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Chemistry Course Descriptions

  • CHEM 105. Chemistry of Recycling
    Credits: 4. This course uses basic chemistry to explore the science behind recycling, as well as the context for recycling and the political and economic realities of treating and using recycled materials. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Does not count towards the chemistry major or minor. Prerequisite: satisfaction of quantitative literacy requirement. Fulfills natural science and mathematics and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
  • CHEM 110. Real World Chemistry
    Credits: 4. Chemistry is connected to everything in our lives: from food to fuel, natural to artificial, medicine to the environment, consumer products to toxic waste. This course is designed to educate students about chemistry and its effects on our world using illustrations from our common experience. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Does not count towards the chemistry major or minor. Prerequisite: satisfaction of quantitative literacy requirement. Fulfills natural science and mathematics and social justice/environmental responsibility requirements.
  • CHEM 111. Chemical Principles I
    Credits: 4. Basic principles of chemistry, periodicity, bonding and energy relations. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Prerequisite: satisfaction of quantitative literacy requirement. Fulfills natural science and mathematics requirement.
  • CHEM 112. Chemical Principles II
    Credits: 4. Molecular and ionic equilibria, chemical kinetics and reaction mechanisms, intermolecular interactions, electrochemistry and introduction to organic and biochemical systems. Three hours lecture, one-hour problem-solving session and three hours lab per week. Prerequisite: CHEM 111. Fulfills natural science and mathematics requirement.
  • CHEM 115. Chemistry of Food and Cooking
    Credits: 4. This course surveys food’s chemical constituents in proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, preservatives and flavorings, as well as cooking processes with respect to chemistry. Students will gain a better understanding of the food we eat and how to prepare it safely, nutritionally and tastefully. Prerequisite: satisfaction of quantitative literacy requirement. Fulfills natural science and mathematics requirement.
  • CHEM 231. Organic Chemistry I
    Credits: 4. An introduction to the structure and reactivity of organic molecules; topics covered include chemical nomenclature, bonding and structure of carbon compounds, acid-base relationships, mechanisms of reactions and structure determination. Laboratory component includes techniques for the synthesis and characterization of organic compounds and determination of reaction mechanisms including experimental, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods commonly employed in modern organic chemistry. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Prerequisite: CHEM 112 with grade of C- or better.
  • CHEM 232. Organic Chemistry II
    Credits: 4. A continuation of Organic Chemistry I. Topics covered include mechanisms of more complex reactions, multi-step organic synthesis, applications of molecular orbital theory to reactions and the chemistry of biologically important molecules such as sugars and peptides. Laboratory component focuses on multi-step synthesis of organic compounds using a variety of reactions, employing chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques in the purification and analysis of reaction products. Three hours lecture and, for the first half of the semester, three hours lab and one hour lab lecture per week. Prerequisite: CHEM 231.
  • CHEM 235. Integrated Laboratory for Organic Chemistry
    Credits: 1. Laboratory course integrating organic chemistry with other fields of chemistry. Students from several chemistry classes conduct original research on multidisciplinary projects. Independent study, lab management skills and teamwork are emphasized. Three hours lab and one hour lecture per week for the second half of the semester. Co-requisite: CHEM 232.
  • CHEM 246. Forensic Chemistry (BIOL 246)
    Credits: 4. Explores methods used to examine and identify evidence of criminal activity, including chemical techniques for developing fingerprints, blood isozymes, PCR for DNA profiling, drug identification and ELISA. Prerequisite: BIOL 245 or instructor permission.
  • CHEM 260. Independent Study
    Credits: 1-4. Recent topics include photoredox chemistry, organometallic synthesis, experimental design, conducting polymers and advanced organic synthesis. May also be offered at 360 and 460 levels.
  • CHEM 290. Internship
    Credits: 1-4. May also be offered at the 390 level.
  • CHEM 331. Physical Chemistry: Thermodynamics and Kinetics
    Credits: 4. Physical chemistry of macroscopic systems, including classical and statistical thermodynamics, ideal and real gases, liquids and solutions, phases, chemical equilibrium, electrochemistry and kinetics. Laboratory includes computational chemistry and experiments in physical chemistry of gases, thermochemistry, phases, kinetics and electrochemistry. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Prerequisites: CHEM 232, MATH 121 and MATH 122 or MATH 123 with a grade of C- or better, PHYS 121 and PHYS 122 or PHYS 211 and PHYS 212 with grade of C- or better; or instructor permission.
  • CHEM 332. Physical Chemistry: Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy
    Credits: 4. Physical chemistry of microscopic systems including quantum mechanics, electronic structure of atoms and molecules, molecular structure and dynamics and spectroscopy. Laboratory includes computational chemistry and experiments in spectroscopy and structure analysis. Three hours lecture and, for the first half of the semester, three hours lab and one hour lab lecture per week. Prerequisites: CHEM 232, MATH 121 and MATH 122 or MATH 123 with grade of C- or better, PHYS 121 and PHYS 122 or PHYS 211 and PHYS 212 with grade of C- or better; or instructor permission. Corequisite: CHEM 336.
  • CHEM 336. Integrated Laboratory for Physical Chemistry
    Credits: 1. Laboratory course involving original research projects integrating physical chemistry with other fields of chemistry. Independent study, lab management skills, teamwork and leadership skills are emphasized. Three hours lab and one hour lecture per week for the second half of the semester. Prerequisite: CHEM 235. Corequisite: CHEM 332.
  • CHEM 341. Instrumental Analysis
    Credits: 4. A systematic study of the modern instrumental methods of chemical analysis with emphasis on the theory behind the use of instruments, principles of operation of analytical instruments and their use for the analysis of real samples. Three hours lecture and three hours lab per week. Prerequisites: CHEM 112 and MATH 121.
  • CHEM 342. Inorganic and Materials Chemistry
    Credits: 4. The interaction between structure and electronic properties, the metallic state, solid state chemistry, metal complexes, stereochemistry, elementary crystallography and spectroscopy. The laboratory centers on unusual materials, their synthesis, structure, properties and analysis. Three hours lecture and, for the first half of the semester, three hours lab and one hour lab lecture per week. Prerequisites: CHEM 232 and PHYS 121 or PHYS 211.
  • CHEM 345. Integrated Laboratory for Inorganic Chemistry
    Credits: 1. Laboratory course involving original research projects integrating inorganic chemistry with other fields of chemistry. Independent study, lab management skills, teamwork and leadership skills are emphasized. Three hours lab and one hour lecture per week for the second half of the semester. Prerequisite: CHEM 235. Corequisite: CHEM 342.
  • CHEM 400. Chemistry Seminar
    Credits: 2. Focuses on the transition from college to graduate school, careers in the chemical industry or careers in other fields. The development of presentation skills and critical analysis of the chemical literature is stressed. Required of all chemistry majors and minors. Prerequisite: any three chemistry courses that count for the chemistry major or minor. One and a half hours lecture per week.
  • CHEM 412. Geochemistry (GEOL 412)
    Credits: 4. Distribution, movement and processes affecting chemical elements within the earth. Nuclear chemistry, formation of earth and planets; crystal chemistry and mineral structures; isotope geology, trace elements, thermodynamics in geology. No laboratory. Prerequisites: CHEM 111, three semesters of laboratory courses in geology or permission of the instructor.
  • CHEM 420. Polymer Chemistry
    Credits: 4. Synthesis, characterization, properties and uses of modern synthetic polymers. Current topics in polymer research and development such as biomedical polymers, space-age polymers and the use of polymers in electronics will be examined. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: CHEM 232 or instructor permission.
  • CHEM 430. Medicinal Chemistry
    Credits: 4. The organic chemistry of drug design and drug action. This course covers the interaction of drugs at sites in the body such as neuroreceptors, enzymes and DNA which lead to therapeutic effects. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: CHEM 232 or instructor permission.
  • CHEM 434. Biochemistry (BIOL 434)
    Credits: 4. A study of the chemical structure and physiological function of the biochemical building blocks of living organisms including proteins, carbohydrates, lipid metabolism and nucleic acid synthesis. The laboratory experience includes techniques used in the isolation and identification of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. Prerequisite: BIOL 111 and CHEM 232. Spring.
  • CHEM 470. Senior Thesis
    Credits: 4. Original research on a specific topic in chemistry or chemistry-related field. Students are expected to begin work on their topics before they register.
  • CHEM 475. Research Seminar (BIOL 475)
    Credits: 2. This course introduces the principles and concepts of presenting scientific research. Emphasis is placed on the preparation of oral and poster presentations and the implementation of proper etiquette for undergraduate symposia. This course also covers the preparation of funding proposals, curriculum vitae, Statements of Intent, and the interview process for post-undergraduate programs. Students are required to present their research at two undergraduate meetings including the Guilford Undergraduate Symposium.
  • CHEM 490. Departmental Honors
    Credits: 4-8.