YOUTH INITIATIVE HIGH SCHOOL
Waldorf Initiative in Viroqua, Wisconsin, USA
COURSES AND CLASSES
Salts, Acids and Bases ~ Grade 10 ~ Chemistry Main Lesson
Nov 13—Dec 01, 2006
Instructor: Howard Duckman
The course will integrate daily classroom instruction with several lab sessions. The sequence of topics is expected to be:
Week 1
Nov. 13 States of Matter – solid, liquid, gas; changes of state. Weight, volume and density; specific gravity.
Nov. 14 Soluble and insoluble substances; water as solvent. Salts.
Nov. 15 Crystal formations Demonstration- Experimental densities. Solubility/temperature relationships;.
Nov. 16 Physical effects of dissolved material on properties of a solvent including changes in density, viscosity, boiling point, and freezing point.
Nov 17 LAB - Experiments on solution properties.
Week 2
Nov. 20 Exponents, pH and logarithms. Salt double decomposition reactions; precipitation reactions and quiz.
Nov. 21 Naming of salts, metal and acid radicals. Salt formation by reaction of base and acid. Balancing chemical equations. The mole.
Nov. 22 Main lesson book or Field trip.
Week 3
Nov. 27 LAB – Experimental reactions of acids with bases and metals.
Nov. 28 Chemical quantity, equivalent weights. Stoichiometry.
Dec. 29 Oxidation and reduction.
Nov. 30 Acid-base equivalence, organic acids.
Dec. 1 Main lesson book work and quiz.
Lab work will be done in teams, and results pooled (where possible) to bring out the advantages of collaboration in science. Students will be assessed on their contributions to the lab work and their own reports of their team’s results and those of the whole class.
The Main Lesson Book will contain sections on each topic, and on the lab work done or observed by the student. Some time in class is scheduled for working on the main lesson book. However, if there is a cancellation of class for any reason work on the main lesson book will occur on that day and class schedules will be moved one day in the schedule.
There will be several quizzes, to determine the students’ mastery of vocabulary, naming conventions, properties of solutions and balancing of chemical equations. Some arithmetical exercises are scheduled for class and assigned for homework. There will is a final test covering all aspects of the block, which will account for 25% of the total grade. 40% of the final grade will be given for the Main Lesson Book, 20% for short tests, and the remaining 15% for homework, lab assignments and class participation.