This is an introductory course for students with limited background in chemistry; basic concepts involved in chemical reactions, stoichiometry, the periodic table, periodic trends, nomenclature, and chemical problem solving will be emphasized with the goal of preparing students for further study in chemistry as needed for many science, health, and policy professions.
Offered By
Introduction to Chemistry: Reactions and Ratios
Duke UniversityAbout this Course
Offered by
Duke University
Duke University has about 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students and a world-class faculty helping to expand the frontiers of knowledge. The university has a strong commitment to applying knowledge in service to society, both near its North Carolina campus and around the world.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Introduction
Over the seven weeks of Introduction to Chemistry: Reactions and Ratios, you will be able to progress from a most basic knowledge of matter and energy to solving interesting real world chemical reaction stoichiometry problems. Each lesson in the course introduces some new concepts that allow you to build upon the material from previous lessons, so completing the coursework in the order that it is delivered will be most beneficial for developing a thorough understanding of synthesized information. This course is intended for students with very little background in the subject, but a strong foundation in algebra is needed to solve some of the problems.In the first unit, the course will first introduce the basic concepts of scientific methods and measurement. Then we will talk about matter, energy, and stoichiometry. Last, we prepared several lab demonstrations by Dr. Ken Lyle. I hope that you are as excited as I am to this amazing world of chemistry! Good luck!
Matter and Energy
<p>If you are interested in significant figures in more detail, here are some <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/math/pre-algebra/decimals-pre-alg/sig-figs-pre-alg/v/significant-figures" target="_blank">good videos</a> to follow on Khan Academy.</p><p>This week we will continue our explorations of matter and energy. We will discuss the sub-atomic particles that govern chemical reactions, isotopes, anions, and cations. We will learn how to name compounds, calculate formula masses, convert between grams and moles, examine periodic trends, and more! An advanced problems set is posted now; that is a longer assignment and is optional unless you would like to be eligible for the Honor’s Track. You can still earn a regular verified certificate without completing the advanced problem sets, so please be sure to keep working on the normal weekly exercises.</p>
Compounds
<p>In this week's videos and exercises (aka quizzes), we will learn how to name compounds, calculate formula masses, convert between grams and moles, examine periodic trends, and more!</p><p>I hope you enjoyed the last two weeks of learning chemistry. Great work on watching videos, posting on the discussion forum and submitting your exercises!</p>
Chemical Composition and Reactions
<p>Week 4 for Introduction to Chemistry: Reactions and Ratios is about to begin! This week will be filled with introductions to chemical compositions, chemical reaction terminology, and reaction calculations.</p><p>If any of the following questions interest you, then watching this week's videos and doing some practice problems are probably a good way to get started! How much sodium is in my diet? What amount of pollutants are in drinking water? How much iron is in iron ore for steel production? These of the types of problems you will be able to address this week.</p>
Reviews
- 5 stars82.47%
- 4 stars12.39%
- 3 stars1.95%
- 2 stars1.11%
- 1 star2.05%
TOP REVIEWS FROM INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY: REACTIONS AND RATIOS
I really struggled with chemistry in high school, and this course is excellent! It helped me understand the core concepts of chemistry and I found it very enjoyable!
Good introduction to chemistry for those interested for some background knowledge. I would say this is at GCSE level, and is good for revision. Thanks a lot!
I find it very clearly presented and well organized. I really enjoyed it. Thank you! I liked it so much that I decided to translate it in my mother language so I can refresh the notions learned.
Professor Canelas was a wonderful teacher who made the content incredibly easy to understand. I can't thank her enough for putting her time into the course!
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