General Courses

In this section we will be talking about the basics of acids and bases and how acid-base chemistry is related to chemical equilibrium. We will cover acid and base definitions, pH, acid-base equilibrium, acid-base properties of salts, and the pH of salt solutions.

Chemistry is the study of matter, and all matter is made up of atoms. We will learn about elements, atomic number and mass isotopes, moles (chemistry moles, not the animal), and compounds.

Chemical Bonds are the glue that hold molecules together. We will learn about the different kinds of bonds, ways chemists draw bonds and molecules, and how the type of chemical bonding affects the build properties of a material. We will cover electronegativity, Lewis dot structures, VSEPR, bond hybridization, and iconic covalent, and metallic bonds.

Ancient alchemists attempted but failed to turn different substances into gold. It turns out that the only way to turn one element is nuclear chemistry! Nuclear reactions change the composition of an atom's nucleus, and this process is useful for many applications.

A little more than a century ago, the chemist Dmitri Mendeleev published an early form of the period table, which organizes the known elements elements of our world. His method of classifying the elements was so useful that we still use it even today.We will learn to apply this elegant table to an understanding of atomic structure and properties, including periodic table trends.