Learning Outcomes and Methods

General Chemistry Committee

November 7, 2005

CHEM 1105  |  CHEM 1106  |  CHEM 1107  |  CHEM 1108
CHEM 1301  |  CHEM 1305  |  CHEM 1306  |  CHEM 1307  |  CHEM 1308

CHEM 1105
Experimental General Chemistry Lab I
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will understand safety, transfer and measurement of chemicals, using physical properties to identify compounds, chemical reactions, paper chromatography, and pH.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes
Assessment will be achieved through lab reports and quizzes.

CHEM 1106
Experimental General Chemistry Lab II
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will understand ester preparation, enzyme activity analysis, osmosis/dialysis, amino acid/protein testing, calorimetry, EDTA titrations, equilibrium, and buffers.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes
Assessment will be achieved through lab reports and quizzes.

CHEM 1107
Principles of Chemistry Lab I
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will understand safety, transfer and measurement of chemicals, filtration, solution preparation, mass percent determination, titrations, redox reactions, enthalpy of reactions, spectrochemical analysis, and gas stoichiometry applications in an undergraduate laboratory.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes
Assessment will be achieved through lab reports and quizzes.

CHEM 1108
Principles of Chemistry Lab II
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will understand kinetics, equilibrium, LeChatelier's principle, acid and base reactions, pH, buffers, colligative properties, and electrochemical applications in an undergraduate laboratory.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes
Assessment will be achieved through lab reports and quizzes.

CHEM 1301
Introductory Chemistry
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Use dimensional analysis with proper attention to units and significant figures. Be able to do simple algebraic manipulations.
2. Understand the general and physical properties of matter.
3. Understand the basic model of the atom.
4. Determine names and formulas of binary molecular compounds, ionic compounds and acids.
5. Balance chemical equations, identify basic types of chemical reactions and predict the outcome of these reactions.
6. Use the concept of the mole in quantitative chemical calculations.
7. Understand stoichiometric relationships involved in reactions.
8. Calculate and utilize solution concentration units such as molarity.
9. Understand the ideal gas law and its application in quantitative problems.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes:
The expected learning outcomes will be assessed through the use of homework assignments and/or quizzes, midterm exams, and the final exam.

CHEM 1305
Chemistry and Society I
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

1. know the scientific method.
2. be able to use dimensional analysis with proper attention to units.
3. be able to name and classify simple inorganic compounds.
4. know the components of an atom and understand nuclear decay and radioactivity.
5. identify types of chemical bonds.
6. know theories of chemical bonding and the forces that influence molecular shapes.
7. be able to do elementary stoichiometry-based calculations.
8. understand acid/base reactions, their products, and how buffer systems work.
9. understand redox reactions and their applications.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes
The expected learning outcomes will be assessed through the use of homework assignments and/or quizzes, midterm exams, and the final exam.

CHEM 1306
Chemistry and Society II
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. explain the general properties of water and understand water resources and water conservation.
2. identify functional groups and name various organic compounds.
3. understand the basic principles of polymers and their role in society.
4. understand the basic chemistry of drugs and their mode of action in the body.
5. understand modern agricultural practices involving the use of synthetic and natural products in food production and resource conservation.
6. describe the process of using nonrenewable energy sources and their impact on the environment.
7. describe the process of using renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal and their impact on the environment.
8. identify and explain the function of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in living systems.
9. identify the components of DNA and RNA, the steps of replication, and the basics of genetic engineering.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes
The expected learning outcomes will be assessed through the use of homework assignments and/or quizzes, midterm exams, and the final exam.

CHEM 1307
Principles of Chemistry I
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. use dimensional analysis with proper attention to units and significant figures.
2. name and classify inorganic compounds.
3. determine empirical and molecular formulas from empirical data.
4. balance chemical equations and use stoichiometric relationships and the mole concept to calculate product and reactant amounts.
5. identify different types of reactions (precipitation, neutralization, oxidation-reduction) and predict the outcome of these reactions.
6. understand the first law of thermodynamics and the role of energy and enthalpy in chemical reactions and perform thermochemical calculations.
7. understand the basic concepts of quantum theory, determine the electron configurations of atoms, and use periodic trends to make predictions about atomic properties.
8. understand theories of chemical bonding and determine the molecular geometry of molecules using VSEPR theory.
9. apply gas laws and kinetic molecular theory to processes involving gases.
10. explain the intermolecular attractive forces that determine the properties of the states of matter and phase behavior.
11. understand colligative properties and their use in determining the characteristic of solutions.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes
The expected learning outcomes will be assessed through the use of homework assignments and/or quizzes, midterm exams, and the final exam.

CHEM 1308
Principles of Chemistry II
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Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. determine the rate of a reaction and its dependence on concentration, time, and temperature.
2. understand reaction mechanisms and how they lead to rate laws.
3. determine whether equilibrium has been established and calculate equilibrium concentrations.
4. use LeChatelier's Principle to predict the effects of concentration, pressure and temperature changes on equilibrium mixtures.
5. apply the principles of equilibrium to aqueous systems.
6. understand and perform calculations with the thermodynamic functions, enthalpy, entropy, free energy.
7. balance oxidation-reduction reactions.
8. understand the construction and operation of galvanic and electrolytic electrochemical cells.
9. determine standard and non-standard cell potentials.
10. describe the bonding and properties of transition metal coordination compounds.
11. understand nuclear decay processes and their rates.

Methods of Assessing Outcomes
The expected learning outcomes will be assessed through the use of homework assignments and/or quizzes, midterm exams, and the final exam.