General Chemistry I

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Official Description

General Chemistry I with Lab (24-114/115)
Chemistry I is a beginning science course that all Academy students are required to take their first semester. It involves a study of basic molecular structure, periodic relationships, and includes a thermodynamic approach to reaction systems.

Overview

You'll start with the basics of measurement, significant figures, and matter classification and then go on to stoichiometry, reaction types, solutions (including some on acids and bases), electromagnetic radiation, electron configurations, the gas laws, and covalent bonding.

What Actually Happens

General Chemistry I covers a variety of concepts, most of which are difficult to pack into a semester while preserving flow (leading to the quote from Dr. Toomey: "Chem I Sucks"). It is advisable to not get behind in the course, as it covers many different concepts that most people do not grasp the first time. Some students find that, if they have taken a Chemistry course in high school, it is much easier to review the old material and grasp the newer topics.

In lab, the lecture concepts are applied using experiments and models. The semester starts out with statistics and error, which do not stem directly from lecture, but then more and more chemistry works its way in as the semester progresses. The course says that the lab is supposed to last nearly three hours. However, most weeks will not use all of that time. Studnets may leave as they finish, so it just depends on the speed at which a group works.

Chemistry:

Chemistry I   |   Chemistry II   |   Organic Chemistry I