AEDU 633D: AP Chemistry Institute
This course provides an in-depth review of chemistry topics from which an AP course should draw, as listed in the AP Course Description May 2004-2005. The five subject areas listed in that document are: I. Structure of Matter, II. States of Matter, III. Reactions, IV. Descriptive Chemistry, and V. Laboratory. In relationship to the required text for the course, topics in Structure of Matter are covered in Chapters 2, 7-10, and 21, topics in States of Matter are covered in Chapters 5 and 11-13, topics in Reactions are covered in Chapters 3, 4, 6, and 14-19, and topics in Descriptive Chemistry are covered in Chapters 4 and 22-25. Clearly, for participants to obtain a complete review of so many topics, each must have a solid background in chemistry with the preferred being a bachelors degree in chemistry. According to the AP Course Description May 2004-2005: If the objectives of a college-level general chemistry course are to be achieved, the teaching should be done by a teacher who has completed an undergraduate major program in chemistry including at least a year’s work in physical chemistry. In a practical sense, most if not all institute participants will satisfy the background requirements either with the chemistry degree or with several years of experience teaching from texts similar to the one selected for this course.
Most AP Chemistry students have studied topics from the first half of the usual texts during Chemistry I and II courses. For these reasons, this course focuses on topics found in the second half of the text, many traditionally associated with physical chemistry: equilibrium, thermochemistry, thermodynamics, kinetics, redox chemistry, and electrochemistry. This course also briefly introduces aspects of structure and functionality in organic chemistry. A review of the topics from the first half of the text occur naturally as needed to move through the planned topics just mentioned.