AP Chemistry

Are you part of an AP Chemistry professional learning community?

Allison Tarvin | Wed, 09/13/2017 - 20:00

The research says the best way to make your school better is to encourage teachers to participate in professional learning teams that unpack the standards to determine what each student should learn and how the learning will be measured, build a useful warehouse of evidence that learning is occurring, and critically review data collected to determine useful instructional strategies versus ineffective strategies.

Qualitative Analysis of IONS

Michael Morgan | Mon, 06/05/2017 - 10:41

supplies for ion qualitative analysis lab

Near the end of the school year we are all thinking about what we will do with our AP Chem students until the end of the semester. Last year I wrote about a post AP independent study activity that I use dealing with transition metal compounds. I still like it and use it. But this year I want to talk about a very involved lab that many of my colleagues are ignoring.

Straight Talk from AP Chemistry Students about College Board's "AP Insight: Chemistry" Teaching Tools and Assessments

Allison Tarvin | Mon, 05/15/2017 - 10:05

The College Board offers the opportunity to have access to guided inquiry "Building Block" performance tasks, "Building Block" digital assessments, and FRQ-style end of "Building Block" assessments directed specifically at nine "challenge areas." The "challenge areas" are organized according to the AP Chemistry six big ideas. I have used most of the resources available in AP Insight this year with my honors and AP chemistry students. Today, post-AP exam, I asked the students to provide me with feedback about the usefulness of those resources.

You Are Invited: Chemistry Instruction for the Next Generation

Deanna Cullen | Mon, 04/24/2017 - 20:47

Chemistry Instruction for the Next Generation graphic

ChemEd X and the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) are collaborating to offer a virtual conference like most have never seen before. It is not a webinar. You do not have to schedule specific hours to view a live presentation. I think of it as similar to a virtual book/journal club with the added benefit of having the author leading it. In this case, authors were selected from among those who have published recent articles, activities and research in JCE on the topic of student-centered instruction in chemistry. The theme of this inaugural conference is Chemistry Instruction for the Next Generation.

Do you have a favorite acid-base titration lab?

Allison Tarvin | Sat, 03/11/2017 - 10:11

HCl and NaOH, a strong acid - strong base titration? Citric acid and NaOH, a weak, triprotic acid - strong base titration? Do your students standardize the NaOH solution as a first step?

AP Chemistry Lab Notebook Structure

Tracy.Schloemer | Sun, 03/05/2017 - 11:00

How do you support growth in your students’ writing and communication over time? There are so many things: Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) scaffolds, sentence starters, and more. How might all of these tools used in introductory courses come together in an upper-level course? In this post, I will focus upon my AP Chemistry lab notebook set-up.

Excellent Resource for Teaching Chemical Kinetics

Allison Tarvin | Sun, 01/15/2017 - 11:03

Chemical kinetics is one of the five challenge areas in AP Chemistry. My students and I have been working our way through one of the teaching and learning activities called Concentration vs. Time. The graphical analysis, guided-inquiry questions, and application to past and future content are seriously challenging, and my students report higher levels of understanding than in past semesters.

JCE 94.01 January 2017 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Tue, 01/10/2017 - 14:12

Journal of Chemical Education January 2017

Ringing in Volume 94

The January 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: NMR spectroscopy; examining assessment; inquiry-based practices; cost-effective instrumentation; miscibility demonstrations; innovative laboratory experiments; from the archives: lightsticks.

Reflections from Kinetics - Solidifying Why I Teach Method of Initial Rates AND Integrated Rate Laws

Tracy.Schloemer | Thu, 01/05/2017 - 19:16

I taught my students how to use the method of initial rates. I taught my students rate laws. However, they strugged to differentiate when to use what method. Upon further probing, they struggled to articulate why one might use one method over the other. They could parrot back some ideas ("The rate law tells you about the particles involved in the rate determining step of the reaction."), but I wasn't convinced of mastery and connections.

Big Ideas in AP Chemistry: Connections Among Thermodynamics and Equilibrium

Tracy.Schloemer | Sat, 10/08/2016 - 17:52

I have a confession: thermodynamics is not my strong suit. The data set I got from the College Board confirmed my lack of confidence in the summer of 2015. With the hope of improvements, I spent some time revamping my thermo unit and I implemented it near the end of last school year. I will share an activity that I feel was quite formative for students and for me in making connections among thermodynamic principles and equilibrium.