Lizzie in Ma Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I am looking for a strong but do-able Chem course with labs to help prepare my dd to go into nursing school. I do not care if is secular or Christian, I just want it to be excellent. Any thoughts hive mind? From those who have btdt? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra in NC Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 We are doing both Apologia Chem and Adv. Chem in one year. I think the two books together make a rigorous college prep class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan P. Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I like Zumdahl's Introductory Chemistry book. It is easily found used, and I was also able to find a used TE. This is a college book used with AP classes all across the USA. I also found a syllabus online for it. Here is the URL for it: http://college.hmco.com/chemistry/intro/zumdahl/intro_chemistry/5e/students/ I used a MichroChem lab set with this book. I didn't worry about matching the experiments with the book, but you could do that. HTH, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms. Riding Hood Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Ditto. Ds did well on AP chem after using both in a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Did you do these consecutively or concurrently? I am not familiar with this product at all, so forgive my ignorance on how they work. I intend to look into the chemistry programs mentioned in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Take a look at Singapore's O level Chemistry (http://www.singaporemath.com). I really like it. I will be teaching it in co-op next year. Previously I taught Apologia Chemistry (not advanced version). While it was good, I think Singapore's is more comprehensive and requires much more critical thinking ability than Apologia's text. The Singapore text is in color and covers applications of chemistry (lacking in Apologia). The Apologia text will probably cover all you need for high school, and the addition of the advanced text probably rounds out the program. The Apologia texts are black and white and, frankly, boring IMO. The Singapore texts are more inviting, IMO. Another possibility is The Spectrum by Beginnings Publishing (The Rainbow Science people). This is also a good text which I like better than Apologia. It is a little expensive, though. But it does have the advantage of being able to purchase the whole kit-n-kaboodle lab set. The labs with Spectrum are more in-depth than Apologia's. You can see samples at http://www.beginningspublishing.com. All of these programs will serve you well for high school level chemistry to prepare a student for nursing school. You'll just need to find the one that you will actually *do* and that depends on what type of book will engross your student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra in NC Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Did you do these consecutively or concurrently?I am not familiar with this product at all, so forgive my ignorance on how they work. I intend to look into the chemistry programs mentioned in this thread. Sequentially. We just finished the first book and are on to Advanced next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Sequentially. We just finished the first book and are on to Advanced next week. Mental Note: Sequentially. Not concurrently AND consecutively. If I go back and edit my mistake and I'll put down "senility" as the reason for the edit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 TThe Apologia text will probably cover all you need for high school, and the addition of the advanced text probably rounds out the program. The Apologia texts are black and white and, frankly, boring IMO. The Singapore texts are more inviting, IMO. . Just to clarify, I'm not sure whether you are saying the Apologia books are literally black and white or the presentation style. The new editions do have color illustrations - but that may not be what you mean :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Just to clarify, I'm not sure whether you are saying the Apologia books are literally black and white or the presentation style. The new editions do have color illustrations - but that may not be what you mean :) You're right. My copy does have a few pictures in color as well as highlighted text colors. But it pales in comparison with the other 2 texts. Apologia uses very few graphics yet chemistry is a science that lends itself to the heavy use of graphics (as seen in the other texts). Apologia seems to be the default choice for most homeschoolers (and I believe the chemistry text is the best text Apologia has produced) but there are other excellent choices out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Cynthia, I'd love to know more about Singapore's O level Chemistry. Would it prepare one for an AP Exam? The university level classes are A-level rather than O-level, aren't they? In my mind I've always equated O-level with regular high school chemistry and A-level with honors or AP. Then again, if O-level is rigorous enough then maybe it would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura K (NC) Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 My son is using the Zumdahl book now and is really enjoying it. It's meaty, but there are lots of examples and good explanations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Cynthia, I'd love to know more about Singapore's O level Chemistry. Would it prepare one for an AP Exam? The university level classes are A-level rather than O-level, aren't they? In my mind I've always equated O-level with regular high school chemistry and A-level with honors or AP. Then again, if O-level is rigorous enough then maybe it would work. We used Singapore Chem and it is a wonderful book but it alone will not prepare you for the AP chem exam sad to say. It omits some topics or covers them briefly (don't ask me which ones since this was two years ago!) but spends more time on industrial chem. My ds really enjoyed it. We added Chang (MGH) and an online lab to the mix to fill out the whole program. If you weren't aiming for the AP, this would be a terrific book on it's own. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 I'll have to defer to Mary on this one. I'm not familiar with the AP chemistry exam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Ditto. Ds did well on AP chem after using both in a year. Thanks for posting this. I was just about to ask about experiences with AP after taking both Apologia Chemistry & Advanced Chemistry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev in B'ville Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I bought the text used by Scholar's Online: Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity by Kotz (6th edition) plus the study guide. A friend of mine picked up Chang's and Zumdahl's books, which I plan to use to supplement. The TE for the Kotz book is available online. I am also using The Teaching Company's Chemistry videos, as just reading about Chemistry can be quite boring. For labs, I'm using a book called The Joy of Chemistry. It's called a "fireside reader." I've read the book and found that I like its simple explanations. With chapters titles like "Bond: Chemical Bond," and "Coppers and Robbers," I found it rather humorous sometimes. In the beginning of the book it gives a shopping list of supplies one needs to purchase to do the experiments throughout the book. I will have dd take the SAT-Chemistry test at the end of the year. Showing high school mastery is all I want for this subject. HTH. Bev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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