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We will use Pearson's "Mastering Chemistry" for Web-based Home-Works
... course ID is foltz54402 ... course name is MC121foltz21

BlackBoard "% so far" grade column includes all Unit 1 grades ... I'll try to update it weekly.

Course Overview

Chemistry is about the structure of matter - the physical material that we, and every real thing around us, are made from.
This structure is intrinsically sub-microscopic = the atoms and molecules are seldom actually visible in even the most powerful microscopes. Instead, most Chemistry has been deduced by finding patterns in how the various elements can combine with one another. So the primary tool for studying Chemistry (understanding it, using it, and advancing it) is the chemical reaction, during which the combinations change. This is our cumulative goal for the course - to understand (notate, categorize, describe in words) chemical reactions - eventually, in Unit 3.

Much Chemical Theory is implicit behind the notation which describes these chemical reactions. You will need to become familiar with the idea of atoms, and learn the properties and typical behaviors of several species of atoms. We will spend several weeks (Unit 2) making that theory explicit.

An important aspect of matter is the Energy that the material contains, when in various conditions. Thermal Energy is the total Energy in the random motions of the atoms, as they remain connected in their molecules. The average TE per atom manifests itself as Temperature. Chemical Potential Energy depends on how the atoms have arranged themselves into molecules; atoms typically react by forming new molecules that further lowers their (total) negative C.P.E. Above some Temperature, new motions become possible and the molecules detach from their neighbors; every solid requires some Thermal Energy to become liquid. At even higher Temperatures, the molecules completely separate from one another; every condensed material requires thermal energy to become vapor (gas). At extremely Temperatures, some outer electrons are routinely knocked from their atoms during collisions; every vapor requires thermal Energy to become a plasma. We will spend Unit 1 investigating these states of matter, with a focus on the behavior of electrons, atoms, and molecules.

Why should I want to know this?

Everybody who lives in "Chemical Valley" should know some Chemistry! For productive employment, and to understand environmental (spill & runoff) issues. Many in this class might be responsible for educating the next generation, who will live with chemicals even more than previous generations. To gain a deeper understanding of topics that have typically been treated in a very cursory manner [water cycle]. To obtain some insight into the many chemical processes used in cooking and cleaning. To form a foundation for biology, and the physiology and pharmacology that is exploding into the 21st Century. Do you really want your students to be left behind?

But there's no way I'll teach this stuff in 1st grade!

Even (especially!) 1st and 2nd graders need to experience technology activities & science explanatories. They will spend more time in a (fantasy) virtual realm, and see fewer consumer goods repaired, so (many) future students will get more and more of their Observations of Nature during school. They have to see what happens in Real Nature ... from their 1st and 2nd grade teachers, having them do activities that would have been extra-curricular 20 years ago.

Once children see phenomena, they naturally wonder (and usually ask) "Why?". Aristotle pointed out 4 possible perspectives to answer that question.
  0) Most importantly: "chance" is not a reason why; "coincidence" is not a cause; 'unpredictable" is merely admitting that you (the answerer) don't know.
  1) the "material", or the parts which constitute it - including structural and chemical predisposition [and definitions, for logic], which appears for stability (or not) and can be exploited by design for purpose (#3).
  . . . This is a Natural History or a Design Technology perspective; our PS.121 class intends to make you more comfortable in it.
  2) the "efficient" perspective - telling what immediately (directly) caused it is efficient science-teaching: the event (effect) anchors one end of a cause→effect link that the teacher supplies.
  . . . these cause→effect links are the essentials in scientific explanation; we want you to replace, in your own mind, misleading (or wrong) links with robust (widely applicable) ideas.
  3) the eventual goal or planned purpose is usually called the "final cause" - personifying a bit that a thing in Nature holds within itself a plan,
  . . . our word ex plan atory is talking about how this plan comes outward (from inside it) into the world where its effects become manifest.
        Explanation starts deep inside the invisible pieces and properties of Nature - the deeper you start, the more explanatory power you can weild (but it takes longer).
  4) to say "that's just how it is", as if by definition, is only "formally" an answer - totally unsatisfactory, and cannot be used in science (but it is the basis for mathematics).
        On Quizzes and tests, "Explain" will mean answer "why?" with perspective #1 or #2 (or #3). Expect your answers to start with material properties, or an atom's properties.