Chemblog!

I found and posted some supplemental notes for the new gas unit (and I will post supplements for our future units in due time) . Though they won't be identical to the ones from class,the supplemental notes are nice and neat and they do cover each unit's objectives. There are also many problems within the notes though they are not solved. If you need help in answering any of the problems, see me at extra help or email me.
For overkill, I will also post another prof's set of college chem notes.
You know, use them if you need them.
Mr.C.

Today, I heard that we have quite a few days off in October starting with this week's three-day weekend. Then we have five days off the following weekend! That's all good but that means that we have to move pretty quickly before those vacation days.
Honors: I will post more Atomic Concepts worksheets tomorrow. I have to present some more information before you can tackle the upcoming worksheets without having any problems. For tonight, just check out on the webpage some of the many powerpoints and videos on our current unit.

AP: By the time we meet tomorrow, since it will be late in the day, I hope to have your tests graded (with high grades)
G'night.
I'll probably see most of you at the St. Bonaventure awards tonight. Only the best, right?

Just one more question type to add to the list for Monday's AP exam. Volumetric analysis i.e. titration in order to determine amount or concentration of a particular reactant in a solution i.e. the hydrogen peroxide problem which we did Thursday and Friday...also, be sure that you know how to do percent yield (as on the practice tests and homework).
Since some of the class was missing on Friday, I WILL NOT put a question involving the number of ionizable H's in an acid via titration. That WILL be on the next test though.

Given that we are not going to have much of a class tomorrow (unless you want to do mixture problems in the stands at the pep rally...nah, let's not), I'm definitely not going to put any kind of percent composition of a MIXTURE analysis problem on Monday's exam. There will be a couple of mixture analyses on the next test then.
In fact, to focus your study, allow me to inform you of the question TYPES on Monday's exam:
here we go...
- 2 redox balancing problems, one in acidic solution, the other in basic solution
along with identifying the oxidizing and reducing AGENTS
- gravimetric analysis (we did a couple of those today...i.e. identify element X via gravimetric analysis)
- combustion analysis in order to determine empirical formula; then, given molar mass of the compound, calculate the molecular formula
-analysis of a hydrate question (e.g. determining the formula
of CuSO4 o 5H2O )
- predict products of and name the type of reaction (e.g. acid + carbonate = salt + water + CO2, gas formation reaction)
- knowing and applying solubility rules to make specific products and also writing NET ionic equations

Okay, as I finally got home and sat down to a nice night of scanning hw solutions and worksheets, my scanner sighed, fired its last green photon and then died. It has no sign of life even after I bang it against furniture and threaten to dangle it over my balcony from its USB cable. I will have to scan the items tomorrow morning at school. Luckily, I JUST brought a scanner into class today so I can scan away right in our classroom.
See you all in class.

Honors- I will post some worksheets on Atomic Concepts later tonight (after I meet your 'rents) so they won't be due tomorrow.
AP- HW: In text, do even # problems 4.60 to 4.72 inclusive and 4.102, 4.104; reminder that our unit exam is on Day 4 and that we have an abbreviated class on Day 3 due to the pep rally so it is important for you to do the hw and practice tests to see whether you have any questions/problems with the material. Naturally, you can email me any questions over the weekend also.
We will do several solution stoichiometry and mixture problems over the next three days.

Study up tonight making sure to know definitions and examples of all of the terms that we covered in our Matter and Energy unit. On the quiz tomorrow, you are certainly allowed to use illustrations as part of your answers. Sometimes it is easier to draw something and then describe what is occurring in your illustration. That usually qualifies as a good explanation.
The quiz will be worth 60 points and will last for between 20 and 30 minutes.
Good night.

Great. Our webpage is down again so I will be uploading any files to edline.com for the time being. I uploaded several AP practice exams with answers so check them out.

Okay, the gods of the internet have smiled upon us and our server is functional again.
Honors, your HW for tonight is to review your notes and study for Wednesday's quiz. I will upload some new worksheets later on tonight; you can work on them tomorrow.
AP HW: I will upload the solved sample redox and stoichiometry problems shortly. Read Sections 4.6 through 4.8 and do problems 4.56,58,60,64,94,96,98
Thanks!

Okay, the school server is still down but I just remembered that we have EDLINE!!! Duh. Just log onto edline.com (you have to use your username and password that was given to you in homeroom during the first week of school) and find your class. I will post the files on that site until we get our regular webpage back.

Though the latest quiz required knowing twice as many elements, all three Honors classes maintained a (rounded) 20/20 average. Excellent memorization and dedication; I'm glad to be off to a great start with you all. We will have a matter and energy quiz this week (either Wed., Thurs., or Fri.). On Monday, I'll probably finish teaching the information covered on that quiz.
Looking forward to three for three!

Ahh, a peaceful Sunday night and I go to check the website and our server is down...perfectly NORMAL, perfectly HEALTHY.
I'm sure that this disturbance will be an infrequent but definite occurrence throughout the year. In the meantime, we still have this blog in order to keep updated. I will also obtain an alternate server in case the school server shuts down more frequently than expected.

Since you can't currently visit our webpage, the weekend assignment was:
Honors:Read Text Sections 2-1 and 2-2; also, on Monday, I will collect those worksheets that you completed last week.
AP:do text questions 3.108, 110, 112, and 4.46 through 4.56 evens ( I have the solutions posted already but you can't access them while the webpage is down).

Sadly, I can't link to the Honors review videos and the AP sample problems that I put up since Friday.

I'll alert you via this blog when our webpage is online again.

(considers leaving our techno-dependent world and living with the Amish...sighs)

Pretty good start on our first (and longest) test of the year: The class has an A average. I'll return your tests on Monday. Then, I would like you to analyze them and see me regarding anything that you got wrong or that you are not absolutely bulletproof on. You need to have the basics mastered so that you can smoothly navigate the rest of this course.

I will discuss this with you on Monday but, if you were anxious about the last two questions on the exam (the ones with the stoichiometry which led to the empirical formula), do NOT worry. You will see that I have made a reasonable accommodation for those questions while also rewarding those students who managed to correctly work out the problem (some of you were quite creative in doing so...amazingly good!). I will tell you my logical reasoning for doing so. Suffice is to say that we will be doing MANY problems like those in the upcoming unit. Those question types will be on your AP exam this year (question 2 or 3 in the written-response section) so I want to ensure that you ALL are experts on them.
In the meantime, hit the text questions assigned for HW this weekend. I will post solutions to them by Monday.

Hi Honors,
As a couple of students pointed out (thanks!), there is a misprint in the answer to question 3 of the "Matter and Its Properties I " worksheet: as an example of a homogeneous mixture, it states "water, alcohol"; that is dead wrong. Water is a single substance and so is any particular alcohol. The answer should have been printed as "water with alcohol mixed in".
Cheers.

So, tomorrow morning @ 7:30AM (every day 4, we meet at that time), we have our "summer assignment" exam. If you understood the summer assignment problems and readings, then you should get a nice 150 points tomorrow. That is my hope and expectation for the " '98 Yankees".
:)
Some of the errors from the past two years which I also currently see on some of your assignments are in naming compounds.
Remember: the metal NEVER takes a prefix in ANY salt name! For example, Na3PO4 is NOT trisodium phosphate; it is simply sodium phosphate. Follow the different naming rules for main group salts, transition metal salts and for molecules and you can't go wrong.
Know the evidence and explanations thereof of all experiments that led to the model of the atom as described in Chapter 2.
When you balance an equation, do a FINAL check on the coefficients to make sure that they are REDUCED to the lowest common multiples. For example, if the coefficients in your final equation line are 2, 4, 8, 2 , you MUST reduce them to 1,2,4,1.
Be sure to read each question carefully, UNDERLINE THE KEY TERMS, and make sure that your final answer actually answers what was asked for.
Now, I'm counting on you all not to make these errors and I don't even expect you to because you are a very strong group of students; we are human though so it doesn't hurt to point out the past errors of others just as a reminder of what not to do.
Okay, get some rest and attack that exam in the AM!
Mr.Cicale

Greetings. Check the webpage for latest hw and files. Note that Ultimate Frisbee starts this week. I intend to have an informational meeting on Thursday followed by a practice/teaching game.
We should be meeting on Wednesdays thereafter with occasional pick-up games on any other given day while the weather is still so nice. This year, I intend to elevate this club and make it complete with all of the bells and whistles i.e. club shirts and discs. Spread the word yo! Anyone can play. See you there, mahalo!

AP Class: I forgot to ask whether you wanted a review session before school (heretofore known as "zero period") on Wednesday. This session would address any questions that you have about the summer assignment which is the basis for the test on Thursday, Day 4. If anyone wants to come in, email me: saychem@optonline.net and I will be in 229 at 7:30AM. Otherwise, I will just sleep later.
Cheers.

Greetings to my new classes. Just a reminder that, on Tuesday, the Honors classes will have a brief quiz on the first 18 elements. Know the symbols and correct spellings.
AP has the section 4-1 reading and questions 4.21 through 4.24 on solubility rules.

I have a very good general first impression of all of my classes and I look forward to a successful year of Chem with you all.
-Mr.Cicale

Welcome AP Chem Class of 2005-6! I trust that you are making progress on your summer assignment. I'm posting a link to an online college chemistry class from Texas A&M University. There are 31 lectures overall and they chronologically coincide with the chapters in your textbook.

My suggestion is that, for a refresher, you should watch the first three lectures. Each lecture takes about 45 minutes, so, between watching reruns of "Tommy Lee Goes to College", you can check out an episode of college chem. If you don't have the RealOne Player which you use to view the videos, you can download it for free here or you can use the link on the lecture webpage. The professor, Dr. Larry Brown, gears the course slightly towards engineering majors but the course is really pure general chemistry. He even does some cool demos during the lectures.
It is not mandatory to view these lectures. As you will see throughout our course, I will regularly post links that may be helpful to you.
Enjoy!