General Chemistry Courses

This course is designed to fulfill a core science requirement for non-science majors in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), and especially fills the needs of such students in the Environmental Studies program. It has three lectures each week, and is taught in the fall semester. It is commonly followed by CHEM 1031. These courses are not intended for students who have already had a higher-level chemistry class and will not carry credit for such students.

CU Catalog: CHEM 1011

This course has three lectures, a one-hour recitation, and a two-hour lab each week. It serves a dual purpose. The first is as a course to remedy a MAPS deficiency in background for students who did not have either chemistry or physics in high school. The second is to serve as a preparation for CHEM 1111 for students who either lack high school chemistry or do not remember enough of it to handle the material in 1111, which assumes a background in high school chemistry. It covers chemistry at an elementary level, and also some of the mathematical skills needed to do well in general chemistry. CHEM 1021 does not satisfy the core science requirement of the A&S College.

CU Catalog: CHEM 1021

This course has three lectures and a two-hour lab each week, and is taught in the spring semester. It is a follow-up to CHEM 1011. The two courses together satisfy the sequence and laboratory portions of the A&S core requirement.

CU Catalog: CHEM 1031

This course has three lectures and a three-hour lab each week. It has a prerequisite of CHEM 1111 or the formerly-taught course CHEM 1051 or the equivalent. It is a recommended second semester course for students who are interested in a biologically related area and who do not plan to take any further chemistry. Organic and biological chemistry are important areas of chemistry, and such students will be well served by learning the material in CHEM 1071. However, students who plan to go on to take organic chemistry and perhaps further chemistry and/or biochemistry must take CHEM 1131. CHEM 1071 does not satisfy the prerequisites for advanced courses.

CU Catalog: CHEM 1071

This course has three lectures, a recitation period, and one three-hour lab each week. This is the standard beginning college chemistry course for science majors and premedical students. It has a prerequisite of high school algebra and either a year of high school chemistry or CHEM 1021. Students should have a good facility with algebra; most students who have difficulty in general chemistry are having trouble with algebra rather than with chemical concepts. CHEM 1111 covers chemical reactions and stoichiometry, gases, liquids and solids, atomic structure, chemical bonding, thermodynamics, and an introduction to chemical equilibrium. It counts as a science course including laboratory for the Arts and Sciences core requirement. If it is followed by either CHEM 1131 or CHEM 1071 the sequence core requirement will be completed as well.

CU Catalog: CHEM 1111
Course Website : Baker Section Website

This is the continuation of CHEM 1111 and has the same meeting pattern. It is the course that satisfies the prerequisites for advanced chemistry courses; students who do not plan to take any more chemistry and who are in any biological area may wish to consider CHEM 1071 instead. CHEM 1131 covers ionic equilibria, electrochemistry, chemical kinetics, inorganic chemistry, and sometimes nuclear chemistry.

CU Catalog: CHEM 1131

These two courses parallel CHEM 1111 and 1131, but have two lab periods a week instead of one, and present a more in-depth treatment of general chemistry. Students who have had at least one year of chemistry, one year of physics, and four years of math in high school, and who did well at them, should consider taking 1151 and 1171. They offer smaller classes, more lab experience, and a better educational experience for those prepared to take them. CHEM 1151 is taught only in the fall and 1171 only in the spring semesters.

CU Catalog: CHEM 1151 & CHEM 1171

These courses are intended for, and open only to, students in the College of Engineering. They must be taken together, and have three lectures, a recitation, and a three-hour lab each week. They cover many of the topics of General Chemistry 1 plus a selection of topics from General Chemistry 2 included in the one semester class. They emphasize topics of particular importance to engineers.

CU Catalog: CHEM 1211 & CHEM 1221