United States · Common Core State Standards
11th Grade Chemistry
This course explores the fundamental principles governing the composition, properties, and interactions of matter. Students investigate chemical phenomena through the lens of atomic structure, energetic transitions, and mathematical relationships to explain the observable world.
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
Students examine the internal structure of the atom and how the arrangement of electrons dictates the periodic trends and chemical behavior of elements.
An exploration of how protons, neutrons, and electrons define an element's identity and its stability.
Understanding the probability-based model of the atom and how electrons occupy specific energy levels.
Analyzing patterns in atomic radius, ionization energy, and electronegativity across the periodic table.
Chemical Bonding and Molecular Geometry
This unit focuses on the forces that hold atoms together and how the three dimensional shape of molecules determines their macroscopic properties.
Investigating the electrostatic forces that create crystal lattices and the sea of electrons in metals.
Modeling how atoms share electrons to achieve stability and representing these connections through diagrams.
Predicting the shapes of molecules based on electron repulsion and determining how symmetry affects polarity.
Chemical Reactions and Stoichiometry
Students learn to quantify chemical changes and use mathematical relationships to predict the outcome of reactions.
Classifying reactions and predicting products for synthesis, decomposition, combustion, and replacement reactions.
Connecting the microscopic world of atoms to the macroscopic world of grams through the mole.
Using balanced equations to calculate theoretical yields and identify limiting reactants in a system.
States of Matter and Thermochemistry
Exploring the kinetic molecular theory, phase changes, and the energy transfers that accompany chemical and physical processes.
Describing the behavior of gases and the mathematical relationships between pressure, volume, and temperature.
Measuring the heat flow in chemical reactions and understanding the difference between endothermic and exothermic processes.
Calculating reaction heats through additive steps and introducing the concept of disorder in the universe.
Solutions and Acid-Base Chemistry
Investigating the properties of mixtures, the mechanics of dissolution, and the behavior of acids and bases in aqueous environments.
Examining factors that affect how substances dissolve and quantifying the strength of solutions.
Defining acids and bases through the Arrhenius and Bronsted Lowry models and exploring the pH scale.
Using neutralization reactions to determine the unknown concentration of a solution through titration techniques.
Kinetics and Chemical Equilibrium
Analyzing the rates of chemical reactions and the dynamic state where forward and reverse reactions occur at the same rate.
Investigating how concentration, temperature, and catalysts affect the speed of a chemical reaction.
Predicting how a system at equilibrium responds to external stresses such as changes in pressure or concentration.
Quantifying the ratio of products to reactants at equilibrium using the Keq expression.