What's going on in class- wrapping up the semester!

IB Chemistry
We are working on one last unit before the midterm- Equilibrium and Acids/Bases.  The main topics are: LeChatelier's principle, properties of acids and bases, and titration.  You will be doing another titration (Gosh, you're getting a lot of titration experience, huh?), but this time without an indicator.  You'll see that we can use the pH probes to find an exact endpoint instead of relying on your eyes.

The midterm exam is cumulative, 20% of your grade, essay, and it's an actual IB exam.  I know all 4 of those things are pretty scary, so we will spend about a week reviewing in class.

How to figure out what grade you need on the midterm...
80(class grade) + 20(midterm) = 100(overall grade)
so...
[(semester grade you want) - 0.8(your current grade)]/0.2= midterm grade you need
for example, if you have a 87%, and want to end with a B (80%):
[80 - 0.8(87)]/0.2 = 52, so you'd need a 52% after the curve on your midterm

After the midterm-- Organic!

Chemistry
You are in the middle of the Mole unit right now.  The emphasis for the next couple weeks will be applying your knowledge to the lab.  You have 4 labs coming up:

• Atoms in Your Name
• Percent Composition of a Penny
• Serial Dilution
• Butane/Ideal Gas Law

There is NOT a test for the Mole unit- just 2 quizzes on Jan 9 and 16.

You DO have a midterm for this course- worth 15% of your grade.  It is cumulative, multiple choice, and I'll admit it's pretty hard.  The questions are not difficult or tricky.  It's merely the quantity of material that makes this test hard.  It covers gas laws, atomic structure, the periodic table, names and formulas, bond types, and the mole.  There is an extra credit assignment which counts directly onto your midterm- see the Chemistry links below.  What should you study?  Your old packets and notes plus the study guide that we will give out and work on in class just before the exam.

How to figure out what grade you need on the midterm...
85(class grade) + 15(midterm) = 100(overall grade)
so...
[(semester grade you want) - 0.85(your current grade)]/0.15= midterm grade you need
for example, if you have a 83%, and want to end with a B (80%):
[80 - 0.85(83)]/0.15 = 47, so you'd need to get a 47% on the midterm to keep a B