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AP® Chemistry Physical Lab

Syllabus

Course Essential Questions:

How do the common units we use to measure the macroscopic world around us compare to the units we use to measure atoms and molecules?
How does the atomic and molecular structure of different types of substances impact their physical and chemical properties?
What is meant by transformation of matter, and what impacts how these transformations occur?
How can energy be transferred during a physical or chemical change, and how does it drive or prevent the change from occurring?

Course Objectives:

Use representations and models to communicate phenomena and solve problems.
Use mathematics appropriately to calculate unknown values and support principles.
Engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of the AP Chemistry curriculum.
Plan and implement data collection strategies in relation to a particular scientific question.
Perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.
Articulate scientific principles, laws or concepts and justify claims with evidence.
Connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts and representations in and across domains of chemistry.

Week 1: Introduction to AP Chemistry

Understand the rules and policies of the course, and expectations of you as a contributing member of our learning community.
Begin to build community by sharing important information with your teacher and classmates about yourself and your school, and create a social contract together for guidelines on interacting throughout the class.
Develop skills for navigating the course environment and using the various course tools.
Conduct the first experiment and share data with the class.

Unit 1: Atomic Structure and Properties (weeks 2-4)

Week 2: Matter, Measurement & Problem Solving

Explain the quantitative relationship between the elemental composition by mass and the empirical formula of a pure substance.
Explain the quantitative relationship between the elemental composition by mass and the composition of substances in a mixture.

Week 3: Atoms and Elements

Calculate quantities of a substance or its relative number of particles using dimensional analysis and the mole concept.
Explain the quantitative relationship between the mass spectrum of an element and the masses of the element's isotopes.

Week 4: The Quantum Mechanical Model of the atom

Represent the electron configuration of an element or ions of an element using the Aufbau principle.
Explain the properties of an absorbed or emitted photon in relationship to an electronic transition in an atom or a molecule.

Unit 2: Molecular and Ionic Compound Structure and Properties (Weeks 5-7)

Week 5: Chemical Bonding I: The Lewis Model

Explain the relationship between the type of bonding and the properties of the elements participating in the bond.
Represent the relationship between potential energy and the distance between atoms, based on factors that influence the interaction strength.
Represent an ionic solid with a particulate model that is consistent with Coulomb's Law and the properties of the constituent ions.
Represent a molecule with a Lewis diagram that accounts for resonance between equivalent structures or that uses formal charge to select between nonequivalent structures.

Week 6: Review and Reflection: Unit 1

Week 7: Chemical Bonding II

Explain the relationship between the type of bonding and the properties of the elements participating in the bond.
Represent the relationship between potential energy and the distance between atoms, based on factors that influence the interaction strength.
Represent a molecule with a Lewis diagram.
Based on the relationship between Lewis diagrams, VSEPR theory, bond orders, and bond polarities, explain structural properties of molecules and electron properties of molecules.

Unit 3: Intermolecular Forces and Properties (weeks 8 - 10)

Week 8: Liquids, Solids and Intermolecular Forces

Explain the relationship between the chemical structures of molecules and the relative strength of their intermolecular forces when the molecules are of the same chemical species, and when the molecules are of two different chemical species.
Explain the relationship among the macroscopic properties of a substance, the particulate-level structure of the substance, and the interactions between these particles.
Represent the differences between solid, liquid, and gas phase using a particulate-level model.
Discuss that substances with similar intermolecular interactions tend to be miscible or soluble in one another.

Week 9: Gasses

Explain the relationship between the macroscopic properties of a sample of a gas or mixture of gasses using the ideal gas law.
Explain the relationship between the motion of particles and the macroscopic properties of gasses with the kinetic molecular theory, a particulate model and a graphical representation.
Explain the relationship among non-ideal behaviors of gasses, interparticle forces, and/or volumes.

Week 10: Solutions

Calculate the number of solute particles, volume, or molarity of solutions.
Using particulate models for mixtures, represent interactions between components, and concentrations of components.
Explain the relationship between the solubility of ionic and molecular compounds in aqueous and nonaqueous solvents, and the intermolecular interactions between particles.
Discuss that substances with similar intermolecular interactions tend to be miscible or soluble in one another.
Explain the amount of light absorbed by a solution of molecules or ions in relationship to the concentration, path length, and molar absorptivity.

Unit 4: Chemical Reactions (Weeks 11-14)

Week 11: Chemical Reactions and Chemical Quantities

Represent changes in matter with a balanced chemical reaction or net ionic equation for physical changes, for given information about the identity of the reactants and/or products and for ions in a given chemical reaction.
Represent a given chemical reaction or physical process with a consistent particular model.
Explain changes in the amounts of reactants and products based on the balanced reaction equation for a chemical process.

Week 12: Review and Reflection: Units 2 and 3

Week 13: Solutions and Reactions

Represent changes in matter with a balanced chemical reaction or net ionic equation for physical changes, for given information about the identity of the reactants and/or products and for ions in a given chemical reaction.
Represent a given chemical reaction or physical process with a consistent particular model.
Explain changes in the amounts of reactants and products based on the balanced reaction equation for a chemical process.
Identify a reaction as acid-base, oxidation-reduction, or precipitation.
Identify species as Bronsted-Lowry acids, bases, and/or conjugate acid-base pairs, based on proton-transfer involving those species.
Represent a balanced redox reaction equation using half-reactions.

Week 14: Introduction to Acids, Bases and Titrations

Identify the equivalence point in a titration based on the amounts of titrant and analyte, assuming the titration reaction goes to completion.
Identify a reaction as acid-base, oxidation-reduction, or precipitation.
Identify species as Bronsted-Lowry acids, bases, and/or conjugate acid-base pairs, based on proton-transfer involving those species.

Unit 5: Kinetics (Weeks 15-16)

Week 15: Rates and Rate Law

Explain the relationship between the rate of the chemical reaction and experimental parameters.
Represent experimental data with a consistent rate law expression.
Identify the rate law expression of a chemical reaction using data that show how the concentrations of reaction species change over time.
Represent an elementary reaction as a rate law expression using stoichiometry.

Week 16: Integrated Rate Law, REaction Mechanisms & Catalysts

Explain the relationship between the rate of the chemical reaction and experimental parameters.
Identify the rate law expression of a chemical reaction using data that show how the concentrations of reaction species change over time.
Represent an elementary reaction as a rate law expression using stoichiometry.
Explain the relationship between the rate of an elementary reaction and the frequency energy, and orientation of molecular collisions.
Represent the activation energy and overall energy change in an elementary reaction using a reaction energy profile.
Represent the activation energy and overall energy change in a multistep reaction with a reaction energy profile.

Unit 6: Thermodynamics (Weeks 17-19)

Week 17: Internal Energy, Heat and Work

Explain the relationship between experimental observations and energy changes associated with a chemical or physical transformation.
Represent a chemical or physical transformation with an energy diagram.
Explain the relationship between the transfer of thermal energy and molecular collisions.
Calculate the heat q absorbed or released by a system undergoing heating/cooling based on the amount of the substance, the heat capacity, and the change in temperature.

Week 18: Change in Enthalpy

Explain the relationship between experimental observations and energy changes associated with a chemical or physical transformation.
Calculate the heat q absorbed or released by a system undergoing heating/cooling based on the amount of the substance, the heat capacity, and the change in temperature.
Calculate the heat q absorbed or released by a system undergoing a chemical reaction in relationship to the amount of reacting substance in moles and the molar enthalpy of reaction.
Calculate the enthalpy change of a reaction based on the average bond energies of bonds
Calculate the enthalpy change for a chemical or physical process based on standard enthalpies of formation.
Represent a chemical or physical process as a sequence of steps.

Week 19: Energy of Phase Changes and Solution

Explain the relationship between experimental observations and energy changes associated with a chemical or physical transformation.
Represent a chemical or physical transformation with an energy diagram.
Explain changes in the heat q absorbed or released by a system undergoing a phase transition based on the amount of the substance in moles and the molar enthalpy of the phase transition.

Unit 7 Equilibrium (Weeks 20 – 23)

Week 20: Introduction to Chemical Equilibrium

Explain the relationship between the occurrence of a reversible chemical or physical process, and the establishment of equilibrium, to experimental observations
Explain the relationship between the direction in which a reversible reaction proceeds and the relative rates of the forward and reverse reactions.
Represent the reaction quotient QC or QP, for a reversible reaction, and the corresponding equilibrium expressions KC=QC or KP=QP.
Calculate KC or KP based on experimental observations of concentrations or pressures at equilibrium.
Explain the relationship between very large or very small values of K and the relative concentrations of chemical species at equilibrium.
Represent a multistep process with an overall equilibrium expression, using the constituent K expressions for each individual reaction
Identify the concentrations or partial pressures of chemical species at equilibrium based on the initial conditions and the equilibrium constant.
Represent a system undergoing a reversible reaction with a particle model.

Week 21: Equilibrium Calculations

Explain the relationship between the occurrence of a reversible chemical or physical process, and the establishment of equilibrium, to experimental observations.
Explain the relationship between the direction in which a reversible reaction proceeds and the relative rates of the forward and reverse reactions.
Represent the reaction quotient QC or QP, for a reversible reaction, and the corresponding equilibrium expressions KC=QC or KP=QP.
Calculate KC or KP based on experimental observations of concentrations or pressures at equilibrium.
Explain the relationship between very large or very small values of K and the relative concentrations of chemical species at equilibrium.
Identify the concentrations or partial pressures of chemical species at equilibrium based on the initial conditions and the equilibrium constant.

Week 22: Le Chatelier’s Principle

Identify the response of a system at equilibrium to an external stress, using Le Chatelier's principle.
Explain the relationships between Q, K, and the direction in which a reversible reaction will proceed to reach equilibrium.

Week 23: Solubility Equilibria

Calculate the solubility of a salt base on the value of Ksp for the salt.
Identify the solubility of a salt, and/or the value of Ksp for the salt, based on the concentration of a common ion already present in solution.
Identify the qualitative effect of changes in pH on the solubility of a salt.
Explain the relationship between the solubility of a salt and the changes in the enthalpy and entropy that occur in the dissolution process.

Unit 8: Acids and Bases (weeks 24-27)

Week 24: Acid Strength and pH

Calculate the values of pH and pOH, based on Kw and the concentration of all species present in a neutral solution of water.
Calculate the pH and pOH based on concentrations of all species in a solution of a monoprotic weak acid or weak base.
Explain the relationship among pH, pOH, and concentrations of all species in a solution of a monoprotic weak acid or weak base.
Explain the relationship among concentrations of major species in a mixture of weak and strong acids and bases.
Explain the relationship between the predominant form of a weak acid or base in solution at a given pH and pKa of the conjugate acid or the pKb of the conjugate base.

Week 25: Review and Reflection: Units 5 - 7

Week 26: Bases, Salts and More

Calculate the pH and pOH based on concentrations of all species in a solution of a monoprotic weak acid or weak base.
Explain the relationship among pH, pOH, and concentrations of all species in a solution of a monoprotic weak acid or weak base.
Explain the relationship among concentrations of major species in a mixture of weak and strong acids and bases.
Explain the relationship between the strength of an acid or a base and the structure of the molecule or ion.
Explain the relationship between the predominant form of a weak acid or base in solution at a given pH and pKa of the conjugate acid or the pKb of the conjugate base.

Week 27: Buffers and Titration Review

Explain the relationship among concentrations of major species in a mixture of weak and strong acids and bases.
Explain results from the titration of a mono-or polyprotic acid or base solution, in relation to the properties of the solution and its components.
Explain the relationship between the predominant form of a weak acid or base in solution at a given pH and pKa of the conjugate acid or the pKb of the conjugate base.
Explain the relationship between the ability of a buffer to stabilize pH and the reactions that occur when an acid or a base is added to a buffered solution.
Identify the pH of a buffer solution based on the identity and concentrations of the conjugate acid-base pair used to create the buffer.
Explain the relationship between the buffer capacity of a solution and the relative concentrations of the conjugate acid and conjugate base components of the solution.

Unit 9: Applications of Thermodynamics (Weeks 28-30)

Week 28: Free Energy and Thermodynamics

Identify the sign and relative magnitude of the entropy change associated with chemical or physical processes.
Calculate the entropy change for a chemical or physical process based on the absolute entropies of the species involved in the process.
Explain whether a physical or chemical process is thermodynamically favored based on an evaluation of delta G knot.
Explain, in terms of kinetics, why a thermodynamically favored reaction might not occur at a measurable rate.
Explain whether a process is thermodynamically favored using the relationships among K, delta G knot, and T.
Explain the relationship between external sources of energy or coupled reactions and their ability to drive thermodynamically unfavorable processes.

Week 29: Intro to Electrochemistry and Galvanic Cells

Explain the relationship between external sources of energy or coupled reactions and their ability to drive thermodynamically unfavorable processes.
Explain the relationship between external sources of energy or coupled reactions and their ability to drive thermodynamically unfavorable processes.
Explain the relationship between the physical components of an electrochemical cell and the overall operational principles of the cell.
Explain whether an electrochemical cell is thermodynamically favored based on its standard cell potential and the constituent half-reactions within the cell.

Week 30: Free Energy, Electrolysis and Applications of Electrochemistry

Explain the relationship between external sources of energy or coupled reactions and their ability to drive thermodynamically unfavorable processes.
Explain the relationship between external sources of energy or coupled reactions and their ability to drive thermodynamically unfavorable processes.
Explain whether an electrochemical cell is thermodynamically favored based on its standard cell potential and the constituent half-reactions within the cell.
Explain the relationship between deviations from standard cell conditions and changes in cell potential.
Calculate the amount of charge flow based on changes in the amounts of reactants and products in an electrochemical cell.

Unit 10: AP Exam Practice, Review and Reflections (Weeks 31-33)

Week 31: AP Practice Exam

Complete a full-length practice exam and reflect on performance.
Identify areas of confusion and resources for review.

Week 32: AP Exam Review

Complete a full-length practice exam and reflect on performance.
Identify areas of confusion and resources for review.

Week 33: Wrap Up

Reflect on course experience.
Share final thoughts with classmates.