Elements of Chemistry

The course will introduce you to the scientific process by exploring fundamental concepts in chemistry in the context of contemporary environmental and societal issues. A broad range of topics will be explored throughout the session, including the atom and atomic structure, molecules and chemical bonding, chemical nomenclature, writing and balancing chemical equations, the mole and molarity, and the relationship between chemical structure and function. You will participate in several laboratory experiences in which you will learn to work safely in the laboratory and make careful observations of chemical reactions and phenomena in order to draw useful conclusions from your experiments. You will also have the opportunity to explore and share new topics through brief class presentations. A key component of the course involves inquiry based learning as a means to understand the process by which new scientific knowledge is developed. For example, in the laboratory, you will synthesize a compound of unknown composition and use a variety of tools to deduce the structure of this new material. Examples of other experiments include determination of water hardness of samples from local sources, the synthesis and analysis of biodiesel, chromatographic characterization of chemical mixtures, analysis of artificial blood, the study of dyes through the making of tie dye T-shirts, as well as the opportunity to develop and perform chemical demonstrations for your peers.