By the end of this course you will be able to look at a reaction and say not just what it makes, but how much — and defend the number. Grade 10 chemistry asked whether something new was made. This year asks how many particles were involved, how much product you should have recovered, and what the gap between “should have” and “did” is telling you.
Three overall expectations set the tone. The first runs through every unit rather than living in one:
A1. Scientific Investigation Skills
demonstrate scientific investigation skills (related to both inquiry and research) in the four areas of skills (initiating and planning, performing and recording, analysing and interpreting, and communicating);
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D3. Understanding Basic Concepts
demonstrate an understanding of the mole concept and its significance to the quantitative analysis of chemical reactions.
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E1. Relating Science to Technology, Society, and the Environment
analyse the origins and effects of water pollution, and a variety of economic, social, and environmental issues related to drinking water;
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Every overall and specific expectation lives in the Curriculum folder, and each concept, investigation, exercise set, and task links to exactly the ones it addresses.
Put plainly, week to week that means:
- Count what you cannot see — The Mole is the hinge of the whole course, and everything quantitative after it runs through the same two conversions.
- Design the procedure — you will more often be handed a question and some glassware than a numbered list of steps.
- Report honestly — a yield of 94% with a stated reason beats a yield of 100% that quietly rounded. See Percentage Yield of a Precipitate.
- Carry your uncertainty — the answer has units and the right number of significant figures, or it is not an answer. See Significant Figures and Units.
- Connect it outward — the water in your tap and the air outside the window are both chemistry problems somebody is currently solving. See The Water Report and The Air We Share.
- Show your growth — your Chemistry Journal is the record of how your thinking changed; see How Marks Work.