VODCast for Solutions to Complex Gas Law Problems

A VODCast has be posted on the Events Calendar on the date Sunday, December 12th, 2010 that has the solutions for the four complex / advanced gas law problems that were given to you early last week. These type of problems are fair game for the test on Tuesday, December 14th, 2010.

Key for Chapters 10 and 11 Test Review Available

On the Events Calendar under the date Saturday, December 11th, 2010, I have posted a pdf file of a key for the Chapters 10 and 11 review that you were given in class. It is a VERY in-depth key that explains in detail the reason for every answer. Since it was based completely on old AP Chemistry test questions, I have also given hints on how the questions are written and the best methods for answering the questions correctly and quickly. Later on today, I will post a VODCast of the solutions for the four higher level gas law problems that you were given in class early last week.

Thermo Questions for Chapter 11

Below are the three questions that you need to answer for tomorrow, Friday, December 10th, 2010. There is also the Power Point file on the Events Calendar. This will be graded at the beginning of class on the due date.

Corrections and Extensions

First, it was brought to my attention that I had a couple of wrong answers on the Organic Chemistry Practice Test. I named the number of carbons wrong in numbers 16 and 17. I counted seven, but used the base name Hex- instead of Hept- like I should have. I have made corrections and have posted the corrected version of the key on the Events Calendar.

Also, I am going to extend the due date of the Organic Chemistry independent study until next Monday, December 6th. I really want as many people to complete the independent study as possible. It is a minor part of the AP Chemistry exam, but any little bit will help to get a passing score for you. I will also extend the Jmol extra credit until next Monday.

I have posted the Chapter 10 homework on WebAssign. Please keep up on the assignments. Make it a goal to do five problems a night starting tomorrow night. This will make the homework not such a burden to you right before the exam. Also, you will be practicing while I am lecturing on the material. Please make sure to view the VODCasts posted on the dates Nov. 29th and 30th, and Dec. 1st and 2nd. Like I said in class today, I will lecture the material, but it will be at lightning speed. I want to use the class time for demonstrations and concept discussions. The VODCasts give examples of most of the problems that you will see on WebAssign. Anything not covered by the VODCasts, I will lecture on in class.

The final test/exam of the semester will be the Tuesday before final exams start. The test will cover all of Chapter 10 and most / if not all of Chapter 11. We should be done with Chapter 10 by this upcoming Friday. We will spend next week on Chapter 11. What material from Chapter 11 that can be covered from Monday to Friday of next week will be on the exam. You will have access to a review for the test beginning late next week and a key will be supplied. Monday, December 13th will be used as a review for the test on Tuesday.

On finals day, we will go over the final test of the semester. We will complete a lab on that day. The lab will deal with the concept of chromotography. I will ask that you complete the lab write-up that night (Thursday, December 16th) and turn the lab in to me the next day before you leave on winter break.

EXTRA CREDIT! EXTRA CREDIT!

As promised, a true extra credit opportunity. This will be worth 15 points towards your homework grade. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, will be to download a virtual molecule building program from the internet and use the program to build a virtual molecule. If you try to build the molecule that I designate for you and email the file to me, you will get 10 of the possible 15 points. To get the remaining 5 of the 15 points, the molecule must be built correctly. If you Google the molecule that I designate for you, you should be able to find an image and just replicate that image. My goal for this project is not for you to build the molecule correctly (though I would like that to happen), but rather that you familiarize yourself with the software.

The software is called Jmol, and it is freeware. Use the link to go to the site and follow the directions on how to download the software. You may need a decompression program to extract the files from a folder. I have made a short PODCast how to download the program and use it. It is labeled Jmol Demo and can be found on the date November 25th on the Events Calendar. Please email the completed file to me at cbrueckner@lps.k12.co.us.

Below are the designations for what organic compound you are to build.

• If your last name starts with "A" through "G" - build the compound cis-difluoroethene.
• If your last name starts with "H" through "L" - build the compound 2-Butene.
• If your last name starts with "M" through "P" - build the compound Propyne.
• If your last name starts with "S" - build the compound Butanol. **If your last name starts with "Si" and you have a XY chromosome, you must build Isobutanol. But if your last name starts with "Si" and have a XX chromosome, you will still build Butanol. If the "Si's" of the class do not understand what I mean, you better look up chromosomes.
• If your last name starts with "T" through "Z" - build the compound trans-difluoroethene.

To all in the class. If anyone can build Methylbenzene and send me the file, it will be worth another 5 points extra credit towards your homework grade. Good luck and look back at the blog this weekend for some other information that I will be putting out about the chapters in the book that will be covered after the Thanksgiving break.

Organic Chemistry Test Posted

I finished the Organic Chemistry Test and it has been posted on the Events Calendar under the date Wednesday, November 24th. The test will be worth a total of 29 points that will go towards your ASSESSMENT (60% OF YOUR GRADE) category. This is a great opportunity for everyone to have a really good test score to help your overall grade.

When answering the written questions: (1) make sure to define any terms that you may use; (2) when comparing molecules, make sure to highlight similarities and differences between the molecules; and (3) reference any figures that you may draw to represent the compound(s) in question.

The test is a little different than the practice test. In the test, I have taken some liberties to incorporate concepts from past units into organic chemistry. One is polarity of molecules. A polar molecule is asymmetrical in relation to dipoles within the molecule. A non-polar molecule is symmetrical in relation to dipoles within the molecule. I have also incorporated chemical reactions, like the AP Chemistry test will do. Remember, most organic compounds are hydrocarbons. You need to know what is produced when a hydrocarbon combusts.

Good luck and email me if you have any questions.

p.s. Look tomorrow at the blog for a true extra credit opportunity.

Solutions Movie Available and a Change

I just wanted to let everyone know that the solutions are available on the Events Calendar under the date November 23rd. Sorry that I did not get it on the calendar yesterday, but the movie took a lot longer to make than I expected. I hope to have the actual test for the organics independent study posted later today. If not, it will be very early on Thursday morning, November 25th. You can watch the Macy's parade and some football while you do your test. :) Please email me if you have any questions.

There are two changes to the practice test that I made. If you downloaded the practice test prior to 2:00 pm yesterday, you will have to make changes to two problems, #30 and #31.

• #30 was changed from 5-Bromo-1-Pentene to 5-Bromo-1-Pentyne
• #31 was changed from cis-3-Hexyne to cis-3-Hexene

If you downloaded the file yesterday late in the afternoon or last night, the correction was already made on the practice test. The file on the calendar now has the change in it.