CHEM 121 - Chemical Fundamentals

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

This course is designed to provide the fundamentals of chemistry in the context of an instructor-specific theme; it is appropriate for students with limited previous exposure to chemistry. Students may take this course so as to be exposed to chemistry and the topic chosen, to meet the QA requirement, and/or to continue from this course into CHEM 125 Chemical Principles. Chemical topics covered include units; uncertainty; significant figures; dimensional analysis; estimation; atomic theory and symbols; the periodic table; chemical nomenclature; stoichiometry; solution chemistry including an introduction to acids and bases, solubility and precipitation, and oxidation-reduction chemistry; gases; and thermochemistry. These topics are presented in the context of the instructor-specific theme. There is no lab associated with this course. Alison Keimowitz and Rebecca Pollet.

Theme 1: When you burn one gallon of gas, how much does that increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? In order to answer this and other questions crucial to climate change and the global carbon cycle, an understanding of chemical fundamentals is necessary. This course allows students to more fully understand these issues using the chemical topics listed above.

Theme 2: What are the chemical properties that make plants useful as medicine? Whether you are seeking to extract a chemical from a plant or determine its function, understanding chemical fundamentals is necessary. This course allows students to achieve an understanding of the basic principles in medicinal chemistry using the chemical topics listed above.

Three 50-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS