CHEM 4A

Course Number: CHEM 4A

Course Name: General Chemistry and Quantitative Analysis

Units: 4

When is it offered? FALL

Requirement Satisfied: CORE

Concentration(s): N/A

Summary: This is the first introductory chemistry course for students in the College of Chemistry. Though it is introductory, you are expected to know the basic principles of chemistry and it is very fast paced. The course is typically taught by 2 professors. It presents the foundation principles of chemistry, including stoichiometry, the periodic table, atomic and molecular structure, chemical bonding, waves, quantum mechanics, ideal and real gases, acid-base and solubility equilibria, thermochemistry, entropy, nuclear chemistry and radioactivity, chemical kinetics, and descriptive chemistry. This course will most likely be your hardest course of the semester and it is a pretty good indicator of how well you will do in Chemistry at Berkeley. The first half topics are usually what catch people off guard. The laboratory segment also represents a major part of the course.

Official Prerequisites: High school chemistry; calculus (may be taken concurrently); high school physics is recommended

LEGIT Prerequisites: High school chemistry; calculus (may be taken concurrently); high school physics is recommended

Topics Covered: 1. Atomic models 2. Waves 3. Quantum mechanics 4. Gases 5. Thermodynamics 6. Acids 7. Solutions

Workload: There are weekly readings and homeworks. Some questions can be confusing, so it is highly recommended that work is done in groups or in office hours. There are no projects or presentations, but you typically work with someone in lab. There are 3 midterms over the semester, which total to about 1/3 of your overall. The final is also about 1/3 of your overall. Lab will take a big portion of your time as you will have prelabs, 4 hour labs, and lab reports.

When to take? Freshman Fall

"Whats next" Courses? Chem 4B is the continuation in the series, but it's not the same content.

Usefulness for research / internships: Not particularly

Added Comments or Tips: The course instructors switch from year to year so the structure of the course may also vary. Course is typically graded on an absolute scale.