Honors Chemistry

What Students Learn

Grounded in national curriculum chemistry, this course incorporates scientific reading in English and approaches used in international high school chemistry. Students investigate relationships between structure and properties alongside quantitative and energy relationships in reactions. Macroscopic observations and microscopic models support experimental analysis and quantitative reasoning, building subject knowledge and communication in English for subsequent AP Chemistry study.

Learning Focus

1. Structure and properties: connect atomic structure and chemical bonding with observable properties.

2. Reactions and stoichiometry: analyze chemical processes and solve problems using amounts of substance and quantitative relationships.

3. Energy and reaction processes: examine energy changes and factors affecting reaction rates and extent.

4. Experiments and models: connect observations with particle models and evaluate data and explanations.

5. Learning chemistry in English: read scientific materials and problems and explain concepts and reasoning.

Methods and Laboratory Inquiry

Calculations and experimental analysis incorporate methods such as dimensional analysis and significant figures to support accurate handling of data. Students also interpret particle diagrams and experimental graphs, analyze variables and uncertainty, and develop chemical explanations from results. These methods are applied throughout the study of subject-specific problems.

Learning Outcomes

Students connect structure with properties, apply chemical principles and quantitative relationships, and evaluate experimental methods and conclusions. Scientific reading and argumentation in English prepare them for more demanding conceptual applications and experimental analysis in AP Chemistry.