The goal of the class is to motivate students interests in science, reinforce science concepts, and develop science lab skills. Classes will provide guided inquiry based lab activities that compliment and support the science curriculum.
Chemistry- College Prep and Honors
Course Catalog Description Chemistry Honors QCFH 10 d 10 credits/year Prerequisite: Successful completion of Algebra 1 with at least a grade of C or higher and Biology with a grade of C or higher. This course is a study of inorganic and organic matter, with emphasis on quantitative skills, analysis, individual study, problemsolving and lab activities. This course emphasizes the application of algebra to solve problems. A strong math background is required.
Grading Your performance in this class will be assessed in a variety of ways. Classwork and homework 15%, Projects and labs 20%, Tests and quizzes 65%. We will be using the School loop's default grading scale: A+ : 97.00%, A : 93.00%, A- : 90.00%, B+ : 87.00%, B : 83.00%, B- : 80.00%, C+ : 77.00%, C : 73.00%, C- : 70.00%, D+ : 67.00%, D : 63.00%, D- : 60.00%, below 60.00% F. You will need to discuss all possible clerical recording errors within two weeks when the entry is published on School Loop. Classwork/Homework Bell work start with daily science news. You will choose your own interest area, to report a piece of science news from various current science links. Please refer to Bell work links for more information. I know this is a simple way to keep your science and technology information current. Daily Classwork is assigned Monday through Thursday, and possibly Friday for Honors Chem. It will consist of problems that reinforce the concepts learned that day or a project/lab that can help you see the connections between the subject and real life applications and developing learning skills such as resourcefulness, organization skills and detail oriented. You can find the complete homework calendar at the left margin tab. Green for Biology, gold is for CP chemistry and blue is for Honors Chem. Please go to each of the class link to download your class materials. Extra Credit is generally available but is offered under limited conditions. The Mission San Jose High School Homework Policy will be observed. We will follow the homework policy to limit homework to 20 minutes per night for an average student to achieve a grade C for regualr college prep courses. The accelerated honors courses will require extra study time. 2012-2013 MASH (Math and Science Help) tutoring is available during lunch from 12:21 till 12:51 at Mon-A3 math, Tue-C11 science, Wed-A3 math, Thurs-C11 science and also after school from 2:59 till 3:51 at Mon-B10 math, Tue-P10 science, Wed-B8 math, Thurs-M1 science. Tests and Quizzes Tests may be given after completion of every two chapters and it would be cumulative with prior learned concepts and are generally worth 60 ~100 points. All test materials are to be kept in the classroom. First semester final and a year-end final will be given which usually worth approximately 12% of your total grade. Tests may consist of multiple choices, short answer problems, calculations, or short essays. Pre-Lab quiz might be given to check preparation and understanding. Make-up exam will only be given if you have an excused absence on the day of the test, and you will make up the test when you return to school according to Ed Code 48205. You will be allowed the same number of days as absences to complete test. If you fail to make up the exam in the allotted time, you will receive zero points for that exam. Test can be made up for excused absence without class curve. Quizzes will not be made up. Labs and Projects We will be doing a wide variety of labs in this class. Some are major, multi-day labs and require an extensive write-up. Other labs are shorter and require a simpler write-up. It is important that you keep the lab reports readable and comprehensive in your 3-ring binder. Project will be listed on the special project tab to the left. Please consult with teacher if you have any questions. ExploraVision Project and may be other larger project is time sensitive and it is only available for the first sememster project choices. Semester project will be approximately 25% of your overall lab and project grade. Please pay special attention to the lab report format. It will be available to you on-line for the whole year. Late Work All work must be shown at the beginning of class. Work turned in late, but within three days will receive half credit. Please refer to the calendar for homework updates!! It is your responsibility to return late excused work for full credit within the same duration as your absence days. If you have an excused absence, then you will be allowed the same number of days as you were absent to submit your work.
Letter of Recommendation Please allow three weeks before the due date to request the letter of recommendation. I will need recommendation letter form from your university or organization with self addressed stamped envelope; your senior profile by Oct 15 or summer program student profile by Feb 15; a copy of your unofficial transcript; academic excellence certificate for student from previous year; a paragraph describes an event how you participated in my class positively. Donation The science department appreciates your on-line donation for lab consumables. Additional cash and check donation can be dropped off in the lab throughout the year. Please let me know if you can help out with any technology support, and any other material donations.
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