Advanced Honors Chemistry

Note: The level of rigor and intensity of this course is very demanding – it definitely goes above and beyond a typical high school honors chemistry course.  This course is usually recommended for students who are planning on majoring in chemistry/chemical engineering at college or who are very self-motivated and are planning to self-study for the AP Chemistry exam. If you are interested in a more typical honors chemistry course, please see my “Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option” course.

Prerequisites for this course:
*Students must be in 9th through 12th grade (or aged 14-18).  Students younger than this (pre-highschool) may be considered on a case-by-case basis.  Younger students (and students who don’t require the very high level of rigor in this course) would probably be more comfortable in the Honors stream of my “Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option” course.
*Completion of a rigorous Honors Algebra 1 course with a grade of at least a B+ (taking Honors Algebra 2 concurrently is a good idea)
*Very solid study skills and a good work ethic – my course is very demanding and moves very quickly. 🙂 Students should have exceptional time management skills, be highly organized, and be capable of/be willing to take notes while watching video lectures and while doing textbook readings.  All the executive function types of skills are vital for success in my Advanced Honors Chemistry course.

It is HIGHLY recommended that you have your student complete this placement pre-test before registering for Advanced Honors Chemistry. It is not mandatory but will give you a good indication if your student has the math and word problem solving skills needed for Advanced Honors Chemistry.  In particular, success on the last question (the short answer question) is a good indicator that your student is ready for the challenges of Advanced Honors Chemistry.

This course will give a solid base for further study in chemistry – either in an AP Chemistry course or an introductory chemistry course at college or university – and is taught at the level of an advanced and challenging honors or pre-AP type chemistry course.  It is intended for students who plan on majoring in a physical science STEM program at college or university (particularly chemistry/physics/chemical or materials engineering) and the course will be VERY rigorous.  The course will cover the standard introductory chemistry topics, along with a mathematical treatment where appropriate, and will also cover organic chemistry and biochemistry in a more expansive fashion than is usually found in high school chemistry courses.  The time commitment is roughly 10-12 hours per week but that will vary greatly depending upon a student’s abilities and working speed.  The topics covered will include:

*The Scientific Method & Chemistry Math Skills
*Physical & Chemical Properties of Matter
*Atoms, Molecules, & Ions
*Moles & Stoichiometry
*Reactions in Aqueous Solutions
*Gases
*Energy Relationships in Chemical Reactions
*The Electronic Structure of Atoms
*The Periodic Table
*Chemical Bonding
*Intermolecular Forces
*Physical Properties of Solutions
*Chemical Kinetics
*Chemical Equilibrium
*Acids & Bases
*Redox Reactions & Electrochemistry
*Introduction to Organic Chemistry

Required textbook: Chang & Goldsby’s “General Chemistry: The Essential Concepts” 7th edition (print version) or E-book version
Required lab kit: MicroChem Kit Standard 2nd Edition from Quality Science Labs

The live “office hour” times for Advanced Honors Chemistry are Monday / Thursday from 11am-12pm Eastern Time.  Attendance at these office hours is not mandatory for students.  The teaching of the material is done exclusively through the pre-recorded video lectures and textbook readings.  The “office hour” times are simply to give students a chance to get help in real time.

If you’re interested in checking out my teaching style and would like to see the video lectures for the first chapter covered, “Introduction to Chemistry”, click here to view the chapter playlist.  If you would like to see examples from Chapter 1 of the chapter checklist, the homework assignments, and the chapter test, please click here.  If you would like to see further examples of the video lectures, here is a link to the lectures for Chapter 4, “Reactions in Aqueous Solutions”.

Remember – registration for the parent-graded versions of my courses is always open! Check out the info here:

Self-paced, parent-graded options

As always…  IIf you are interested in any of the chemistry courses on offer or have questions regarding any aspect of the courses, please don’t hesitate to contact me at clovervalleychemistry@gmail.com!