High School Chemistry: Session 2
This is the second session in a series of two that will cover a full year of high school chemistry, and this class is only offered in January each year.
Students MUST have taken our Session 1 class to be eligible to enroll in this session.
NO EXCEPTIONS
CLASS DESCRIPTION
This course will be an in depth study of the foundations of Chemistry at a high school level. Younger students (12-14) need to be academically advanced. My goal is to create a course that is accessible, engaging, and enjoyable for all students. I am NOT going to get crazy with the chemistry math and make a course that requires students to have taken Algeocalcutrig before they take it! That said, there will be quite a bit of math. Students who have completed Algebra I will be able to handle the math in this class. At that stage, they will understand how variables, scientific notation, exponents, percentages, decimals, and units work, and that’s all they really need to know. When there is math involved, I will be detailing out the steps so it is easily understood. Just know that I am not going to include convoluted word problems as part of this course. There will be word problems, but they will be straightforward and easy to understand. Again, my goal is for students to grasp the foundations of chemistry (including the math) without getting bogged down in the tedium of it.
CLASS FORMAT
No live classes—view lessons on YOUR schedule. In general, expect 1.5-2.5 hours to work through the lesson plan each week, and an additional 2-5 hours working on assignments (it really depends what assignment your child chooses to do and how they manage their time). For classes with two levels, the material is the same for both—the depth of the assignments differs. Younger students should usually be placed in Level 1. Older students, or younger students who want more of a challenge, should be placed in Level 2.
Each lesson consists of a fully narrated PowerPoint presentation with images and videos to enhance the topics. Students will have access to our learning management system, Canvas, for viewing their lesson, printing worksheets, taking quizzes, viewing/submitting assignments, participating in discussions, and viewing grades/feedback. Read more details about class format.
Week 13 States of Matter:
We’ll be going in depth on the states of matter, what define them, their properties, and how phase changes occur.
Week 14 Gas Laws:
We will cover Boyle’s Law, Charles’ Law, Gay-Lussac’s Law, Combination Law, Avogadro’s Law, Variations on the Ideal Gas Law, and Gas Stoichiometry.
Week 15 Solutions:
We’ll learn the types and characteristics of solutions, factors that affect solubility, and how solutes define colligative properties.
Week 16 Reaction Energy:
We’ll cover exothermic and endothermic reactions and how they relate to enthalpy and entropy- including the calculations necessary to determine heat energy during chemical reactions.
Week 17 Reaction Rates:
We’ll learn about the factors that affect reaction rates and the rate laws that govern them.
Week 18 Chemical Equilibrium:
We’ll learn what chemical equilibrium is, how it is achieved, how it can be shifted, and how to calculate various equilibria states and ionic concentrations.
Week 19 Acids and Bases:
We’ll discuss what acids and bases are from both physical characteristics and chemical makeup. We’ll learn the difference between Arrhenius and Bronsted-Lowry acids and bases, ionization steps for mono and polyprotic acids, the pH scale, and neutralization reactions.
Week 20 Redox Reactions:
We’ll explore oxidation reactions, including the rules for assigning oxidation numbers and how to balance them based on the oxidation number method and the half reaction method. Plus labs to see oxidation and reduction up close and personal!
Week 21 Electrochemistry:
Week 22 Hydrocarbons:
Week 23 Substituted Hydrocarbons:
Week 24 Chemistry meets Biology:
Week 25 Nuclear Chemistry:
Week 26 Environmental Chemistry:
However, I feel like chemistry is an extremely hands on science, and doing the experiments rather than just watching them adds an entirely new layer and deeper understanding to the material. I try to use household items for labs whenever I can, but that’s not always possible. And I do realize that some of these chemicals and equipment can get a little pricey. You don’t have to do every lab or not do every lab! You can absolutely do some of them and skip others (ones that are more hazardous or require expensive equipment). Remember—any lab you don’t do yourself, I’ll be doing on video so you won’t miss anything. I film every lab for the students so they can see the procedure and the result if they are unable to do the lab at home.
The spreadsheet is sortable by the Week Number, the Lab Number (so you know exactly what is needed for each lab within a single week), and the material (sort by this to see how often we use a certain item). You can even create a column to check off what you’ve ordered to keep track. Many things you can buy at your local store. Things that may need to be ordered I have listed one or two sources for: Amazon and Homesciencetools. There are multiple sources for most items—these are just the ones I recommend.
If you order from Homesciencetools, use THIS LINK to create your account and you’ll get $10 off!
Next Level Homeschool is a firm believer that not all learning should happen from behind a screen! That's why we give students the freedom to submit their assignments in the way THEY want to! We don't want regurgitation learning here. By allowing students to use their own talents, skills, and passions to complete assignments, they become even more engaged and retain the information. Why? Because now it's literally in their hands! We receive thousands of projects every year from our students: written reports, videos, models, posters, Scratch, Minecraft, Roblox, songs, poems, skits, drawings, sculptures, crafts—we've seen it ALL! And WE LOVE IT!!
Click here to view just a few projects we've received from students who have taken this class and see what YOUR kid could be learning with Next Level Homeschool!
Course Features
- Schedule Jan 2 - Apr 23
- Activities Science
- Lessons 14
- Suggested Ages 13-17 Two Levels
