Chemistry

Chemistry explores matter and its properties, its physical and chemical transformations, and energy changes associated with these transformations. Bridging traditional humanities on one hand and modern physics on the other, chemistry is a central subject in a liberal arts curriculum. "Every aspect of our world today -- even politics and international relations -- is affected by chemistry," said Linus Pauling. Chemists search for new molecules in space; make new useful materials; solve problems of the environment, energy, health, and food production; and probe how organisms work.

The chemistry department offers a program of study leading to certification as a chemist by the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training and designed to develop critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills. Many graduates continue their education in graduate or professional school and become chemists, teachers, doctors, lawyers, biochemists, pharmacists, veterinarians, engineers, and business people.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
The chemistry program requires a sequence of courses. The 100-level courses introduce first-year students to the discipline and serve as prerequisites for foundational courses and in-depth elective courses.

CHEMISTRY MAJOR
Eleven (11) to fourteen (14) courses are required
 

Introductory Courses

• CHM 120 Chemistry I
• CHM 121 Chemistry II

Foundation Courses

• CHM 220 Organic Chemistry I
• BCH 335 Biochemistry
• CHM 320 Analytical Chemistry
• CHM 301 Inorganic Chemistry
• CHM 305 Physical Chemistry I

Departmental Seminars

• CHM 350 Chemistry Seminar I
• CHM 450 Chemistry Seminar II

IN-DEPTH ELECTIVES

• CHM 221 Organic Chemistry II
• CHM 306 Physical Chemistry II
• CHM 380 Instrumental Analysis
• BCH 435 Advanced Biochemistry
• CHM 400 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
• CHM 401 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
• CHM 417 Advanced Organic Chemistry
• CHM 460 Advanced Topics in Chemistry
• CHM 498 Chemical Research I and CHM 499 Chemical Research II
• CHM 445 Advanced Integrated Laboratory in Chemistry

SUPPORTING ELECTIVES

•  MAT 111 Calculus I
• MAT 112 Calculus II
• PHY 120 General Physics I
• PHY 121 General Physics II

N O T E
Students interested in earning an ACS certified degree are required to take either Chemical Research I and II or Advanced Integrated Lab, and three additional electives from the in-depth course listing. Students interested in graduate school in chemistry are strongly advised to take Organic Chemistry II (CHM 221); Physical Chemistry II (CHM 306); and Instrumental Analysis (CHM 380) as their three electives and are, in addition, encouraged to consider additional mathematics courses such as Introduction to Discrete Mathematics (MAT 140); Calculus III (MAT 211); Linear Algebra (MAT 230); and Ordinary Differential Equations (MAT 305). Students enrolled in Chemical Research I (CHM 498) must enroll in Chemical Research II (CHM 499).

Students interested in earning a non-ACS certified degree are required to take three in-depth elective courses. Possible ways to satisfy the requirement are as follows:

• Three electives from the in-depth course listing excluding Chemical Research and Advanced Integrated Lab
• Advanced Integrated Lab and two additional electives from the in-depth listing
• Chemical Research I and II and two additional electives from the in-depth listing

Supporting electives for those not interested in certification are: 

• MAT 110 Applied Calculus OR MAT 111 Calculus I
• MAT 112 Calculus II
• PHY 120 General Physics I
• PHY 121 General Physics II

This curriculum allows students to concentrate in certain areas, such as biochemistry and environmental chemistry, by selecting courses dealing with the areas of interest. For example, students who wish to emphasize biochemistry in preparation for graduate study should complete:

• BIO 120 General Biology I
• BIO 121 General Biology II
• BIO 341 Molecular Biology
• BCH 435 Advanced Biochemistry

Students interested in environmental chemistry may want to consider:

• CHM 400 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
• CHM 460 Advanced Topics in Chemistry

RECOMMENDED SEQUENCE OF STUDY

N O T E
Students majoring in chemistry should take CHM 120 and MAT 111 in fall term and CHM 121 and MAT 112 in spring term of the first year. Students may start the physics sequence of PHY 120/PHY 131 first or second years. First-year students who have not had high school physics, or have deficiencies in mathematics and/or science background, should take PHY 120 and MAT 109 in fall term and PHY 121 and a calculus course in spring term.

CHEMISTRY MINOR
Six (6) courses are required.

Introductory Courses

• CHM 120 Chemistry I
• CHM 121 Chemistry II

Foundation Courses

• CHM 220 Organic Chemistry

ELECTIVES (choose three)

• CHM 221 Organic Chemistry II
• CHM 301 Inorganic Chemistry
• CHM 305 Physical Chemistry I
• CHM 306 Physical Chemistry II
• BCH 335 Biochemistry
• CHM 380 Instrumental Analysis
• CHM 400 Advanced Analytical Chemistry
• CHM 401 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
• CHM 417 Advanced Organic Chemistry
• BCH 435 Advanced Biochemistry
• CHM 445 Advanced Integrated Laboratory in Chemistry
• CHM 460 Advanced Topics in Chemistry

N O T E
Students interested in pursuing graduate studies or employment in a laboratory setting are advised to take both CHM 221 and CHM 320 as two of the three electives.

Course of Study

CHM 103 Crime Scene Chemistry: Enables students to watch or read something in the popular media and thoughtfully analyze the case based on chemical and forensic principles. Designed for non-science majors.

CHM 105 Chemistry and Society -- Applications and Issues: Examines chemistry in daily life and decision making -- from nutrition, drugs, cosmetics, and household chemistry to environmental problems. Discusses data analysis and scientific methodology and its limitations. Designed for non-science majors. Lab required. 

CHM 106 Chemistry of Life: Introduces biochemistry and its relationship to people. Covers diets and fat metabolism, as well as action of steroids, carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids. Analyzes data from lab or historical sources. Designed for non-science majors. Lab required. 

CHM 107 Chemistry of Art: Applies the concepts and methods of chemistry to art. Covers authentication, conservation, and artists' materials. Analyzes data from laboratory or historical sciences. Designed for non-science majors. Lab required.

CHM 110 Chemistry and the Environment: Applies concepts and methods of chemistry to environmental problems. Weighs quantitative and qualitative data gathered from historical sources, demonstration, and lab experiments. Designed for non-science majors. Lab required. 

CHM 120 Chemistry I: Basic inorganic chemistry, including atomic structure and periodicity, stoichiometry, inorganic reactions (acid-base, precipitation, oxidation-reduction, complexation), and modern chemical bonding theories. Lab required. For science majors.

CHM 121 Chemistry II: Continues introduction to chemistry by discussing bonding in solids and liquids, thermodynamics, acid-base and solubility equilibria, phase equilibria and colligative properties, electrochemistry, coordination chemistry and chemical kinetics. Lab required. For science majors. Prerequisite: CHM 120 or consent.

CHM 220/221 Organic Chemistry I and II: This sequence introduces the principles of organic chemistry through the study of structure-activity relationships, properties and reactions of carbon compounds. Instrumental methods are used in separation and identification of organic compounds such as gas chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy. Lab required. Prerequisite: CHM 121. 

CHM 301 Inorganic Chemistry: Basic descriptive chemistry of representative elements, with emphasis on transition metals chemistry (structure, properties, bonding, spectra, and reaction mechanisms), and an introduction to organometallic and bioinorganic chemistry. Laboratory will involve the synthesis, and quantitative and structural analysis of a variety of representative inorganic and organometallic compounds. Prerequisite: CHM 320 or consent.

CHM 305 Physical Chemistry I: Studies chemical thermodynamics and reaction kinetics. Introduces the laws of thermodynamics and their application to chemical and phase equilibria as well as solutions. Reaction kinetics is a basic treatment of reaction rates, mechanisms, and theories of why and how chemical reactions occur. Lab required. Prerequisite: CHM 221 or consent.

CHM 306 Physical Chemistry II: Studies quantum and statistical mechanics. Introduces quantum mechanics and symmetry and their application to chemical bonding, atomic, and molecular spectroscopy. Statistical mechanics is a basic treatment of the connection between microscopic states and thermodynamic properties. Lab required. Prerequisite: CHM 305. 

CHM 320 Analytical Chemistry: Inorganic quantitative analysis, emphasizing free energy-equilibrium relationships, statistical treatment of data, solution equilibria and volumetric analysis based on precipitation, acid-base, complexation, and oxidation-reduction reactions, and spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods of analysis. Lab required. Prerequisites: CHM 121 and CHM 220.

CHM 350 Chemistry Seminar I: Engages students in discussions with faculty, fellow students, and visiting scholars centered on advanced topics surrounding chemical research. Provides a venue for students to develop their senior research proposals and to discuss their own research projects with other students. Required for junior majors. Prerequisites: CHM 120 and CHM 220.

CHM 380 Instrumental Analysis: Applies variety of spectroscopic, electrometric, and chromatographic methods to such instruments as spectrometers (nuclear magnetic resonance, mass, and Fourier transform infrared) and gas and high-performance liquid chromatographs. Considers chemical, biochemical, and environmental problems. Lab required. Prerequisite: CHM 320.

CHM 400 Advanced Analytical Chemistry: Deals with advanced treatments of simultaneous and complex equilibria, electrochemistry, spectrophotometric analysis, and separation methods. Prerequisites: CHM 305 and CHM 380.

CHM 401 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry: Applies thermodynamics, kinetics, symmetry and group theory, and the theories of ionic, metallic and covalent bonding to the chemistry of nonmetallic, transition metal, organometallic and bioinorganic compounds. Projects based lab required. Prerequisites: CHM 301 and CHM 306.

CHM 417 Advanced Organic Chemistry: Interprets molecular structure and reactivity related by means of organic reaction mechanisms. Introduces organic synthesis strategies and their applications. Prerequisites: CHM 221, CHM 301 and CHM 305. 

CHM 445 Advanced Integrated Laboratory in Chemistry: Provides students with experience in advanced experimental approaches to solve complex and real world chemical problems. Projects involve perspectives, skills, and instrumentation from each of the divisions of chemistry. Prerequisites: CHM 121, CHM 221, and one 300-level chemistry course with lab.

CHM 450 Chemistry Seminar II: Engages students in discussions with faculty, fellow students, and visiting scholars centered on advanced topics surrounding chemical research. Provides a venue for students to discuss their own research projects with other students. Required for senior majors. Prerequisite: CHM 350 or consent.

CHM 460 Topics in Chemistry: Explores subject chosen by faculty and student, such as environmental chemistry, polymers, stereochemistry, nuclear and radiation chemistry, phase relationship, inorganic synthesis, advanced electrochemical techniques, organometallics, photochemistry, natural products, special problems in chemical education, and current problems from the chemical literature. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: some knowledge of four basic areas of chemistry and consent. 

CHM 498/499 Research I and II: Requires proposal of collaborative faculty/student project and weekly seminars and progress reports. Culminates in written thesis and oral presentation on work conducted. Capstone experience. Prerequisite: CHM 350 and consent.