2009 – 2010 Science Research Course
Overview
The Scientific Research course will meet daily for one 45 minute period with the suggested 45
minute Independent Study immediately following. There will be the need to assemble after school
or on a Saturday morning due to the availability of our various mentor professors and their
schedules / travel time coming from various universities and or labs across the state. These
will be pre-arranged and announced with ample planning time to provide you the oversight
regarding your personal research. Your actual research labs will be on-going data collecting
and resulting statistics based on reading of current literature. Approximately seven weekend lab sessions will be available each Semester.
Course Design
This course is designed to provide a solid, first-year college research experience, both
conceptually and in the laboratory. The labs serve to supplement the learning in the lecture
section of the course. Problem solving skills, both on paper and in the lab, are emphasized.
There are weekly labs during the first three quarters. During the last quarter, students will
take a total of five graded practice college level Chemistry exams. The exams are reviewed in
class to increase students’ awareness of test-taking strategies.
As this is a second-year chemistry – based research course, students have a sound previous
knowledge of:
1. Molar relationships;
2. Electron structure [C1];
3. Periodicity [C4];
4. History of atomic theory;
5. Intramolecular and intermolecular bonding [C1];
6. Molecular geometry [C1];
7. Gas laws [C2];
8. Solutions and colligative properties [C2]; and some
9. Nuclear chemistry.
The course takes full advantage of students’ first-year chemistry course
because although these topics are covered in detail in this course, we go
over them.
The following concepts’ increased complexity or unfamiliar nature makes
it necessary for me to allow more time when I cover them:
1. Chemical kinetics [C3];C7—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course includes a
laboratory component comparable to college-level chemistry laboratories. A minimum of one double-
period per week or its equivalent is spent engaged in laboratory work. A hands-on laboratory
component is required. Each student should complete a lab notebook or portfolio of
lab reports. Note: Online course providers utilizing virtual labs (simulations
rather than hands-on) should submit their laboratory materials for the
audit. If these lab materials are determined to develop the skills and learning objectives of
hands-on labs, then courses that use these labs may receive authorization to use the “AP”
designation. Online science courses authorized to use the “AP” designation will be posted on the
AP
Central® Web site. (For information on the requirements for an AP
Chemistry laboratory program, the Guide for the Recommended Laboratory Program is included in
the AP Chemistry Course Description.)
C1—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: Structure of Matter (Atomic theory and atomic structure,
Chemical bonding) C4—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: Descriptive Chemistry (Relationships in
the periodic table) C2—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: States of Matter (Gases, Liquids and
solids, Solutions) C3—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: Reactions (Reaction types,
Stoichiometry, Equilibrium, Kinetics, Thermodynamics)
• Equilibrium
• Thermodynamics
• Redox reactions
• Materials science
• Buffer systems [C3]
• Coordination complexes [C1]
• Organic chemistry
Teaching
To encourage students to keep mentally alert, agile, and able, I use four main ideas throughout
the year.
Idea I: Practice, practice, practice!
Significant time is taken to place students in a situation as close as
possible to the conditions of an AP Exam. Exposure to the kinds of
questions and problems with the same depth and breadth as those on
the AP Exam itself enhances and cements student learning. Students
need plenty of opportunities to learn how to approach multiple-choice
questions. I teach them that quantitative multiple-choice questions fall
into one of these categories:
1. All answers are significantly different.
2. All answers are given as different mathematical manipulations of
the given.
3. Some answers are close and actual calculation is necessary.
4. Some answers are close but rounded values are easily
manipulated to yield an answer—and reviewing all the answers
before actual calculation is an effective way to select the best one.
Completing multiple-choice questions without a calculator is an
arduous task for students and must be practiced.
Prepared materials, such as Demmin’s review text or AP Released
Exams, are helpful in the preparation of chapter tests, review sheets, and
other assessment tools. AP Released Exams are an invaluable source for
free-response questions. I use them freely in quizzes, as homework
problems, on chapter exams, or for final reviews. I give timed practice AP
Exams and we review them as a class. [C6]
Idea 2: Write to learn and learn to write.
Writing is a skill that needs to be practiced constantly in order to be
optimally effective. Precise and accurate language is expected from each
student and requires continual practice, correction, and revision. For
example, after delivering a lecture on intermolecular forces, I ask a direct
question but require written answers. I have students exchange papers
and verbally critique one other. The ensuing discussion is informative for
C3—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: Reactions (Reaction types, Stoichiometry, Equilibrium,
Kinetics, Thermodynamics)
C1—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: Structure of Matter (Atomic theory and atomic structure,
Chemical bonding)
C6—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes chemical calculations and the
mathematical formulation of principles. 3
everyone. I sometimes collect and read the responses for my own
edification.
Idea 3: The more the information is shared,
the more the information is stored.
Even commonplace communications, such as leaving a note to a lab
partner to tell him or her how many titrations were completed today,
requires a student to gather his or her thoughts and communicate them
to another person. The act of communication requires a person to expend
an effort to be understood.
In addition to the information sharing that occurs in class, I provide three
other venues where such exchanges are made.
• Monthly Bulletin Board Presentations
Students are responsible for designing and posting visually
exciting and relevant information about a specific topic, which I
assign.
• Calculator-Based Lab (CBL) Presentations
Students demonstrate and discuss the possible uses of a
particular CBL probe (for temperature, light, conductivity, voltage,
or pH) and a Texas Instrument TI-82 calculator for the sixth-grade
students, who are preparing for the local science fair.
• Lab Presentations on the Internet
Working in pairs, students build a web page that presents a lab
complete with data, analysis, conclusion, and error analysis. This
open record allows current students as well as those from
subsequent years to add to the lab (using access buttons to their
own web sites) with new methodologies to reduce error or arrive
at different conclusions.
Idea 4: Doing chemistry is doing lab: there
is no difference.
Lab support, convey, and cement the chemical principles presented in
lectures and demonstrations. They also provide students with an
opportunity to learn new physical skills (such as titration, quantitative
transfer, or the use of volumetric equipment), foster good collaborative
relationships, and improve problem-solving techniques, while they learn
more about how chemistry really works. [C5] Different labs are performed
for different reasons, all of which are stated on a lab assignment sheet.
The labs come from a variety of resources that I have gathered over the
years, including the Woodrow Wilson TORCH Chemistry Workshops and
the National Science Foundation- sponsored workshops for AP Chemistry
C5—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: Laboratory (physical manipulations;
processes and procedures; observations and data manipulations; communication; group
collaboration; and the laboratory report 4
teachers. The sources for the labs on the lab schedule that follows are
listed with the abbreviations used in the schedule. Determination of Molecular Weight by the
Dumas Method, in Modular Laboratory Program in Chemistry Series. (Flinn)
National Science Foundation-sponsored workshops held for many years
at Northern Arizona University. (NAU)
Russo, Thomas, and Mark Meszaros. Vial Organic. (Russo)
Silberman, Robert G. ACS Small-Scale Laboratory Assessment Activities.
(Silberman)
Slowinski, Emil J., et al. Chemical Principles in the Laboratory. 5th ed.
(Slowinski)
Woodrow Wilson TORCH Institutes. (WWChem)
Small-Scale Inquiry Labs
Four small-scale inquiry labs, which come from the Silberman text, have
been added to the lab section. Students have 45 minutes to devise a lab
using only the given materials to complete a task. These labs are
conducted individually with no contact between the students. I always
include several misleading items in their baskets of allowed materials.
Students have no prior knowledge of the problem and must complete the
lab in the time allotted. They also do not know when the labs will occur. I
treat them as pop quizzes, indicating on the lab schedule which week
will have a small-scale inquiry lab but waiting until the day of the lab to
tell the students they will be doing one that day. To help them get used
to this type of activity, I give a surprise inquiry lab at some point during
week four and provide a little information, or “hint,” about the problem
they are to solve. This is the only time I give them help during an inquiry
lab.
Additional labs are used from the International Chemistry Olympiad
Regional Exam, sponsored by the American Chemical Society.
Course Requirements and Grading
I cover the Brown text at a rate of approximately one chapter every five to
seven school days, with 15 to 20 problems assigned and reviewed per
chapter. The assignments are on a chapter or weekly basis. Chapter
exams consist of 20 multiple-choice questions and up to 4 free-response
questions. These final four questions come from retired AP Released
Exams whenever possible. During the final quarter, I substitute the lab
5
percentage by the grades students earned on the five practice AP
Exams. In addition to chapter problems, I base part of their homework
grade on their group bulletin board presentations. A student’s grade is a
weighted average of the following:
Tests 50%
Quizzes 15%
Labs 25%
Homework 10%
Required Texts
Brown, Theodore L., et al. Chemistry: The Central Science. 6th ed.
Slowinski, Emit J., et al. Chemical Principles in the Laboratory. 5th ed.
Supplemental Texts
Demmin, Peter E. Multiple-Choice Questions in Preparation for the AP
Chemistry Examination. 3rd ed.
Ehrenkranz, David, and John J. Mauch. Chemistry in Microscale.
Ellis, Arthur B., et al. Teaching General Chemistry: A Materials Science
Companion.
Reger, Daniel L., et al. Chemistry, Principles & Practice.
Lab Schedule
Each week's entry states the objectives, purpose, and requirements for
the lab write-up. Entries also indicate which labs students are to do
collaboratively in groups of two or more and which they are to do
individually. Students are required to keep a lab notebook of all their
reports. [C7]
Week 1
August 13–September 1
Lab Orientation
• Check out the lab facilities.
• Know where the equipment is and what types are available.
C7—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course includes a laboratory
component comparable to college-level chemistry laboratories. A minimum of one double-period per
week or its equivalent is spent engaged in laboratory work. A hands-on laboratory component is
required. Each student should complete a lab notebook or portfolio of lab reports. Note: Online
course providers utilizing virtual labs (simulations rather than hands-on) should submit their
laboratory materials for the audit. If these lab materials are determined to develop the skills
and learning objectives of hands-on labs, then courses that use these labs may receive
authorization to use the “AP” designation. Online science courses authorized to use the “AP”
designation will be posted on the AP Central® Web site. (For information on the requirements for
an AP Chemistry laboratory program, the Guide for the Recommended Laboratory Program is included
in the AP Chemistry Course Description.) 6
Mass Percentage of Carbon Dioxide in Alka-
Seltzer (WWChem)
Determine by two separate methods and calculate the mass percentage
of CO2 found in a tablet of Alka-Seltzer.
• Group inquiry lab (lab is done by the class as a whole).
• Class lab report (a single report to which the class as a whole
contributes) due September 2.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Succinct procedures for both methods
2. Complete calculations of the mass percentage of CO2 [C6]
3. Thorough discussion of the possible sources of errors in each of
the methods
4. An opinion regarding which of the two methods is probably the
most accurate and an appropriate discussion with explanation
Week 2
September 2–8
Chromatography and Skittles Candy (WWChem)
Determine which FD & C and FD & C Lake dyes are in a given flavor of
Skittles candy and an unknown dye.
• Group-directed lab.
• Prelab the Skittles lab from the handout.
• Directed lab write-up due September 9
Lab write-up to include:
1. All chromatograms generated from both the standards and the
candy, with each color identified and labeled
2. Rf values for each of the FD & C dyes in both the standards and
the candy [C6]
3. A statement regarding which FD & C dyes can be found in any
given color of Skittles candy. This should include an explanation
and/or discussion of possible sources of error.
Week 3
September 9–15 C6—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes chemical
calculations and the mathematical formulation of principles. C6—Evidence of Curricular
Requirement: The course emphasizes
chemical calculations and the mathematical formulation of principles 7
This lab has two parts:
Experiment 11: Heat Effects and Calorimetry
(Slowinski) and
Experiment 13: Water of Hydration (Slowinski)
Determine the Cp of an unknown substance and calculate its molar mass
by using the Law of Dulong and Petit. [C6]
AND
Visually experience the solubilities of hydrates, the reversibility of
hydration, and the properties of deliquescence and efflorescence.
Determine the empirical formula of a hydrate.
• Parts A, B, and C of Lab 13 are to be completed by the entire class
as one group.
• Students are to work in pairs on the rest of the labs.
• Directed lab reports are to be done by pairs and are due on
September 16.
• Accuracy is a factor.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Write-up sheet from Lab 11, page 85
2. Write-up sheet from Lab 13, page 102, and the associated
calculations [C6]
Week 4
September 16–22.
Inquiry Lab—Calculation of Standard Heat of
Formation of MgO (NAU)
Magnesium and MgO both react exothermically with HCl. Assuming that
the specific heat of a low enough concentration of HCl is close to that of
water, determine the heat of formation of MgO by manipulating the heat
of the given reactions in an application of Hess’s Law.
• Students are to work individually with CBLs.
• Inquiry lab is to be done individually and is due immediately
following the lab.
Lab write-up to include:
Complete calculations. Accuracy is important. [C6]
C6—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes chemical calculations and the
mathematical formulation of principles. C6—Evidence of
Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes chemical calculations and
the mathematical formulation of principles. 8
Week 5
September 23–29
Determination of a Solubility Product: Ksp of
MgC2O4 (NAU)
Standardization of a permanganate solution. Preparation of saturated
magnesium oxalate solutions of known initial conditions.
• The permanganate standardization should be completed as a
class lab with representative trials from each group.
• This is a two-week lab. Students are to work in pairs and need
only complete Week 1 of the given procedures.
• Student-directed lab reports are to be done individually and are
due on October 7.
Lab write-up is due upon completion of the lab next week.
Week 6
September 30–October 6
Determination of a Solubility Product: Ksp of
MgC2O4 (NAU)
Determine oxalate concentration by titration with permanganate and
calculate the solubility product of the salt.
• Students are to work in pairs and need to complete the lab.
• Directed lab reports are to be done individually and are due on
October 7.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Data table
2. Clear, complete work for all calculations and the calculated Ksp of
MgC2O4
3. Error percentage and error discussion [C6]
C6—Evidence of
Curricular Requirement:
The course emphasizes
chemical calculations and
the mathematical
formulation of principles.
9
Week 7
October 7–13
Kf of a Complex Ion (NAU)
Determination of an equilibrium constant for the formation of a complex
ion with spectrophotometric readings on the absorbency of solutions
• Prelab lab handout for procedure.
• Prepare solutions needed for lab.
• Students are to work in pairs.
• Individual directed lab reports are due on October 14.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Data table
2. Report form from the lab
3. Complete calculations [C6]
4. A computer-generated graph using the graphical analysis
program in the computer lab. Also, use the interpolation feature
on the program for determination of ion concentrations.
Week 8
October 14–20
Small-Scale Inquiry Lab for Quarter 1 (International
Chemistry Olympiad Exam) Calculate the thickness of the layer of zinc on
a washer.
• Lab write-up is due individually and immediately following the
lab.
Lab write-up to include:
Complete procedures, data, and completion of the given task
Week 9
October 21–27
Molar Mass Determination by Freezing Point
Depression (Slowinski)
Determine the molar mass of an unknown using the colligative properties
of solutions.
C6—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes chemical calculations and the
mathematical formulation of principles. 10
• Prelab Lab 17.
• Students are to work in pairs.
• Directed lab reports are due by pairs on October 28.
Lab write-up to include:
Complete report form from the text and separate sheet with all
related calculations
Week 10
October 28–November 3
Vapor Pressure of Water (WWChem)
Determine the relationship between the vapor pressure of water and the
temperature in Kelvins and graphically represent the Clausius–Clapeyron
equation.
• Prelab vapor pressure of water lab from handout. Students are to
work in pairs
• Directed lab reports are to be done individually and are due on
November 4.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Data table
2. Large graph (the size of a whole page) generated by graphical
analysis on the computer
3. Answers to all given questions
Weeks 11–12
November 4–November 15
No lab during these weeks.
Week 13
November 16–24
The Structure of Crystals (Slowinski)
Visually experience and manipulate the various types of unit cells as well
as 2-D diffraction patterns as an analogy for X-ray diffraction of crystals.
• Prelab handout on optical diffraction experiments. Students are to
work in pairs.
11
• Directed lab reports are to be done by pairs and are due on 25
November.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Write-up sheet from Lab 15 and the optical diffraction experiment
and associated calculations [C6]
2. Application of 2-D diffraction patterns to ascertain geological sand
sieve size
Week 14
November 25–December 1
No lab during this week.
Week 15
December 2–8
Molar Mass of a Volatile Liquid (Flinn)
Determination of the molar mass of a volatile liquid using iodine as a
coloring agent. Calculation using the Dumas method of determination of
molar mass of gases.
• Prelab handout.
• Class-directed lab.
• Directed lab write-up due on December 9.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Data table
2. Write-up sheet from the lab and the associated calculations
Week 16
December 9–16
Small-Scale Inquiry Lab for Quarter 2 (Silberman)
Determine the volume (in mL) of acid needed to titrate 1.0 mL of Milk of
Magnesia
• Lab write-up is due individually and immediately following the
lab.
C6—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes
chemical calculations and the mathematical formulation of principles. 12
Lab write-up to include: Complete procedures, data, and completion of
the given task
Weeks 17–18
December 17–January 3
No lab during these weeks.
Week 19
January 4–12
Microscale Acid-Base Titration Curve (NAU)
Experience a semiquantitative titration. Continue exposure to the
concept of equivalence points on titration graphs.
• Students are to work in pairs
• Directed lab reports are to be done individually and are due on 13
January
Lab write-up to include:
1. Write-up sheet from the lab
2. Four hand-drawn graphs, each with the equivalence point of the
titration clearly indicated
Week 20
January 13–17
No lab during this week.
Week 21
January 18–26
Ascorbic Acid in Vitamin C Tablets (NAU)
Standardize a base solution for subsequent quantitative determination of
the milligrams of vitamin C in a commercially available tablet.
• Students are to work in pairs.
• Nondirected lab reports are to be done by pairs and are due on
January 27.
13
Lab write-up to include:
1. Data table
2. Determination of the milligrams of vitamin C in the tablet and all
associated calculations [C6]
Week 22
January 27–February 2
Identification of lons in Salts (NAU)
Week 23
February 3–9
Iodination of Acetone, Including All Optional
Sections (Slowinski)
Determine the order of a reaction with respect to a given reactant and
graphically represent the relationship between temperature, rate
constant, and the activation energy.
• Prepare solutions.
• Students are to work in pairs.
• Directed lab reports are to be done individually and are due on
February 10.
Lab write-up to include:
Report form from Lab 29 with all associated calculations
Week 24
February 10–16
Using pH Titrations to Identify Weak Acids
(NAU)
Obtain a titration curve for a weak, unknown acid and use it to determine
its Ka. Identify the weak acid from a list of known Ka values.
• Students are to work in pairs.
• Directed lab reports are to be done by pairs and are due on
February17.
C6—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes chemical calculations and the
mathematical formulation of principles.
14
Lab write-up to include:
1. The calculations that lead to the Ka of the unknown acid
2. Identification of the unknown acid
3. A computer-generated graph using graphical analysis of the
titration curve for the unknown acid, with appropriate
calculations. [C6]
Week 25
February 17–23
Formation of an Ester (Russo)
The formation of a useful ester: aspirin.
• Grading is dependent on percentage yield and purity.
• Lab write-up, sample, and calculations due February 24.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Completion of the lab handout
2. Small Ziploc bag containing sample prepared in class
Week 26
February 24–March 2
Electrochemical Cells (NAU)
Determine an activity series using electrochemical potentials. Observe
the effect of variable concentration on the potential of a cell.
• Students are to work in pairs.
• Directed lab reports are to be done by pairs and are due on March
3.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Data table
2. An activity series of the given metals
3. All calculations involved in determining the Eo and n value for the
Zn/Cu cell [C6]
4. A computer-generated graph illustrating the Nernst equation
C6—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes chemical calculations and the
mathematical formulation of principles.
C6—Evidence of Curricular Requirement: The course emphasizes chemical calculations and the
mathematical formulation of principles.
15
Week 27
March 3–9
Sma1l-Scale Inquiry Lab for Quarter 3
(Silberman)
When solutions A and B are mixed, a white precipitate slowly forms.
Determine the order of the reaction with respect to A.
The lab write-up is due individually and immediately following the lab.
Lab write-up to include:
Complete procedures, data, and completion of the given task
Week 28
March 10–16
Small-Scale Inquiry Lab for Quarter 4 (Silberman)
Identify the five white powders, which may be ground-up chalk, Alka-
Seltzer washing soda, baking soda, or vitamin C. The labeled pipettes
contain water, vinegar, or phenolphthalein solution.
Lab write-up is due individually and immediately following the lab.
Lab write-up to include:
Complete procedures, data, and completion of the given task
Weeks 29–33
March 17–April 20
Inquiry Lab: Preparing Buffers and Making a
Botanically Based Universal Indicator (teachergenerated)
Prepare buffer solutions of known pH values. Prepare a botanically based,
universal indicator with a range of at least 10 pH units. Determine the pH
of an unknown solution using the prepared universal indicator:
• The class is to work together to prepare buffers from pH 1–14 and
use these buffers to test the indicator ability of various botanical
extracts.
16
• Prepare a mixture of natural, botanically based indicators showing
distinctly different colors over a range of least 10 pH units. Make a
standard of these colors in two eight-well strips sealed with a
cover strip.
• Use the student-made universal indicator to determine the pH of
three given, unknown solutions.
• Class nondirected lab write-up is due on April 21.
Lab write-up to include:
1. Two separate eight-well strips clearly showing the range of colors
of the student-prepared universal indicator
2. Determination of the pH of the three unknown solutions
3. A “recipe” of the relative amounts, plant names, and parts of the
plants used for all the components of the universal indicator
4. Clear photos of the plants used
5. A clearly stated procedure for the preparation of all the buffers
used in the lab as well as the mathematical proof/calculation for
each buffer