A Guide to Advising Students about Chemistry Core Courses
and Preparing for the Chemistry Major

Chemistry Courses in the Core Curriculum

What are the Chemistry requirements in the Core?
A year-long General Chemistry course (3 units each semester) and the two semesters of accompanying laboratory courses (1 unit each semester) are part of the College’s Core Curriculum. The courses provide an in-depth examination of several central areas in chemistry including organic and inorganic synthesis and analysis, macroscopic phase behavior and supramolecular chemistry, chemical equilibria, thermodynamics of chemical reactions including electrochemical processes, kinetic analysis of chemical reactions, correlation of quantum chemical principles to structure and bonding, transition metal chemistry, and basic principles of materials chemistry and biochemistry. While many of these topics may be familiar from high school chemistry courses (and the College does require a year of high school chemistry upon entrance), we explore these chemical principles in greater depth and particularly make use of the calculus and physics foundation that first-year students are gaining from their concurrent enrollment in these courses.

What Chemistry courses do students take to fulfill the Core requirements?
For most students at the College the required sequence of courses is Chemistry 21-22 General Chemistry and Chemistry 25-26 General Chemistry Laboratory, all taken in the first year.  During the Fall semester Chemistry 21 meets three times a week for 50-minute lectures with an additional 50-minute weekly recitation class. During the Spring semester Chemistry 22 meets twice a week for 75-minute lectures with an additional weekly 50-minute recitation. The laboratory courses generally meet each week for a four-hour laboratory period.

An alternative first-year laboratory sequence is also offered at the College. The Interdisciplinary Laboratory or "ID Lab" bridges together laboratory experiences from Biology, Chemistry, and Physics for the first-year student. The course was designed to infuse the results of faculty/student research into the curriculum and expand the role of research-like experiences in an introductory laboratory course.  Taught by a team of faculty from each of these disciplines, the ID Lab seeks to illustrate the commonality of investigative methods and laboratory techniques in these sciences in addition to introducing discipline-specific principles. Students substitute the "ID Lab" for the Fall semester General Chemistry Laboratory (Chemistry 25) and the Spring semester General Physics Laboratory (Physics 28), both of which are required Core courses. Students are enrolled in the ID Laboratory for the full year and receive credit for Chemistry 25I and Physics 28I. To be considered for enrollment in the ID Laboratory, three conditions must be met: (1) a student must indicate his/her preference for the ID Lab on the course information sheets mailed to the student by the Office of Academic Affairs during the summer preceding matriculation; (2) a student must write a brief statement of why he or she is interested in the course; and (3) the placement forms must be returned to the Office of Academic Affairs by the required date. A cap on the course enrollment will limit the number of students accepted into the ID Lab.

Is it possible to “place out” of Chemistry courses in the Core?  Is it advisable to place out if a student has a strong background?
Occasionally, it is possible to receive credit for Chemistry 21 and/or Chemistry 22 based on previous enrollment in a college-level Chemistry course or an exceptional high school background.  Students should discuss their situation with the Chair of the Chemistry Department as soon as possible before the start of the first year. A placement test is offered during the first week of the Fall semester for those seeking credit for Chemistry 21 and during the first week of the Spring semester for those seeking credit for Chemistry 22. A high standard of performance is required. After taking the placement exam, the student will discuss his/her performance with the Chemistry Department Chair. Students who exhibit a strong command of the material in Chemistry 21 may elect to receive credit for the course and use the time to either enroll in another course at the College or take a reduced load to allow for more time on other classes. It also may be advisable for the student to enroll in Chemistry 21 in order to keep current for the continuation course Chemistry 22. These options are discussed with the Department Chair.

Infrequently credit is also awarded for the accompanying laboratory courses, Chemistry 25 and 26. In addition to meeting with the Chair of the Chemistry Department to discuss placement options, students must provide both the laboratory manual and their laboratory notebook from previous chemistry laboratory courses.

What is the “next” Chemistry course if credit is awarded for all Core courses?
First-year students with credit for Chemistry 21-22 and 25- 26 and wishing to continue in Chemistry might enroll in Chemistry 51 Physical Chemistry in the Fall semester if they have the prerequisite mathematical background. The equivalent of Math 11, 12, 13, and 14 is expected. Alternatively, in the Spring semester, students might enroll in Chemistry 56 Carbon Compounds.

How should a first-year student prepare for Chemistry 21?
Every person enrolled in Chemistry 21 has a varied background in high school chemistry. The only prerequisite for this course is a firm understanding of the fundamental chemical principles presented in a standard high school chemistry program. What exactly do we expect students to recall from their previous chemistry course(s)? They should know:

• the relationship among atomic number, mass number, and the numbers of protons, electrons, and neutrons for a particular atom         
• the interconversion among the mass, number of molecules, and number of moles of a substance
• how to balance simple chemical equations
• the relationship between the empirical formula of a compound and the percentages by mass of the elements in a compound
• how to determine the theoretical yield of a reaction given the starting amounts of reactants and how to determine the percentage yield of a reaction given the measured actual yield
• the quantitative relationships among the masses of reactants consumed and products formed in a given chemical reaction
• how to determine the limiting reagent (i.e., reactant) given a set of initial amounts of reactants and a balanced chemical equation and how to determine the amount of product produced and the amount of reactants unconsumed from the amount of limiting reagent

What if a student withdraws from Chemistry 21 (or 22) or does not pass Chemistry 21?
A student who withdraws from or who does not pass Chemistry 21 can NOT enroll in Chemistry 22. He or she may enroll in Chemistry 21 during the following Fall semester of the sophomore year (and receive a letter grade for the course) or may discuss with the Chemistry Department Chair various options to take the course during the summer at another institution. He or she would then enroll in Chemistry 22 during the Spring semester of the sophomore year. Depending on when a student withdraws from Chemistry 21, he/she may also be forced to withdraw from Chemistry 25, as this laboratory course is to be taken concurrently with the lecture course. Such a decision will be made by the Chemistry Department at the time of the withdrawal, and the student involved should be aware of this requirement and discuss the situation with his/her Chemistry 21 and 25 instructors. The same condition is true for a student who withdraws from Chemistry 22; the accompanying Chemistry 26 laboratory is to be taken concurrently with Chemistry 22. Depending on the time in the semester when a student withdraws his/her enrollment in Chemistry 22, he/she may have to withdraw from Chemistry 26 as well as they would lack the necessary chemistry background to complete the remaining experiments. Both the Chemistry 22 and 26 instructors should be consulted at the time of withdrawing from Chemistry 22. First-year students MUST receive approval from BOTH their faculty advisor and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in order to withdraw from a Core course.

Preparing for the Chemistry Major

What additional courses should a first-year student take if she or he is interested in pursuing a chemistry major?
All of the subsequent chemistry courses for a chemistry major require Chemistry 21-22 and 25-26 as prerequisites. Generally, students interested in pursuing a chemistry major enroll in Chemistry 51 Physical Chemistry and Chemistry 53 Physical Chemistry Laboratory during the Fall semester of their sophomore year. In the Spring semester of the sophomore year, chemistry majors enroll in Chemistry 52 Group Theory, Quantum Chemistry, & Spectroscopy, Chemistry 56 Carbon Compounds, and Chemistry 58 Carbon Compounds Laboratory. Many chemistry majors elect to take Biology 52 during the Spring semester of their first year, as this course is a Core requirement, but no additional courses are prescribed for chemistry majors during their first year.