Fundamentals of Chemistry

Aim

The course will give the students an introduction to general chemistry and organic chemistry. After completing the course, the student should be able to

• perform stoichiometric calculations.
• describe the structures of atoms and molecules.
• discuss different types of chemical bonding and the relationship between bonding and state of aggregation, and other properties of solids, solutions, and gases.
• explain the meaning of chemical equilibrium, and its applications on equilibria of acids and bases along with solubility equilibria.
• explain the energetics and kinetics of chemical reactions.
• describe the laws of thermodynamics, in particular their application on chemical systems.
• describe the classification of organic substances, their properties and nomenclature.
• describe the conformation and stereochemistry of organic compounds and their common reaction types.
• perform some elementary chemical laboratory techniques, show some skill in theoretical analysis of experimental data and summon up the results in a laboratory report.

Content

The electronic structures of atoms and molecules. Stoichiometry. Chemical kinetics and equilibria with emphasis on acid-base equilibria. Chemical bonding. The three laws of thermodynamics and the concepts enthalpy, entropy, and free energy. The functional groups of organic chemistry, nomenclature, properties, conformation and stereochemistry. Substitution, elimination and addition reactions in organic chemistry.