In this course, students will be introduced to the electromagnetic spectrum and the electronic structure of the atom. First, students will learn about different forms of light. We will discuss how light relates to our daily lives and how planet Earth's atmosphere/matter interacts with light to allow life to exist on our planet.  We will go over wave nature and particle nature of light and will examine the overall relationship between frequency, wavelength and energy of light waves. 

Next, we will delve into why light emitted by various atoms differ. We will discuss how electrons are localized to different energy levels around the nucleus and will learn to draw Lewis dot structures and Bohr diagrams of elements. Students will also be introduced to the quantum mechanical model of the atom.  Students will learn to write electron configurations and orbital notations of atoms.  They will work on multiple practice problems to solidify their understanding. Knowledge of the electronic structure is required to understand why and how chemical bonds are formed. 

PowerPoint presentations, practice problems and simulations will be used to teach.  I will use online assessments to check for student understanding.  Worksheet packets that go along with the presentations and homework problems will be provided.  Students are expected to take some notes as they fill in the blanks on the handouts. This class is an interactive class; when in doubt, students are encouraged to ask questions. I will be assisting students while they work. Depending on the pace of the class, students may have homework. 

The recording of each session will be available to enrolled students after attending one live session (as long as there are students present in each session). This is meant to help learners review or catch up if they miss anything during class as the class may have diverse learners.

Tentative Schedule:
Day 1
=>What is Light?
=>Wave nature of light & particle nature of light
=>Frequency, wavelength and energy 
=>Practice problems/Homework
=>Online assessment

Day 2
=>Atomic emission spectra
=>Spectral lines of hydrogen
=>Valence electrons & Lewis dot structure
=>Drawing Bohr diagrams using the periodic table
=>Practice problems/Homework
=>Online assessment

Day 3
=>Introduction to the quantum mechanical model of the atom
=>Electron configuration part 1
=>Practice problems/Homework

Days 4
=>electron configuration part 2
=>Orbital notations
=>What are chemical bonds & why do atoms bond with each other?
=>Online assessment

Note: 
=>Please check the learner supply list before signing up
=>Topics from one session may run into the subsequent session depending on the progress of the overall class 
=>Later materials will build on earlier materials
=>I will leave the zoom session if nobody shows up within the first 5 minutes of each session.
=>class may run over the allotted time (by 5 minutes or so) at times