2024-2025 School Year

Chemistry w/Lab Honors GVL

Course Description

This course meets South Carolina standards for a college prep high school chemistry course. The following topics will be covered: units of measurements, classifications of matter, chemical and physical change, atomic structure, electron configurations, the periodic table, chemical names and formulas, writing and balancing chemical equations, gram to mole conversions, stoichiometry, limiting reactions, kinetic theory and states of matter, thermochemistry, behaviors of gases, use of gas laws, periodic trends, ionic and covalent bonds, molecular geometry, solutions, reaction rates, equilibrium, acid/base chemistry, and oxidation-reduction reactions.

To be successful in this class:

Students will read the text and take notes from lectures during class. Students will be responsible for material in the reading even if it is not discussed in class. Homework assignments will come from book questions as well as supplemental worksheets and websites. Lab experiments will be performed to demonstrate concepts from class. Students will write lab reports for selected experiments, summarizing results and any calculations done, as well as developing conclusions from the experiment. Test questions will cover material from the reading, class notes, homework, and  lab experiments. Parents will be asked to proctor tests to ensure they are taken fairly.

Grades: 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade

Fees: $465 plus $20 lab fee

Prerequisites:

Biology, Algebra I. Completion of Algebra II is highly recommended. If Algebra II has not been completed it must be taken concurrently.*

*While it is possible to take Chemistry and Algebra II concurrently, it does require diligence on the part of the student. At times there are concepts in Chemistry that require math that has not yet been covered in Algebra II. Because co-op classes meet only twice a week, there is not always time for the Chemistry and Physics teachers to teach the math required for these classes. When this occurs, the student who has not yet completed Algebra II may require a math tutor.

Course Credit: 1 lab science (honors)

Required Materials

Textbook:  

Other materials:

  • Scientific calculator. This can be the TI-83 needed for algebra/pre-calculus, but non-graphing calculators, such as TI-30Xa, are sufficient. These cannot be shared. Each student will need one in class.
  • 3-ring notebook with dividers and pen/pencil

Honors Addendum Summary

In order to complete this course for HONORS SCIENCE credit, a student must cover more information than is done in the COLLEGE PREP version of the same course. The extra work will include covering supplemental material as needed to ensure meeting all of the SC Core Area Standards for chemistry, answering honors questions on each course test, and a semester project.

Honors work will include:

  • Research Paper (first semester)
  • Develop and execute an experiment and communicate results via a formal lab report.
  • Complete additional enrichment questions at the end of each chapter.

Specific assignments and details for honors work will be provided by the teacher.

Meet Kearsten Hanley

Education: B.S. Microbiology (Biomedicine) – Clemson University

Teaching experience: 1 year teaching Chemistry & Physical Science at Branchville High School; 6 years teaching Aseptic Behaviors & Microbiology for Bausch & Lomb

UHC Courses Taught: Chemistry
Began teaching at UHC in 2023