|
Malkiat
S. Johal
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Pomona College
|
|
Chemistry 51 – Accelerated General
Chemistry
Lecture: Instructor
- Professor Johal
Laboratory:
Instructor – Professor Johal and Professor Mukesh Aurora
Course-related
documents/links:
Chemistry 51 is a stepped-up one-semester general chemistry course for
students with demonstrated proficiency in chemistry. Students interested in taking
this course must have completed at least two years of high school chemistry and
have obtained a passing grade on the Placement Examination offered during
Freshman Orientation. This course also requires basic proficiency in high
school mathematics. Students with only one year of high school chemistry should
enroll in Chemistry 1. Chemistry 51 aims to develop a solid introductory
understanding of chemical phenomena at the molecular level. The course also
emphasizes the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative
data. General Chemistry is an excellent vehicle for developing problem-solving
skills. Microsoft Excel will be used in the laboratory to fit experimental data
to linear equations. The laboratory also includes an introduction to molecular
modeling using Spartan. Topics in Chemistry 51 include introduction to
statistics, classes of chemical reactions, ionic equilibrium, atomic structure,
the nature of the chemical bond, transition-metal complexes, solid-state
chemistry, chemical thermodynamics, and chemical kinetics. Topics such as
stoichiometry, gas laws, solutions, nomenclature, and balancing of
oxidation-reduction equations will not be covered in the course.
Chemistry 51 is offered in
the Fall Semester. Because of restrictions on laboratory space, there are
exactly 28 slots in the class. The course has a lecture component (three
lectures per week) and a one 4-hour lab per week. Weekly review sessions are
also offered. The experiments in the laboratory are chosen from the Chemistry
1a,b repertoire. The course prerequisites include at least two years of high
school chemistry and a passing grade on the Placement Examination offered
during Freshman Orientation. Students who complete Chemistry 51 and have a 4 or
5 on the Chemistry Advanced Placement examination will be given one AP credit.
Starting with the Class of 2008, an AP credit will be given for a 4 or 5 on the
Chemistry AP examination even if the student is not enrolled in Chemistry 51.
However, the College will only award two courses of credit towards graduation
from the results of AP examinations irrespective of the number of AP exams with
a score of 4 or 5. The instructor's permission is required to enter the course.
General Chemistry is required for concentrations in chemistry, biology,
physics, molecular biology, neuroscience, and environmental analysis and
Chemistry 51 satisfies this requirement. Chemistry 51 is an appropriate course
to satisfy PAC requirement 2 (Use and Understand the Scientific Method). 75% of
the final grade is based on the lecture component of the course and 25% of the
grade on the laboratory component. The laboratory grade is based on the quality
of laboratory reports and a short written laboratory final exam. The lecture
grade is based on 4 midterm exams and the final examination. Effort placed on
the homework assignments is the key to the course. The homework is checked by
student graders but performance on the homework is not a factor in the
calculation of the lecture grade.
More Resources:
·
Periodic
Table (including periodic trends)
[back to top]