Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

[tvaleri]

In trying to put together a chemistry course for my dd, who requested not to use Apologia, I learned a few things. After much frustration over the weekend, I wanted to pass along what I learned.

 

If you have The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments by Robert Thompson, per Mr. T himself, you will need to spend roughly $400 on lab equipment.

 

There is a guide to THGHCE available for free download which requires a kit beginning at $150. If you wish to add (2) goggles and digital mulitmeter, add $15.

 

The guide is not complimentary to the book. It is comprised of most of the experiments in the book, but certainly not all.

 

Great link:

 

http://www.squidoo.com/chemistry-for-high-schoolers

 

This smart gal put together what looks like a dynamite chemistry class for her boys using videos, books (including the Thompson one), notebooking, and more!

 

One more thought....Georgia Public TV has a free chemistry course consisting of 30 minute videos, notetaking outline, lab reports, and quizzes. GA educators can request teacher materials which will be mailed directly to the instructor.

 

Whew! Hope that helps someone!

 

Teresa in NC

[angela in ohio]

Thank you so much for this! I bought the book after I asked here about doing chemistry on our own at home. We are mostly doing the labs from DIVE, but I am adding a few from the book, and it has been IMMENSELY helpful in figuring out how to order supplies, how to set up our lab safely, etc.

[Elizabeth in WA]

If you have The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments by Robert Thompson, per Mr. T himself, you will need to spend roughly $400 on lab equipment.

 

 

We are way over this figure in preparation for using the book for labs this year. We will use a separate book for the lecture portion of the class. However, we are really excited about doing chemistry and I have younger children coming up who will also benefit from the investment. For oldest AP Chemistry is a much better choice than chemistry at CC because a 4 or 5 on AP is used for placement into Honors freshman chemistry at our flagship state college and ds15 wants to be a chemical engineer. He is also the type of kid to enjoy the challenge and atmosphere of an honors class far more than the non honors class at the next level.

[homeschoolmom97]

Ok, you got me thinking. I actually used the Thompson book for my dd this past year. Because she is CLEARLY a liberal arts type, we did what I would describe as "chem lab light" - a total of 30 hours, following the lab schedule our coop taught. There were times I "made do" rather than buy some equipment, and other times when I chose labs based on how much the chemicals would cost, and whether I could use the chemicals in multiple experiments - and still I ended up spending a little over $200. But it WAS fun!!!!

[mcconnellboys]

Barb posts here and I'm betting that she still spent that much for her supplies, even without a ready-made kit. I've accumulated chemistry supplies over the years and I know that I've spent more than that. Chemicals, even in small quantities, are expensive!

 

Where did you find the guide and kit, please? I'm looking and looking at the website and can't find them. I knew he was coming out with a kit to go with the book (sorta), but haven't seen it listed for sale yet.... Thanks! (My son is using this book with a small group, too....)

[Greensa]

is http://www.thehomescientist.com/kits/CK01/ck01-main.html

 

There was a recent thread discussing it, which lead me to the kit. We compared prices on some of it with purchasing on eBay and the kit came out ahead, especially with shipping. I purchased it for this year.

 

The package arrived yesterday and I like the looks of it. He's up front that you'll need to get a few standard household items (can't remember what they are, but they are truly common enough if you don't have them it'll only take a trip to the grocery). I'll let you know in a year how I like it!

 

Sara