Kendall Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I'm asking mostly for a friend. What are the easier chemistry options for a child who will be doing Algebra 1 concurrently and is somewhat of a struggling students? Do you know if either of these would fit in that category? Friendly Chemistry Conceptual Chemistry Are there others? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 I have heard good things about Friendly Chemistry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Just a quick aside -- if the student is not a STEM student, and not a fan of Chemistry, perhaps consider some OTHER lab science to complete the required high school sciences?? Astronomy, Earth Science, Botany, Forensic Science, Environmental Science… One of those that is of more interest to the student might be my first choice, rather than the Chemistry. Just a thought. :) Conceptual Chemistry was written to serve as an intro/overview to Chemistry for non-science majors in COLLEGE. So for non-STEM high school students, it will not be a cake walk, but is certainly do-able. The website provides FREE helpful video tutorials to explain concepts. CC is more about "going wide" rather than "going deep", so while it does not require a lot of math, there is some -- concurrent Algebra 1 would be okay, as long as the student was grasping basic equation solving concepts in the Algebra. And while CC does not spend a lot of time on balancing chemical equations and stoichiometry, there is a some exposure to those topics, which is more abstract and math-like in approach. Other less rigorous options: - Chemistry Power Basics (Walch Publishing) -- labs; text & workbook; essentials of high school (content) at below-level readability - Friendly Chemistry -- text & lab guide in a gentler, more basic format - Integrated Physics & Chemistry (Tiner) -- history-based; no labs - The Story of Science (Hakim) -- integrated -- mostly physics & chemistry history/lit.-based; text & workbooks; no labs - ACE School of Tomorrow "PACEs" -- no labs; DVDs & workbooks (Chem = 11th grade science) - Spectrum Chemistry not as intensive as some, but certainly not light-weight; labs, written to the student, requires fair amount of math (but publisher also offers 6-week Bridge Math program) The 101 series (Christian based) -- Biology, Chemistry, and in the future, Physics -- are at a middle school level, and do not have enough material or cover enough topic to count as a full science credit. But if this is for a middle schooler to be able to join along with a high school sibling, then this might be a nice supplement. Note that not all offer labs; do remember that if the student plans at some point to attend college, universities expect to see at least 2, and usually 3, of the high school science credits WILL have labs. More ideas in these past threads: Chemistry… not rigorous, please High school science that is not math-intensive Free video tutorials: Crash Course Chemistry (YouTube) Khan Academy: Chemistry GPB Education: Chemistry & Physics (Georgia Public Broadcasting) Periodic Table (University of Nottingham) Annenberg Learner: Interactives: The Periodic Table Mr. Causey Presents: Video Academy (chemistry tutorials, YouTube) Mr. Causey: Chem Coach Mini Course (free) Cosmo Learning: Chem Guy: Junior Chemistry, Senior Chemistry, AP Chemistry, Organic Chemistry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Thank you so much for the programs to look into! The idea my friend has is for the younger to do labs together with an older sibling who will be doing a more math based Chemistry. The younger student has expressed a desire to do science with the older sibling so that they could talk about it, but doesn't have the math skills necessary. I'm also thinking about trying this with Conceptual Physics and Knight Algebra based Physics with a 9th and 11th grader. (My 9th grader will do Physics again her senior year). I'll pass these links on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 The idea my friend has is for the younger to do labs together with an older sibling who will be doing a more math based Chemistry. The younger student has expressed a desire to do science with the older sibling so that they could talk about it, but doesn't have the math skills necessary. For doing labs together, you might look at TOPS units (Analysis, Solutions, Oxidation, Heat) -- very gentle for the younger, and then the older can get basic concepts from these labs and then do more complex labs with the more math-based Chemistry program. (Or, if using a more complex chemistry kit for the older, the younger can probably tag along pretty easily, if there are enough supplies for more than 1 student.) If the younger student is middle-school aged, or possibly 9th grade with learning struggles, these two texts (doing one per semester) from Prentice Hall's Science Explorer (also available at Amazon) might work: - Chemical Interactions (atoms & bonding, chemical reactions, acid/base/solutions, carbon chemistry) - Chemical Building Blocks (matter, solid/liquid/gas, elements/periodic table, exploring materials) If science from a Christian perspective works for this family, another option for the younger student that is a bit farther afield is Rainbow Science (same publisher as Spectrum Chemistry, linked in the above post). It is actually a 2-year program (although an 8th or 9th grader can do it in 1 year), with year 1 as Physical Science (overview of Physics & Chemistry), and year 2 as Life Science and a few additional topics. The downside here is that the students would only overlap for the Chemistry portion of Rainbow (about 9 weeks, if doing the program in 1 year). If the younger student is in middle school, you might also suggest the free downloadable Chemistry program for middle by ACS -- I would say that it is best for gr. 5-7. I'm also thinking about trying this with Conceptual Physics and Knight Algebra based Physics with a 9th and 11th grader. (My 9th grader will do Physics again her senior year). Conceptual Physics (CP) is by a different author (Hewitt) than Conceptual Chemistry's (CC) author (Suchocki -- who happens to be Hewitt's son-in-law). There are two versions of CP, with the high school edition very manageable for a 9th grader -- even do-able in middle school by a confident science student. CP has some basic math and problem-solving needed for the practice problems at chapter end, but using the straight forward equations given in the text. Our experience was that the Conceptual Physics was at a more gentle level than the Conceptual Chemistry. Be sure to check out Dicentra's thread on Hewitt's Conceptual Physics resources for all kinds of great labs, video tutorials, and other go-alongs. :) And here are some links to Physics resources for your older student doing Knight's Physics -- or really for both DC: - A Plus Physics (multiple resources) - (video tutorials on YouTube)- (video tutorials on YouTube)- Hippo Campus (links to: NASA and STEMbite collections of real world physics; PhET Collection physics simulations; Khan Academy physics tutorials) How kind of you to help out a friend! BEST wishes to BOTH of you in your science adventures ,and combining students, in the coming year! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioMomof3 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Pre-chemistry with Landry Academy uses the Friendly Chemistry text. My daughter enjoyed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Indeed Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Chemistry 101 might be a good option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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