Here is a check list to help you prepare for the first quiz on Monday:

1. Be able to state the difference between a hypothesis and a theory and a law.

2. Be able to determine if a change is a physical change or a chemical change (hint: chemical changes involve the making and/or breaking of chemical bonds).

3. Know the following metric prefices: Giga, Mega, Kilo, milli, micro, nano, pico (and you should also know centi- for centimeters).

4. Be able to do density problems. There is a drill sheet on density in the review section of the handouts.

5. Review the rules about significant figures but I will not be taking points off for errors with sig. figs. in this first quiz.

6. Be able to describe electrons, protons and neutrons (charge, location, relative mass) and also be able to describe the three main types of radioactive decay products (alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays)

7. Review isotopic notation. Pay special attention to the equation 2.2 on page 45 and Example 2-3.

8. Be able to convert grams to moles and moles to grams.

9. Be able to determine how many particles are present given the mass of a compound.

10. Be able to calculate percent by mass of an element in a compound e.g. what percentage by mass is oxygen in water.

Here is a photo taken in Duluth, MN. This is an area full of iron ores – so much so that the land is the color of rust.

You can see evidence of iron by the color of the river and rocks.

Here are the rusty squirrels I mentioned in class. The squirrels have figured out how to blend in with their lovely coats that are a perfect match for iron oxide.

Rusty Squirrels Blend in with Iron Rich Terraine

Taconite is the most common ore in this area.

Because of the holiday Chemistry 201 met only once and spent a fair amount of that first class taking a test. Why? Because in order to be successful in Chemistry 201 it is critical to have a good foundation in Basic Chemistry – names of the elements, basic structure of matter, simple chemical equations, nomenclature of inorganic compounds, the metric system and it is also critical to have a good foundation is basic algebra – rearrange equations of solve for an unknown, carry out conversions, use proportional reasoning. Any student who is not very comfortable with these skills should immediately seek out support and hit the books! (and the Internet – there are so many useful videos, worksheets, explanations)

On Monday we will have our first lab so be sure to download and print it! We’ll be analyzing an unknown white powder – one of several common household white powders: sugar, baking soda, etc.

Having a laboratory notebook is very, very important! Please bring it to every class.