|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Chemistry Course Requirements
|
|
| |
The AP Program unequivocally supports the principle that each individual school must develop its own curriculum for courses labeled "AP." Rather than mandating any one curriculum for AP courses, the AP Course Audit instead provides each AP teacher with a set of expectations that college and secondary school faculty nationwide have established for college-level courses. AP teachers are encouraged to develop or maintain their own curriculum that either includes or exceeds each of these expectations; such courses will be authorized to use the "AP" designation. Credit for the success of AP courses belongs to the individual schools and teachers that create powerful, locally designed AP curricula.
The AP Chemistry course should be designed by your school to provide students with a learning experience equivalent to that of a one-year general chemistry college course. Your AP Chemistry course should include those topics regularly covered in a typical general chemistry college course, and differ from the usual first high school course in chemistry in respect to the kind of textbook(s) used, the range and depth of topics covered, the emphasis on chemical calculations and the mathematical formulation of principles, the nature and variety of laboratory work done by students, and the time and effort required of students.
Schools' AP Chemistry courses are typically designed to be taken by students after the completion of a first course in high school chemistry and a second-year algebra course. Students are encouraged to keep copies of their laboratory work for use in determining college credit or placement.
All students who are willing to accept the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be considered for admission to AP courses. The College Board encourages the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP courses for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the AP Program. Schools should make every effort to ensure that their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population.
High schools offering this exam must provide the exam administration resources described in the AP Coordinator's Manual.
Requirements
To request authorization to label a course "AP," complete the following two steps:
- Complete and submit an AP Course Audit form, on which the teacher and principal attest that their course includes or exceeds the following curricular requirements delineated by college and university faculty.
- Submit an electronic copy of the course syllabus that demonstrates inclusion or improvement on the curricular requirements (see Syllabus Preparation Guidelines). If your course does not include one or more of the curricular requirements but merits designation as a college-level course, see Instructions for Submitting Materials for the process for describing alternate approaches to the course.
 Syllabus Preparation Guidelines
Instructions for Teachers
Instructions on how to submit AP Course Audit materials via the Web will be posted on AP Central and mailed to principals in January 2007.
Curricular Requirements
- The teacher has read the most recent AP Chemistry Course Description, available as a free download on the AP Chemistry Course Home Page.
AP Chemistry Course Home Page
- The course provides instruction in each of the following five content areas outlined in the Course Description:
- Structure of Matter (Atomic theory and atomic structure, Chemical bonding)
- States of Matter (Gases, Liquids and solids, Solutions)
- Reactions (Reaction types, Stoichiometry, Equilibrium, Kinetics, Thermodynamics)
- Descriptive Chemistry (Relationships in the periodic table)
- Laboratory (Physical manipulations; Processes and procedures; Observations and data manipulation; Communication, group collaboration, and the laboratory report)
- The course emphasizes chemical calculations and the mathematical formulation of principles.
- The course includes a laboratory component comparable to college-level chemistry laboratories. A minimum of one double-period per week or its equivalent is spent engaged in laboratory work. A hands-on laboratory component is required. Each student should complete a lab notebook or portfolio of lab reports. Note: Online course providers utilizing virtual labs (simulations rather than hands-on) should submit their laboratory materials for the audit. If these lab materials are determined to develop the skills and learning objectives of hands-on labs, then courses which use these labs may receive authorization to use the "AP" designation. (For information on the requirements for an AP Chemistry laboratory program, the Guide for the Recommended Laboratory Program is included in the Course Description.)*
Resource Requirements
- The school ensures that each student has a college-level chemistry textbook (supplemented when necessary to meet the curricular requirements) for individual use inside and outside of the classroom.
- The school ensures that students have access to scientific equipment and all necessary materials to conduct safe, hands-on, college-level chemistry laboratory investigations.
- The school ensures that students have access to a safe laboratory environment.
* This requirement was revised on July 13, 2006.
|
|
|
|
|
|
