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College Chemistry I, Sec. B02
Instructor: Dr. Jon Southard

From: pbl.unipv.it/beppe/chemistry.jpg

Welcome to College Chemistry I

Many beginning students approach chemistry with some fear. Maybe this is not too surprising - chemists are often portrayed in popular culture as scary characters. Whatever this guy is trying to do with the brain in the corner, it looks like things are going to turn nasty soon.

Two major goals of this course are to convince you that:

Chemistry is a very useful subject to learn about.

Anyone can understand chemistry - but you have to work at it.

Chemistry is a way of thinking. It starts with the premise that the universe is composed of only two things: matter ('stuff') and energy. Its goal is to understand matter and energy and their transformations. If our understanding is deep enough, we can control these transformations. For example, we can make a simple medicine like the bubbly antacid shown. If you get an upset stomach, it may help you feel better.

So, chemistry is a very practical way of thinking. We can use it to make life better. Applications of chemistry can have undesirable results. The synthetic insecticide DDT caused huge loses in the populations of bald eagles, pelicans and other birds in North America. On the other hand, this chemical is still used in some parts of the world because it kills insects that cause deadly diseases in humans.

You might have heard about recent advances in cloning and stem cell research. These may in the near future revolutionize our ideas about health, lifespan, and even what it means to be an individual human being.

In a few years, with a bit of that brain in the picture, we might be able to make a new version of the person who once had it. Is this something we want to do? What about rebuilding part of the brain of someone who suffered a brain injury?

So, chemistry may be a bit scary at times, but we really can't live without it. Chemistry WILL be important in your future no matter what you do. An understanding of chemistry will help you make informed decisions on issues affecting you personally and our society as a whole.

Website for the text: http://bcs.whfreeman.com/bleiodian2e

This site has a variety of learning resources

Learn more about VSEPR using this tutorial (from Mark Winter at the University of Sheffield)

Gas Law animation (from Midori Kitagawa at Ohio State University) A nice visualization of the effects of changing P, V, T, or n

From: www.sonichospital.com/images/scientist.JPG

From: www.solvaypcc.com/market/application/

Structure of DDT

Simple reactions for clean energy and water?

H₂O + (solar) energy → H₂ + O₂

and

H₂ + O₂ → H₂O + (electrical) energy

From: www.humboldt.edu/~serc

    Supplemental Instruction (SI)

        Your SI leader is:

        Samantha Calderone

    SI sessions are scheduled for:

     Tuesday 6:00-6:50 pm

            313 Pratt Hall

    Thursday 5:00-5:50 pm

          312 Pratt Hall