Handsworth Secondary · North Vancouver · 2026–27
A full-year, university-level course with Dr. Ras Mulinta. Block 8.
the four happy hormones (D·O·S·E), plus one more
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The course
A full-year, first-year-university chemistry course built on the College Board's four Big Ideas and nine units, and mapped onto BC Chemistry 11 & 12. It extends what you met in Chem 11 with real university depth.
What you'll be able to do
Reason about matter at the particle level: structure, bonding, reactions, kinetics, energy, equilibrium, acids and bases. Then justify claims with evidence through the AP Science Practices. Hands-on labs make up a quarter of class time.
How the course runs
About 15 minutes of instruction, then you work while I circulate. Reading happens before class, so class time is for problems, labs and questions. This site is updated daily, so check it every day for what we are doing and what is due. See how you are graded →
Bring daily:
The year at a glance · tentative, please check daily for updates
Every class we meet, numbered Day 01 to Day 87. Everything here is tentative and formative: I update this page daily, so check it every day for what we are actually doing and what is due.
The refresher + nine units
Everything you need to preload each unit lives here: the notes package and the study guide. Read ahead so class time is for working problems, not copying them. Practice sets, answer keys and worked free-response come to you on paper, in class.
Labs
Investigations woven through the units. All twelve are marked. Two carry a full formal team report on the shared lab rubric; the rest get a quick check out of 4 while you work. The rubric and the report template are handed out on paper, in class.
Grading and expectations
AP Chemistry is a full-credit Grade 12 course. Your mark is built from three things, and one of them moves every week. Nothing here is a mystery; if you ever want to know where you stand, ask me.
Unit tests
We study all nine AP units, and seven of them carry a unit test: Units 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Units 4 and 9 are taught and examinable on the AP exam, but I assess them through labs and class work rather than a separate test. Tests are the summative pieces: written once, under exam conditions.
Labs and class work
Every lab counts. Two carry a full formal report; the other ten get a quick check out of 4 on the BC proficiency scale, marked in class while you work. Quizzes and in-class activities sit here too. Lab work is in teams of up to 4.
Capstone
The Chemistry of Medicine, built and presented after the AP exam in teams of up to 4. Scored out of 20 across five criteria: chemistry accuracy, quantitative work, investigation, communication, and collaboration. The rubric comes to you on paper, in class.
Reported
Your overall grade appears on the Learning Update across the three terms. The AP exam in May is separate and does not change your Handsworth mark.
✓ Attend
We meet 87 times all year. Block 8 runs on every Day 2, so a missed class is a missed week of the topic sequence.
✓ Preload
Read the unit notes package and study guide before we get there. Class time is for working problems, not copying them.
✓ Ask early
If something has not clicked, bring it to me in the first two weeks of a unit, not the night before the test.
Resources