Chemistry

Homeschool chemistry excellence

Are you looking for a well-regarded home school college prep chemistry course for your high school age children? Conceptual Chemistry, 4e, and its companion website, ConceptualChemistry.com are excellent resources with a wealth of content for teachers/parents looking for a complete home school chemistry course, especially when combined with the Explorations in Conceptual Chemistry Student Activity Manual.

Conceptual Chemistry by John Suchocki (Prentice-Hall publisher) is a leading textbook used internationally by colleges and high schools. This textbook is designed for the liberal arts college student not majoring in science. Because of its concept-rich and engaging presentation, however, it is also widely used in high schools for students needing a strong foundation in understanding concepts before advancing to algebra-based chemistry courses, such as AP chemistry.

The accompanying website, ConceptualChemistry.com, was created and is maintained by the author. This website provides over 200 video lessons where the author personally guides the student through his textbook. These video lessons include an entire course of lectures, demonstrations, animations, and hands-on activities that can be safely done in the home using simple supplies purchased from a supermarket or hardware store.

ConceptualChemistry.com also houses over 60 minds-on, pencil-pushing, and engaging worksheets that guide the student through the more complicated concepts. A "Special Topics" area features chemistry-related articles that show interesting applications of chemistry concepts to our modern lives. This is a new area of ConceptualChemistry.com and the articles are primarily to be written by students as a special capstone assignment upon completion of their studies. Upon confirmation of identity, parents or directors of home schooled students are registered as Conceptual Chemistry instructors, which provides them access to the online instructor resources, such as chapter exams and teaching tips.

This curriculum-rich website has been built primarily in support of the Conceptual Chemistry textbook. Because the author created it independent of his publisher, the website is freely available to the public. However, in the spirit of good ethics, students not using the latest edition of the textbook are asked to pay what they feel is reasonable based upon 1) their ability to pay and 2) the value they feel they have received.

Physical Science

Homeschool science excellence - physics, chemistry, astronomy

Are you looking for an excellent homeschool physical science course for high schoolers that engages as it educates? Are you looking for quality homeschool science presented in an engaging way for talented and gifted younger kids achieving well beyond their grade level?

There is a wealth of content and dynamic material in this course, that teaches the fundamentals of chemistry, physics, earth science and astronomy. Conceptual Physical Science - Explorations is a best-selling textbook written by Paul Hewitt, John Suchocki, and Leslie Hewitt, and is used by high schools and colleges throughout the country. The DVD series "Conceptual Physical Science - Explorations Alive!" contains over 170 videos and lectures that follow the contents of the text. It is an excellent resource for a group of homeschool parents to share.

To find out more about this the DVD series & curriculum contents, see the contents page. Click here to order the DVD set. Click here to order the textbook from the Prentice-Hall website, (textbook sold separately.)

The Authors

Paul Hewitt Paul G. Hewitt, former boxer, uranium prospector, sign painter, and cartoonist began college at the age of 28 and fell in love with physics. His name is synonymous with Conceptual Physics to physics educators everywhere. Before the advent of Professor Hewitt's textbook of the same name, physics was traditionally taught primarily as applied mathematics - geared to students with high math and science aptitudes. As such, any serious study of physics was out of the educational mainstream for most students. Hewitt's conceptual approach changed all this. By translating the central concepts of physics from mathematical language to common English, and by explaining physics rather than proclaiming physics, and by extensive use of analogies as a teaching tool, Hewitt brought physics into the educational mainstream. His textbook, the leading physics textbook for nonscientists since 1971, has changed the way physics is taught to both non science and science majors as well.

In 1987 he wrote a high-school version of Conceptual Physics, published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, and now in its third edition. In 1992 he teamed together with his chemist nephew, John Suchocki, and his geologist daughter, Leslie Hewitt to write the textbook Conceptual Physical Science, which in its 4th edition is now the best selling physical science textbook in the college market. Meeting the broad needs of students, early editions of Conceptual Physical Science became just as popular with high schools as it was with colleges. To create an edition that was more specifically tailored to high schools, the authors created Conceptual Physical Science-Explorations, which is now in its second edition and also a market leader.

In recognition of Hewitt's achievements, the American Association of Physics Teachers honored him in 1982 with their Millikan Award - the once-per-year prestigious prize for outstanding contributions to physics teaching. Hewitt is presently a column editor for The Physics Teacher, the monthly magazine of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Hewitt now resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he is presently working on the much anticipated Conceptual Physics, 12th edition.

John Suchocki received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1987 from Virginia Commonwealth University. After a two year post-doc in medicinal chemistry/pharmacology at the Medical College of Virginia, John became a visiting assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he also began working with his uncle, Paul Hewitt, on the liberal arts college textbook Conceptual Physical Science, which is now in its fourth edition. His research efforts turned to chemical education, with a particular emphasis on liberal arts chemistry courses and distance learning technology. Using his experience in creating Conceptual Physical Science and relying on the meticulous guidance of his famous uncle, John moved forward in creating a new and unique college chemistry textbook, Conceptual Chemistry, now in its 4th edition. The focus of Conceptual Chemistry is on the concepts of chemistry rather than mathematical problem solving. It also has a strong emphasis on student-centered learning. First published in 2001, Conceptual Chemistry quickly became one of the leading textbooks for introductory college chemistry courses. Accompanying Conceptual Chemistry is John's acclaimed Conceptual Chemistry Alive! website. The first of its kind, CCAlive! is, in essence, a "talking textbook" where the student has the author himself as their personal course instructor. John currently lives in Burlington, Vermont, where in addition to writing science textbooks he is an adjunct professor at St. Michael's College. John also writes and illustrates science-oriented and award-winning childrens books, which are featured at www.Styraki.com. His favorite hobby is writing and producing music, which can be found at this record label, www.CProMusic.com.

Leslie Hewitt received her Masters of Science degree in Geology in 1992 from San Francisco State University and soon thereafter began working with her father, Paul Hewitt, and her cousin, John Suchocki on creating the widely popular Conceptual Physical Science textbook and its accompanying supplements. Her desire to bring quality science education down to where it matters most, which is with children, led her to teaching at Westlake Elementary School in San Francisco. Leslie's expertise at working with children and her talent for identifying the truly key concepts of earth and planetary science were most instrumental in allowing the Conceptual Physical Science line of textbooks to be successful at reaching such a broad range of students. Leslie and her husband, Bob Abrams, who has a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from Stanford University, teamed together to create the highly popular 10th volume of the Conceptual Physical Science-Explorations DVD series.