Undergraduate Program

General Chemistry Placement Guidelines

Students planning to enroll in introductory chemistry courses should be aware that there are a number of options open to them.

I. Chem 1100 - Atoms and Molecules
(3 credit hours, includes laboratory)

Target audience
Students planning to major in a subject that requires only a brief chemistry survey course or students taking chemistry in order to fulfill a general education requirement

Prerequisites
No chemistry background is presumed; not a prerequisite for other chemistry courses and thus is not an appropriate course for students who need additional chemistry. (Those students instead should enroll in the General Chemistry sequence for science majors, Chem 1310, 1320, and 1330.)

II. Chem 1310, 1320, 1330 - General Chemistry
(1310 is 2 credit hours and does not have a laboratory component; 1320 and 1330 are each 3 credit hours including laboratory)

Course organization
This General Chemistry sequence at MU is somewhat different than the programs offered at other schools in that the complete sequence consists of three courses rather than two courses of 4 or 5 credit hours each. Students need not complete the entire three-course sequence, although doing so is encouraged.

Target audience
Students majoring in a science or needing more than one semester of introductory chemistry

Prerequisites

(a) Math
Certain math skills are required for success in Chem 1310, 1320, and 1330. A student enrolling in Chem 1310 should at least be taking College Algebra concurrently. Enrollment in Chem 1320 or Chem 1330 requires that the College Algebra graduation requirement have been satisfied, either by completing College Algebra or by placing out of it. (Both these chemistry courses have been designated as "math reasoning proficiency" courses, for which College Algebra is a pre-requisite.)

(b) Chemistry
Chem 1310 presumes no chemistry background-Chem 1100 is not a prerequisite for it nor is Chem 1100 recommended for students who need Chem 1310. To enroll in Chem 1320, a student must obtain a "C-" or better in Chem 1310 or have a sufficient background in high school. (See the placement guidelines that are given below.)

Placement in Chem 1310 and 1320

One of the special features of the MU General Chemistry program is that it permits students with good high school chemistry backgrounds to bypass Chem 1310 and begin in Chem 1320. Placement directly into Chem 1320 is encouraged for students who did well in high school chemistry courses (grades of "A" or "B") or who had more than one year of high school chemistry. Note that it is not necessary to have taken more than a single year of chemistry in high school to be able to start in Chem 1320! Students who do choose to bypass Chem 1310 and start in Chem 1320 and who then earn a grade of "C" or better in Chem 1320 may request 2 hours of credit for Chem 1310 at no cost to them.

In deciding whether or not enrollment directly in Chem 1320 is appropriate for them, students are advised to examine the list of Chem 1310 and Chem 1320 topics given below. If they are indeed familiar with the Chem 1310 topics, then Chem 1320 probably is the correct starting course. Note also that students with previous AP or college credit in general chemistry may even be able to go directly into Chem 1330. Those students should contact the Chemistry Department for specific advice concerning placement.

CHEM 1310 Topics
The metric system; conversion of units; density; moles; atomic weights; molecular weights; symbols for the elements; chemical formulas; naming chemical compounds (in particular, inorganic compounds); oxidation numbers; ions; the basic structure of the atom; atomic numbers; isotopes; writing and balancing chemical reactions; net ionic equations; stoichiometry (including solution and gas-phase stoichiometry); limiting reactants; gases; the ideal gas law.

CHEM 1320 Topics
Thermochemistry; heat and work; enthalpy; Hess's law; standard states; enthalpies of formation; entropy; free energy; reaction spontaneity; equilibrium; electronic structure of atoms; aufbau principle; quantum numbers; the periodic table (relation to electron configurations of atoms); atomic orbitals; periodic properties; electronegativity; covalent bonding; shapes of molecules (VSEPR); molecular polarity; hybridization; ionic bonding; lattice energies; intermolecular forces; vapor pressure; crystal structures; colligative properties of solutions.