those schedules handy kids!  So on Friday we will be running a Friday bell schedule just to kind of take it easy on you guys..

What my "Wednesday" will look like.
   Period 1 in room 412:  Active Chem. Comm.
   Period 3 & 4 in room 412:  Chemistry 431
   Period 5 in room 419:  Chemistry 431
   Period 7:  Lunch and Preparation period
   Period 8 in room 419:   Active Chem. Comm.

Hopefully student schedules are set and that they are satisfied with them.  I am sure there will be changes in the rosters of my classes in the coming weeks as we settle into school.  See you there budding chemists!

Start of school 2011 - 2012

A hurricane cancellation to start off the year!  Last day of school will be June 19th 2012...but who's counting.   Not sure what kind of omen that will be for this year.  Thanks Irene.

Been in school to get ready.  Tough when there are meetings and catching up with old friends and making new ones.  But I will be there at the opening bell.

Lots of new and exciting things to ponder.  A new course: Active Chemistry a.k.a Chemistry in the Community.  A new room to work in: 412, and new "roommates."  Last but not least: a blog approach to my classes.

Should be interesting and exciting to see how this approach will evolve over the year. My plan is to have this become an informal resource for my classes to keep interested parties up to date with topics and help with the pacing of the courses I instruct.

Students on Thursday running a Wednesday schedule...hmmm, perfect.  This is my 17th year and it feels like year one filled with wonder and excitement.  Can't wait...let's go!