Overview
After careful planning and review, the College on May 11, 2004, and the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry approved a comprehensive plan for significant curricular restructuring in the current introductory chemistry course sequence (defined here as the first two years of chemical instruction). Designed to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the diverse student body served by the department, this plan begins with a condensed modern introduction to basic principles, then continues through organic and bioorganic chemistry to bioanalytical principles with a curricular emphasis on topics that reflect current applications of the chemical sciences. Plans have been developed to implement the new four semester sequence sequentially, with the first offering of CHEM 131 and 132 (the first semester course and its associated laboratory) during the fall 2005 semester. |
Details of New Curriculum
Semester 1
CHEM 131+132(Fundamentals of General Chemistry) +(General Chemistry I Laboratory)
The proposed first-semester course, CHEM 131 and its companion laboratory CHEM 132 (Chemistry and Biochemistry majors will have their own lecture and lab courses, CHEM 146-Principles of General Chemistry and CHEM 147-Principles of Chemistry Laboratory), will begin with descriptions of our chemical surroundings, both macroscopic and microscopic, using the Periodic Table as a framework. Students then proceed to topics deemed necessary to undertake the study of organic chemistry (chemical bonding, thermochemistry, and chemical equilibria). Based on studies of student success in Introductory Chemistry, CHEM 131 will require MATH 113/115 placement as a prerequisite.
CHEM 131/132 and 146/147 will first be offered in Fall 2005, and will be offered every spring/fall semester after that.
Links to Course Descriptions for CHEM 131, 132, 146, and 147
Semester 2 and Semester 3
CHEM 231+232 (Organic Chemistry I) + (Organic Chemistry I Laboratory)
followed by:
CHEM 241+242 (Organic Chemistry II) + (Organic Chemistry II Laboratory)
Semesters 2 and 3 will follow along the lines of the present organic chemistry sequence (CHEM231/232 and CHEM241/242) taking into account the different background of students in the new sequence. Some topics not dealt with in CHEM 131/132, but included in the old CHEM 103/113 curriculum, will be introduced for the first time in the context of organic chemistry. Indeed, a guiding principle of the new curriculum is that abstractions are best learned in the context of a tangible subject. Chemistry and Biochemistry majors will have their own organic chemistry courses (which include a laboratory): CHEM 237 (Principles of Organic Chemistry I) and CHEM 247 (Principles of Organic Chemistry II).
Links to Course Descriptions for CHEM 231, 232, 241, 242, 237, and 247
Semester 4
CHEM 271 (General Chemistry and Energetics) + CHEM 272 (General Bioanalytical Chemistry Laboratory)
For the fourth semester of the new chemistry sequence, an entirely new and special course will provide students unprecedented exposure to faculty research specialties and to sophisticated laboratory experience within a biochemical context. For non-majors, CHEM 271, the lecture component, will meet twice per week, and CHEM 272, the laboratory component, will meet for one lecture and one 3-hour lab per week. For Chemistry and Biochemistry majors, CHEM 276 (General Chemistry and Energetics - Majors), the lecture component meets for two lectures per week, and CHEM 277 (Fundamentals of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry), the laboratory, meets for one lecture and two laboratory sessions per week. The CHEM 272 and 277 laboratories, which will replace CHEM 227 (Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry Lab) for chemistry and biochemistry majors, will focus upon analytical chemistry with emphasis upon bioanalytical methods employing state-of-the-art-instrumentation.
CHEM 271/272 and 276/277 will first be offered in Spring 2007, phased in consistent with a four semester sequence begun in Fall 2005 with CHEM 131/132.
Links to Course Descriptions for CHEM 271, 272, 276, and 277 |
