Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope you
and your child are as excited as I am about the upcoming school year. I wanted to give you a preview of what we
will be learning this year in physical science. We will start with the basics, mostly science process skills like
the metric system, graphing, safety, and measuring. The whole first semester is devoted to chemistry, and second
semester is devoted to physics. It
takes about 7-10 days to complete a chapter and take a test over it. The order of units and chapters covered
during the year is listed below.
Chapter 1 The nature of science
Unit 4 The Nature of Matter
Chapter 16 Solids, liquids, and gases
Chapter 17 Classification of matter
Chapter 18 Properties of Atoms and the periodic table
Chapter 19 Chemical bonds
Unit 5 Diversity of Matter
Chapter 20 Elements and their properties
Chapter 21 Organic compounds
Unit 6 Interactions of Matter
Chapter 23 Solutions
Chapter 24 Chemical Reactions
Chapter 25 Acids, bases, and salts
Part of Chapter 9 Radioactivity and Nuclear Reactions
Unit 1 Energy and Motion
Chapter 2 Motion and Speed
Chapter 3 Forces
Chapter 4 Energy
Chapter 5 Work and Machines
Chapter 6 Thermal Energy
Unit 2 Electricity and Energy Resources
Chapter 7 Electricity
Chapter 8 Magnetism and Its Uses
Unit 3 Energy on the Move
Chapter 11 Waves
Chapter 12 Sound
Chapter 13 Electromagnetic Waves
Chapter 14 Light
Chapter 15 Mirrors and lenses
The
science department has its own website that students can access for notes,
homework assignments, etc. It is
www.oocities.org/metterhs03/science.html.
In
addition to chapter tests, the students will have quizzes over safety, lab
equipment, and elements of the periodic table.
There are also cumulative tests at the end of each 9 weeks and at the
end of the semester. It is important
that each student keep a science notebook.
These notebooks will be checked at the end of each 9 weeks, will count
as a test, and will not be accepted late.
You can
expect your child to have some kind of homework in science everyday. There is a penalty for late work. It is as follows:
1 Day late -10 points
2 Days late -20 points
3 Days late -30
points
Assignments
will not be accepted three days after they were due. During the spring of the year, the students will have a research
project to complete. This project,
which counts as a test, will not be accepted late at all. If a student has prior knowledge of an
assignment and is present on the date the assignment is due, they are expected
to turn it in, take the test, etc. It a
student is absent, he/she has 1 day to get the assignment plus the number of
days absent to complete the assignment.
Also, I dont believe in extra credit assignments for individual
students. Any extra credit I give, I
give to the whole class. Tests count
40%, daily homework and quizzes count 30%, and labs count 30% of the final 9
weeks grade.
Most
parents like to know what kind of rules a teacher has in her room. In my room, students must follow all
handbook rules and school rules posted in the classroom. The bottom line is that no student can
disrupt class so that I cant teach.
Its one thing if you dont want to learn yourself; its another story
if you keep someone else from learning.
It wont be tolerated. Each 9
weeks, each student will be given a bathroom card. Each corner of the card can be used for a trip to the
bathroom. If a student has a medical
condition that necessitates more trips to the bathroom than that, I need a note
from a doctor.
Students
will need some materials for physical science.
They will need a folder or notebook with pockets and brads or rings,
notebook paper, a calculator, colored pencils, blue or black ink pens, and
pencils. No assignment will be accepted
in any color ink other than blue or black.
We have brand new science books this year. I would like for all students to cover their books. Stretchable cloth book covers are easy to
use and can be found at Walmart and Rite Aide.
I hope we
have a wonderful year. If you have any
questions, dont hesitate to contact me at school, 685-2134, or at home,
685-4955. Thank you in advance for your
help.
Sincerely,
Twila Durden
Science Department
*The teacher reserves the right to make adjustments in
course content and/or grading procedures as needed.
_______________________________________________________________________________
I have read the above syllabus for physical science.
Student Signature_____________________________
Parent Signature______________________________