General Chemistry Course Descriptor

Course Summary

This course introduces the principles of chemistry beginning with atomic and molecular structures, chemical bonding, intermolecular interactions, and the nature of the forces that control these interactions. This provides a microscopic view of matter that helps students understand the trends in the physical and chemical properties of the elements in the periodic table, and to better understand the atomic, ionic, and molecular – scale transformations that are at the core of all chemical processes including those that take place in living systems and other aqueous environments. The course also provides fundamental aspects of chemical kinetics, energy change, and equilibrium states in chemical reactions. These topics are covered in lectures and recitations. A concurrent Lab course will complement this course. Labs are not required for students in engineering programmes.

Course Aims

• Introduce students to how the electronic structures of atoms are related to the charges of their monatomic ions, and the structures of the molecules they form.
• Introduce students to the relationship of the physical and chemical properties of substances to interactions between their particulate building blocks: atoms, ions or molecules.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Professional Skills

Teaching and Learning

Teaching and learning strategies for this course will include: 

A minimum of 40 contact hours, typically to include interactive group teaching, co-curriculars, individual meetings, recitations/tutorials and exams.

Course information and supplementary materials are available on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

Students will receive individualised developmental feedback on their work for this course.

Students are required to attend and participate in all the formal and timetabled sessions for this course. Students are also expected to manage their directed learning and independent study in support of the course.

Assessment

Formative

Students will be formatively assessed through in-class activities such as collaborative lecture quizzes, by their doing homework assignments, and during office-hour discussions. Formative assessments will provide students with vital feedback on their progress in the course.

Summative

Further information on the structure of summative assessment elements can be found in the Summative Assessment Briefs.

Feedback

Students will receive feedback in a variety of ways: written (including via email correspondence); oral (within office hours or on an ad hoc basis) and indirectly through class discussion.

Feedback on examinations is provided through generic internal examiners’ reports and are made available to the student on the VLE.

For all other summative assessment methods, feedback is made available to the student either via email, the VLE or another appropriate method.

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.

Books

• Gilbert, Kirss, Foster & Bretz. Chemistry, an Atoms-Focused Approach, 3rd ed. W.W. Norton. ISBN: 978-0-393-42854.

Electronic Resources

• Smartwork5 on-line homework system
• Poll Everywhere

Indicative Topics

• Atomic and molecular structure, the nature and types of chemical bonds, and intermolecular interactions: their origins, relative strengths and impact on macroscopic properties such as freezing and boiling point and solubility in different solvents
• Chemical reactions including reactions in solution: acid-base, precipitation, and redox, writing chemical equations, and stoichiometric calculations based on chemical equations
• Chemical kinetics: reaction rates and rate laws, reaction mechanisms, and catalysts
• Thermochemistry and thermodynamics: enthalpy, entropy and free energy, the energetics of chemical reactions and reaction spontaneity
• The dynamic nature of chemical equilibria, equilibrium constants and calculations based on them; acid-base equilibria and the pH scale; pH buffers