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Chemistry

Chemistry is one of the core sciences and is central to the study of many other sciences. If you are considering a major in Chemical Engineering, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, or Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, you must complete a year or more of chemistry (with laboratories) as a prerequisite to the major. Similarly, if you intend to go to medical school, you are advised to take a year of general or organic chemistry, including the associated laboratories, in freshman year.

There are three general chemistry offerings:

  1. CHEM 112, 113, Chemistry with Problem Solving I and II
  2. CHEM 114, 115, Comprehensive General Chemistry I and II
  3. CHEM 118, Quantitative Foundations of General Chemistry

Three additional course sequences are open to freshmen who are sufficiently well prepared:

  1. CHEM 124, 125, Freshman Organic Chemistry I and II
  2. CHEM 220, Organic Chemistry, and 230, The Organic Chemistry of Biological Pathways
  3. CHEM 332, 333, Physical Chemistry with Applications in the Physical Sciences I and II

For more complete information about these and other courses suitable for freshmen, see Programs of Study: Chemistry.

Chemistry Preregistration and Placement

If you wish to take a chemistry course during freshman year, you must complete the High School Math and Science Survey during the summer and also preregister for a chemistry course by answering questions 26 and 27 in the survey. The process of chemistry placement and preregistration requires several steps; students must complete all steps to receive a permission key for any chemistry course.

  1. Fill out the High School Math and Science Survey. Preregister for a course by answering yes to question 26, and indicate your preferred course placement by answering question 27.
  2. Based on your admissions records and on the information you submit for the High School Math and Science Survey, the department will place you in the most appropriate general chemistry course (CHEM 112, 114, 115, or 118). If you complete the High School Math and Science Survey prior to August 16 at 5:00 p.m., your course preference will be considered in making your placement. This initial placement will be accessible through the "Chem Placement 2013" site on Classes*v2 on August 20. See the Chemistry department Web site for instructions on how to access your placement.
  3. Students who miss the August 16 deadline for completing the High School Math and Science Survey must still complete the survey and the preregistration process to obtain a permission key for any chemistry course. Late placements will be added to the "Chem Placement 2013" site on Classes*v2 on August 27.

Students with placement questions, or those wishing to change their placement, should attend the department's orientation meeting prior to the placement examination.

Freshmen wishing to take CHEM 124, 220, or 332, or those wishing to take a higher-level course than their initially assigned placement, are required to take a placement examination on the first day of registration week in the fall term. Students who feel they have been placed incorrectly at too high a level may discuss changing their placement with a chemistry placement adviser and do not need to take the examination.

Students entering with an advanced science background or a strong interest in chemistry are particularly encouraged to take the examination. Students uncertain about their placement, and especially international students, are also encouraged to sit for the examination, as it provides the best measure of a student's readiness to enter the wide variety of courses offered to freshmen.

The department advises that you review general chemistry before taking the placement examination. Times and places for the examination are published in the Calendar for the Opening Days of College. Students must bring a nonprogrammable, nongraphing calculator and a #2 pencil with them to the exam.

Students who have taken the placement examination are given the opportunity to adjust their preliminary placement by consulting with a Chemistry department placement adviser during registration week. Final placement information will be available on the "Chem Placement 2013" site on Classes*v2 the evening before classes begin, thereby allowing students to check their placement prior to attending the first regularly scheduled class meeting.

If you have questions about chemistry placement and preregistration after reading this material and consulting the departmental Web site, call 203 432-3916.