Honors Chemistry

Course Overview

In this semester course (0.5 credit), students will use the Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts of Science to build an understanding of: the structure, properties, and states of matter (atomic structure, periodic table, molecular structure, bonding, and interactions of matter); nuclear processes; chemical reactions (chemical kinetics, energetics, and equilibrium); and how principles of Chemistry as they relate to our everyday lives. Engineering design is incorporated as students consider technological solutions to real-world problems. This course supports environmental literacy and with the successful completion of Physics Honors fulfills the Physical Science graduation requirement.

High school physical science learning is intended to equip students to address the following essential questions as identified within the Next Generation Science Standards. 

1. How can one explain the structure and properties of matter? 
2. How do substances combine or change (react) to make new substances? 
3. How does one characterize and explain these reactions and make predictions about them? 

The high school Performance Expectations (PEs) in the physical sciences address these essential questions and build on 6-8 ideas and experiences.  They blend Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) with Scientific and Engineering Practices (SEP) and Crosscutting Concepts (CCC) to support students in developing usable knowledge to explain real-world phenomena in the physical sciences.  In Physical Science, students regularly engage in asking scientific questions that drive their investigations and lead to increasingly sophisticated evaluation of data and their presentation.  Students also have opportunities to learn and apply engineering-specific practices such as designing solutions to identified problems. Read the full NGSS storylineLinks to an external site. for high school physical science.

The learning sequence in Physical Science is organized around a series of driving questions that provide the context and motivation for learning.  While exploring each driving question, students engage in unique learning experiences that are carefully designed to immerse them in the SEPs as they construct their understanding of important concepts. These experiences are carefully sequenced so that students encounter ideas that are developmentally and cognitively appropriate.  By the end of the learning experiences,  students will be able to meet the NGSS performance expectations and address the driving questions.

Unit OVERVIEW

This OpenSciEd unit is anchored by students noticing that space survival will entail questions of matter transformation. In Learning Set 1, students investigate the structure of atoms, the patterns in their bonds, their presence in outer space, and the organization of the periodic table. In Learning Set 2, students investigate planetary surfaces (Earth’s and Mars’) to model water and how its unique structure affects surface features on landforms, regulates temperatures, and aids in survival of lifeforms. In Learning Set 3, students integrate ideas of molecular structure and valence electron patterns together as we model the conservation of matter through chemical equations. Students apply these ideas in a transfer task where they examine the full impact of going to space. 

Unit OVERVIEW

Students examine the problem of plastic accumulation in waterways in order to answer the question, “How can we create a chemical product that addresses the issues of plastic water/pollution in waterways?” We use data on amounts of plastic in the ocean currently, projections of future waste accumulation, and the stability of plastic molecules, etc. to help us explain the depth and urgency of the issue.  Students are expected to develop understanding of the substructure of atoms and to provide more mechanistic explanations of the properties of substances. Chemical reactions, including rates of reactions and energy changes, can be understood by students at this level in terms of the collisions of molecules and the rearrangements of atoms. Students are able to use the periodic table as a tool to explain and predict the properties of elements. Using this expanded knowledge of chemical reactions, students are able to explain important biological and geophysical phenomena. Students are also able to apply an understanding of the process of optimization in engineering design to chemical reaction systems. The crosscutting concepts of energy and matter, and structure and function are called out as organizing concepts for these disciplinary core ideas. In the PS1 performance expectations, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in developing and using models, planning and conducting investigations, using mathematical thinking, and constructing explanations and designing solutions; and to use these practices to demonstrate understanding of the core ideas.

Unit OVERVIEW

This unit is anchored by the novel phenomenon of oyster larvae die-offs. These overnight events became widespread in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-2000s as ocean pH reached a new low in that area. In the first lesson set (Lessons 1-7), students learn that oyster die-offs occur in the Pacific Northwest due to ocean acidification. They decide they want to design solutions to help oysters and break the problem of oyster die-offs due to ocean acidification into smaller sub-problems. They investigate acids and bases, how carbon dioxide gets into the ocean, and how carbon moves through some of Earth’s systems. They use a computational model to figure out how acidification and other processes can naturally reverse due to shifts in chemical equilibrium. Finally, they think about the interest different groups of people have in solving the problem of oyster die-offs and engage in a mid-unit transfer task. In the second lesson set (Lessons 8-10), students begin by developing a mathematical model (of stoichiometry) that will allow them to determine how much of a base is needed to neutralize an acid. They apply this model to adding bases to oyster tanks to restore a healthy pH. They model how increased acidity hinders shell-building this process as H+ ions bond with carbonate ions. Finally, they investigate how adding higher concentrations of carbonate compounds or altering the surface area or temperature could impact the reaction rate of shell-building or other processes. In the third lesson set (Lessons 11-15), students work to establish more specific criteria and constraints for the problem of oyster larvae dying from increased ocean acidity. They quantify these criteria and constraints and develop the outlines of solutions. They give other groups feedback on their solutions and discuss how their solutions leveraged what they figured out about chemistry and Earth science in the unit. Finally, students close out the Driving Question Board and complete an assessment that engages them with the Haber-Bosch process for producing ammonia fertilizer. This OpenSciEd unit earned the NGSS Design Badge Links to an external site. for high-quality instructional materials.