Is it just me, or does the Usad description of chemistry make it seem REALLY long. Or, at least longer than the 08 science packet.

Post the link to the curriculum at USAD. I haven't seen it yet.

Please and thank you, of course.

http://www.usad.org/students/curr_outlines.asp

Thanks.

It's entirely possible that it's just an exhaustive listing of the topics.

I hope.

yeah, they can't get a whole lot more specific than that.

Chapter one sounds absolutely ridiculous. Chemistry to meld ores together?! Awesome.

dude hartman do you want to like drop out of college and do ad next year?

Dude you guys really take this seriously don't ya? Man aca-deca is like a cult!! A freakin awesome cult that is!! What's happening?

Antoine Lavoisier and the Birth of Modern Chemistry

1. Key concepts developed during this period

a) Measuring gases

b ) Weighing things

c) Careful observations


Weighing things? And the careful observations of these weighings of things.

And yes. GAWD yes. Of course, in college I would be a scholastic. But good lord, we should unretire for every even year.

haha, there's a IRT on the philosophers stone, JK Rowling should be able to help everyone out on that one.

WHOA, the USAD curriculum outlines are up! Awesome, I was not aware of this development. And yes, this chemistry curriculum has the potential to be beastly and amazing; I'm sort of wishing I'd asked DemiDec Dan for that subject as my first choice now instead of Super Quiz. The outline looks great; I hope USAD goes into enough depth to do this subject justice. Perhaps I'll get to review all that AP Chemistry material I've forgotten...

After reading everything...damn. This will be a fun year, tough scores I think.

The first section looks really, REALLY interesting.
Then, there are the hard science sections.
And then I saw that section 1 is only worth 5 percent?
What the hell is that?
What is this nomenclature or something?

snaps, we need an art thread for 2010, stat!

and as for weighing things. you guys, what is mass? no, really, what IS mass? like really?

Are you confused about the difference between mass and weight?

mass is the amount of matter in something. weight is the force exerted on something by gravity (ie, its mass times the gravitational acceleration)

Bleh. Chemistry. Woo! French Revolution.

The Super Quiz outline was absurdly vague. And 60% of Super Quiz comes from one section?! Strange brew.

Seriously, Chemistry is like 6 pages worth in detail and super quiz is barely broken down.

I know. I read the outlines today with my class and couldn't believe the SQ one after reading the science one...

All the same, the Chemistry looks like a basic one-year course. Folks in AP Chemistry should have a blast, unless they didn't like Chem.

Since I have to take my sat subject tests, i was actually considering taking the chemistry just because it would be the science.
But, thats probably too risky.

Chemistry looks like the greatest test of all time. I would love that packet sooooo much.

I'm actually pretty stoked it's chemistry. I gotta say, I'd take it over evolutionary biology.

Yep, yep yep. I'm a chemist, not a biologist. I'm going to try a practice test without reading the packet and see how much awesome it is.







...oh, to be competing next year...

Yeah, I've been thinking of that too.
I'm in AP Chems this year, and I had chems a year before that, so I'm hoping these two years will pay off.
I love it.

yeah, its weird because alot of it looks like it's going to be a chemistry test. Not history of chemistry, but actual chemistry. Where they ask you gas laws and thermo and stuff. And that would give AP chem kids a massive advantage.

that's what I thought as well.

I skimmed the outline and as soon as I saw thermodynamics, gas laws, and equilibrium I thought of the ap chems practice test I took today, haha. Everyone who has taken/is taking ap chems this coming school year will definitely have an advantage.

Luckily, at least half of next year's team at my school (all honors, 1 schol, 1 varsity minimum) has taken/will be taking AP chem. So science scores might not be too terrible.

I hope my team next year will be so lucky.
There's only three of us returning next year (2 honors, 1 scholastic). The other two are taking AP Chems next year since they're a year younger than me. Majority of my team were seniors this year, so it's not going to be so easy to get a complete team, but we're working on it. I'm hoping we can get everyone on the same page with Chemistry though.

Everyone seems excited for Chem.

Because Chemistry>>>>>>not Chemistry.

Truth be told, I'd like to see Science in general be 100% independent research in years it's not superquiz and for it to rotate from one general area of study to the next. When we did Chemistry in 1986, it was exactly that - 100% independent research. If a kid took AP Chem, he was looking at a 900+ on the science test.

DISCLAIMER: I got a 5 in AP Chem, so I loved taking all the Chem. tests. And, as a coach, I actually get excited about the possibility of discussing orbitals...

Chemistry is lame. Biology is so much more interesting.

... aaaaand this is an example of a lack of effort... try harder, next time kthxbi...

As for the crux of the argument, with all due respect, no.

We've had biology in SO many recent science topics:

Evolutionary Biology -2009
Infectious Diseases -2008
Anatomy -2006
Botany -2004

Astronomy and Climatology provided something of a break in 2005 and 2007, respectively, and Climatology included elements of Biology... so we totally need a break from Life Sciences.

Wow. Chemistry is going to be relatively easy. The outline looks like a review to what my final for Chemistry might look like. It almost makes me want to take AP Chem instead of AP Bio next year...

...nah.

seconded. I love my bio classes. Chem needs to die :'(

I agree entirely with zzzptm. It's way past time for USAD to do another purely physical science. Chemistry seems something of a departure from the past, as it's a general overview of one of the most fundamental science fields; previous topics have been more specialized (evolution, diseases, climatology, etc.) However, it's a welcome change, and I'll look forward to seeing the materials.

Darn Ap Chem kids and their advantage.
I wonder if organic chem will give me an advantage?

Not really.

Organic Chemistry is totally not in the curriculum this year, with the possible exception of hydrogen bonds and life sciences. DARN THAT BIOLOGY FOR SHOWING UP AGAIN!

@Vid: you took orgo before ap chem???

Like real orgo? Or just nomenclature?
Because Orgo is like a 300 level science class in college. AP chem is like easier than most 100 level college chem classes.

this is like a million days old, but my weight/mass thing was a joke, will. obviously not a great one.

No, I'm taking organic chem next year. And I've never taken, and I dont plan on taking Ap Chem.
So I thought maybe since it involves the word chem I'd get some advantage as i learn both the curriculum and aim to own organic chem.
I now know that my hopes and dreams are now crushed......not really.

But you really are taking Orgo? Without ever having taken AP Chem? I'm impressed. If the Orgo you're taking is the Orgo I've become accustomed to, then I am really, really impressed. Isn't that a bit like taking Differential Equations without ever taking Calculus I? My mind is officially blown.

Now I am REALLY scared for next year.
Well I never liked chemistry that much.
And I assumed organic chem was more biology like.
And I'm going to be a doctor eventually so I have to take it, so i thought, hmm why not suffer now than later.

Good luck. Everyone I know who has taken Orgchem said it's evil. A lot of naming stuff/stupid crap like that

I'd really strongly recommend AP Chemistry before Organic Chemistry. The labs in Organic are not for the faint of heart, and you need all the fortification you can get. Take the AP.

Plus AP sounds better.
And I really regret not taking as many APs as possible in highschool. Trust me, the extra college credit (and the chance to get out of crappy classes) is worth a little extra work. Plus it's cheaper in the long run.

I'm going to echo jonesy on the AP thing. I took 8 APs and came to tcu with 32 credit hours. I have never had to take an 8 am class, I've only had friday classes my first semester, and I now have time for two minors and the flexibility to take a lighter course load if I have to...

On the other hand, I took two AP's and only one gave me credit, and that credit doesn't even count towards my major (AP Bio only counts as Bio 101 at UNL, which, apparently isn't needed for a bio major..... )

Isnt Ap Chem just a numerical powerpack version of regular chem?