⚛️ Thermochemistry — printable rubric packet (Chemistry Unit 05). Print 8.5×11 portrait. Every page is designed for clipboard use while you grade at the bench.
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▲ Page 1 — Unit overview
Bright Minds Chemistry · Course Pack
Thermochemistry — Unit Packet
Overview
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Use these targets, vocabulary, rubrics, examples, and score sheet with the instructor's approved lesson and procedure. This is an assessment companion, not a complete lesson or safety authorization.

Student lessons, data, and worked answers: Unit 05 learning pathway.

Unit learning targets

The student demonstrates the following:

How this unit is assessed

Mastery rubric

Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).

Calorimetry lab

Measure a temperature change; compute the heat of reaction.

Oral check

The student explains exo- vs endothermic by sign (Page 4).

Lab notebook

Temperatures, calculation, and ΔH kept distinct.

How to read a Bright Minds rubric

You are making a decision, not adding up points. For each criterion, decide whether the work is Developing, Proficient, or Mastery — the column language tells you which. A criterion counts as mastered only when the student can both take the measurement and defend the sign and the number. Each student has three tokens per term; each token retries one rubric criterion. Approved accommodations, equipment failures, and approved absences are handled separately and do not consume these tokens.

▲ Page 2 — Key terms
Thermochemistry · Vocabulary
Key Terms — What Counts as Correct
Vocabulary
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Accept listed synonyms; use the distinction column to resolve near-matches.

Canonical answerAccepted synonymsCommon confusion / discriminator
Energy & sign
Enthalpy (ΔH)heat of reactionNegative = exothermic (releases), positive = endothermic (absorbs)
Exothermicheat-releasingΔH < 0; surroundings warm up
Endothermicheat-absorbingΔH > 0; surroundings cool down
System vs surroundingsreaction vs everything elseHeat lost by the system is gained by the surroundings — opposite signs
Measuring & combining
Calorimetryq = mcΔTMeasures heat by temperature change; watch the units
Specific heat (c)heat capacity per gramProperty of the substance; water's is notably high
Hess's lawenthalpy additivityFlip a reaction → flip ΔH sign; scale a reaction → scale ΔH
Bond energybond enthalpyΔH ≈ bonds broken − bonds formed
▲ Page 3 — Mastery rubric
Thermochemistry · Mastery Rubric
Six Criteria — Developing / Proficient / Mastery
Rubric
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CriterionDevelopingProficientMastery
Enthalpy, entropy & Gibbs energyConfuses heat, entropy, favorability or reaction speed.Assigns enthalpy signs but needs help with entropy, units or actual conditions.Interprets energy diagrams and bond-energy signs; calculates entropy and Gibbs changes at stated conditions, distinguishes standard from actual states, and separates favorability from rate.
Calorimetry calculationsCannot set up q = mcΔT.Uses the equation but mishandles units or the system–surroundings sign.Calculates heat transfer correctly and assigns it to the reaction with the right sign.
Hess's lawAdds reactions without adjusting their enthalpies.Manipulates equations but forgets to flip or scale ΔH.Combines, reverses, and scales reactions and enthalpies consistently; adds compatible free-energy steps with correct coupling stoichiometry and limits.
Bond energy estimatesIgnores bonds when reasoning about energy.Sums bond energies but mixes up bonds broken vs. formed.Estimates ΔH from bond energies, correctly subtracting bonds formed from bonds broken.
Lab technique (calorimetry)Loses heat to the surroundings and ignores it.Runs the calorimeter but records temperature carelessly.Measures ΔT precisely, accounts for heat loss, and computes a defensible ΔH.
Integration (cross-domain)Makes no supported connection between the source and the science.Uses the source but needs help connecting evidence, writing, or limitations to the science.Independently connects History, Reading, and Writing using a cited source, appropriate evidence, a limitation, and a scientific explanation.
What “Mastery” requires
The student measures ΔT and computes ΔH with the right sign, accounting for heat lost to the surroundings — unprompted.
What does not pass
Reporting a positive ΔH for a reaction that warmed the cup is Developing on criterion 2 — the sign contradicts the observation.
Grading it at home

The split between Proficient and Mastery is the sign is physical: a warming cup means the reaction released heat (ΔH < 0). Ask “did the thermometer go up or down, and does your sign match?”

▲ Page 4 — Anchor exemplars
Thermochemistry · Calibration
Anchor Exemplars — To Calibrate Your Ear
Anchors
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Read these before you grade. They show what Mastery and Developing actually sound like, plus the edge cases where you should coach rather than decide on the spot.

Sign of ΔH from observation

▶ Mastery
“The water warmed up, so the reaction gave heat to its surroundings — that’s exothermic, ΔH is negative. The system lost energy even though the cup gained it.”
▶ Developing
“The water got hot, so the reaction absorbed heat — positive ΔH.” (Sign reversed; system vs surroundings confused.)

Integration — the Industrial Revolution

▶ Mastery
“Burning coal is hugely exothermic — that released energy ran the engines that built the modern economy, and the same combustion is where today’s carbon problem starts. The calorimetry I ran measures exactly that energy.”
▶ Developing
“Factories used coal.” (No link to enthalpy or energy release.)

Edge cases — coach, don’t fail

▶ Bonds broken vs formed
Adds all bond energies with one sign. Coach: breaking bonds costs energy, forming them releases it — subtract formed from broken. Fixable.
▶ Forgot to flip ΔH
Reverses a reaction in Hess's law but keeps the ΔH sign. Coach the flip rule rather than failing the whole combination.

Evidence record for Page 5: Level: ______ Case/dataset: ______ Criterion: ______ Work/source/date: ______ Assumptions/units/uncertainty: ______ Transfer/variant: ______ (Attach independent calculations; practical observation is separate.)

▲ Page 5 — Score sheet (clipboard)
Thermochemistry · Score Sheet
Unit Score Sheet — One per student
Score Sheet
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Student: ______________________________________    Date: _______________    Guide: _________________________

Mastery criteria — circle one per row

#CriterionDecisionNotes
1Enthalpy, entropy & Gibbs energyDev / Prof / Mast
2Calorimetry calculationsDev / Prof / Mast
3Hess's lawDev / Prof / Mast
4Bond energy estimatesDev / Prof / Mast
5Lab technique (calorimetry)Dev / Prof / Mast
6Integration (cross-domain)Dev / Prof / Mast

Calorimetry lab — technique check

Used a token this session?

☐ No    ☐ Yes — for criterion: __________
Tokens left this term after this session (choose one): ☐ 3   ☐ 2   ☐ 1   ☐ None left

Dev = Developing · Prof = Proficient · Mast = Mastery · Unsure between two levels? Circle the lower one and note what a re-do would need.