Course: High School Chemistry
Grading Period Breakdown: 6-Week Blocks
Textbook / Resources: State-approved Chemistry Textbook & Digital Resources

Course Description
This course introduces students to the study of matter, its properties, and how it changes. Students will conduct field and laboratory investigations using safe practices, the scientific method, and critical thinking to solve chemical problems.

Course Outline by 6-Week Blocks

1st Six Weeks: Scientific Method, Safety, and Matter

• Laboratory Safety and Equipment: Safety contracts, PPE, and emergency procedures.
• Scientific Measurement & Data: Significant figures, scientific notation, dimensional analysis, and density.
• Characteristics of Matter: Physical vs. chemical properties, intensive vs. extensive properties, states of matter, and classification of matter (elements, compounds, mixtures).

2nd Six Weeks: Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table

• Atomic Theory & Structure: History of the atom, subatomic particles (protons, neutrons, electrons), isotopes, and average atomic mass.
• Electron Configuration: Quantum numbers, orbital diagrams, Lewis valence dot structures, and electromagnetic spectrum.
• Periodic Table Trends: Group/period classifications, electronegativity, ionization energy, and atomic radius.

3rd Six Weeks: Chemical Bonding and Nomenclature

• Ionic and Covalent Bonding: Valence electrons, octet rule, metallic bonding, and molecular geometry (VSEPR theory).
• Chemical Nomenclature: Naming and writing formulas for ionic compounds, covalent compounds, and acids.
• Chemical Quantities (The Mole): Avogadro's number, molar mass, percent composition, empirical formulas, and molecular formulas.

4th Six Weeks: Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry

• Chemical Equations: Identifying signs of chemical changes, writing word equations, and balancing skeleton equations.
• Types of Reactions: Synthesis, decomposition, single-replacement, double-replacement, and combustion.
• Stoichiometry: Mole-to-mole, mass-to-mass, and mixed stoichiometric calculations, limiting reactants, and percent yield.

5th Six Weeks: Solutions and Gas Laws

• Solutions and Solubility: Solute vs. solvent, factors affecting solubility, molarity calculations, dilutions, and solubility curves.
• Acids, Bases, and Neutralization: pH and pOH calculations, properties of acids/bases, and titration basics.
• Gas Laws: Kinetic Molecular Theory, Boyle’s, Charles’s, Gay-Lussac’s, Combined, and Ideal Gas Laws.

6th Six Weeks: Thermochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry

• Thermochemistry: Endothermic vs. exothermic reactions, specific heat calculations , and calorimetry.
• Nuclear Chemistry: Alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, balancing nuclear equations, and half-life calculations.
• Final Review and Capstone: Comprehensive TEKS review and laboratory practical application.