Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions
of students and parents.
- What days do you stay after school?
- What happens if I forget my close-toed shoes on chemistry lab day?
- Do I really have to wear goggles during the chemistry labs?
- What happens when I'm absent the day before a test or project is due?
- What do I do about homework if I am absent?
- What should I do if my printer breaks/runs out of ink?
- Why do I need a flash drive?
- Do I need to have a calculator for this class?
- What happens when I don't put units on answers to the problems (N.U.N.P.)?
- Why do Honors Chemistry II students complete summer work?
What days do you stay after school?
I generally stay after school on Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00
to 3:00 PM.
What happens if I forget my close-toed shoes on chemistry lab day?
If you are wearing open-toed shoes on lab day, you will not be
allowed to participate in the lab. It is a good idea to bring in
an old pair of sneakers at the beginning of the year and leave
them in your locker or in my room. You will be given one chance
(one day after school, of my choosing) to make up the lab.
Labs are announced well in advance so you should be prepared.
Do I really have to wear goggles during the chemistry labs?
YES, you really have to wear goggles during labs! There will be
no exception to this rule, and if you cannot follow it, you will
be asked to sit down and receive a zero for your lab performance.
This is explained on your lab rubric.
What happens when I'm absent the day before a test or project is due?
If you are absent only for ONE day, you will still be responsible
for taking the test or passing in the project/lab report. If you
are absent for 2+ days, you and I will have a discussion to
determine what course of action should be taken.
What do I do about homework if I am absent?
Homework will be posted daily on the website, so you will always
be able to see what it is. Sometimes, you may not be able to do
the homework because you weren't in class to learn the new topic.
However, if you know how to do the homework, it is in your best
interest to complete it so that you are not behind. Although, the
homework policy states that you will have one day to make up the
homework, so you will not be required to complete the homework
the same day you are absent. Homework that is one day late may be
submitted for half-credit as long as we did not go over it in
class the day it was due. After that, you may not make it up.
What should I do if my printer breaks/runs out of ink?
You may email me your assignment/lab report as an attachment at
cameronj@lincolnps.org. There will be NO excuse for not emailing
it to me. You may also go to the Lincoln Public Library and use
their printers or use the printer in the LHS library in the
morning. You will have to produce a hard copy of the report but
emailing it will give you an axtra day to do so.
Why do I need a flash drive?
Throughout this course, you will be writing lab reports and doing
research for projects. It will make your life much easier if you
can save your work from the computer labs onto your flash drive
instead of hoping that your work will still be at the computer in
the morning. Then you will be able to finish your work at home
that you started in school, with ease.
It will also help you if your printer runs out of ink! Then you
can transport your document to another computer with a printer
that works. Emailing documents sometimes removes necessary
formatting elments used in chemistry labs and documents.(See
question 6)
Do I need to have a calculator for this class?
There is a lot of math in chemistry and a scientific calculator
will be extremely helpful for you. I do have a few extra
calculators that I allow students to use, but by the end of the
year, many of them "disappear" and I will have nothing left for
you to use. Taking a chemistry test without a calculator is very
difficult, and it is wise to purchase a scientific calculator
before the beginning of the year.
Please also make sure that you write your name on your calculator
with permanent marker so if you leave it behind in class, it can
be returned to you.
You should purchase a TI-30 series so that you become used to the
keyboad layout and keystroke sequences. Remember - TI-80 series
calculators are not to be used for tests and quizzes. It is
better if you have the one you will be using on tests and quizzes
so you become familiar with it as you learn the material.
What happens when I don't put units on answers to the problems (N.U.N.P.)?
In chemistry and the other physical sciences, numbers without
units don't mean a lot. For example, say you are really working
hard at your new part time job and your boss says "I am going to
pay you 6." Your next question would be "Six what?" Could it be
6 dollars, 6 cents, or maybe 6 cookies or 6 kind words? Until you
put a unit on the number it doesn't have meaning. When a
scientist calculates an answer to a problem, we need to specify
what our numbers mean!
To emphasize this I have the following policy: if you are taking
a test or quiz and leave off the units
from your answers, your answer really has no meaning. Because of
this, your answer does not
deserve to receive the points allocated to it. No units, no
points (N.U.N.P.)
That's why you need to build the habit of labeling the numbers
on your answers. It's basic training!
If I didn't emphasize this I would be doing you a disservice.
After one time of "N.U.N.P." happening
to you, you will be a lot less likely to have it happen again. In
fact, your answers will start to look
"funny" without the units.
Why do Honors Chemistry II students complete summer work?
There are several reasons for completing summer work:
1. Students who complete work during the summer perform
better in class throughout the year. In other parts of the world,
there is not such a long break between school years. Students
forget less and are able to comfortably cover more material
with a chance to “use it and not lose it.”
2. Students are given opportunity to hone mathematical
skills learned in Chemistry I.
3. During a time of relatively less work, students are
able to memorize the more mundane material such as metric
prefixes and ion formulas so that we may move more efficiently
through material that builds on this knowledge during
the school year.
4. The summer reading opens the context in which
we will be studying chemistry. It highlights the connections
between chemistry and history and politics. Mankind’s search
for explanations concerning the world and how it works become
apparent as you read about the people and the molecules that have
affected the course of history.
