What you need to know
The Department of Chemistry offers three separate sequences in
general chemistry at Dartmouth College. A majority of our students
are enrolled in Chemistry 5-6, while about 30 percent are invited
into Chemistry 3 because we feel that they would benefit from a
course that places greater emphasis on fundamentals. These students
complete the general chemistry sequence by enrolling in Chemistry
6. In addition, there is a one-term honors section, Chemistry 10,
for especially well-prepared students.
Each year we enroll quite a number of students who have not had
high school chemistry or who feel that their high school backgrounds
are weak. It is most certainly possible for such students to do
well in general chemistry at Dartmouth. However, many of them find
it helpful to study and review, in preparation for the course. This
handout will tell you what you need to learn, to be off to a flying
start in general chemistry.
Listed below are some of the more important topics that you should
be familiar with. You may, of course, review or study as much as
you like, but you are encouraged to concentrate on and become familiar
with the following topics:
1. Metric System. Be familiar with the units of mass,
length, and volume in the metric system.
2. Temperature Scales. Be familiar with the Celsius (Centigrade)
and the Kelvin (absolute) temperature scales.
3. Symbols of the Elements. You should be familiar with
the symbols for elements with atomic numbers 1-38, 46-56, and
78-83. The symbols are usually abbreviations of either the English
or Latin name of the element. Although you will have a periodic
table for all exams, the more familiar you are with the symbols,
the better off you will be.
4. Chemical Formulas. You should become familiar with
the way in which the symbols of elements are combined to give
chemical formulas for molecules, salts, and ions; for example,
SiCl4, CaF2, SO4-2 , etc.
5. Chemical Equations. You should understand how chemical
formulas are combined to give chemical equations, which describe
chemical changes.
6. Atomic Structure. You should have at least a rough
idea of the structure of the atom. Be aware that the nucleus,
composed of protons and neutrons, is the massive but tiny positively
charged central core of the atom, and is surrounded by one or
more negatively charged electrons which occupy most of the volume
of the atom but contribute only a tiny fraction of its mass. Know
what isotopes are.
7. Weight Relationships. You should know what atomic number,
atomic mass number, atomic weight, formula weight, and molecular
weight mean. Understand what gram atomic weight, gram formula
weight, and gram molecular weight mean. Know what is meant by
a mole of a substance, and understand the relationship between
the mole and Avogadro's number.
8. Concepts from Physics. Have some notion of the meaning
of force and energy, and of the units in which they are measured
in the Standard International system. Pressure is a measure of
force per unit area; common units of pressure are Pascals, atmospheres,
and torr (millimeters of Hg).
9. Concentrations. Know some common ways of expression
concentration; for example, weight percent and moles of solute
per liter of solution (molarity).
A review of certain topics in high school mathematics will also
be valuable to any student in college chemistry. Listed below are
some of the topics with which you should be quite comfortable.
1. Calculators. You must have a calculator and know how
to use it for multiplication, division, taking square roots, finding
logarithms and antilogarithms, and using exponential notation.
2. Exponential Notation. Be thoroughly familiar with exponents,
and be able to multiply, divide, raise to powers, and take roots
of numbers with exponents. Understand the relationship between
exponents and logarithms, and be able to work with logarithms,
both base 10 and base e.
3. Linear Equations. Be able to recognize the equation
for a straight line, and know how to find the slope and intercept.
4. Algebra. Be able to solve a system of two simultaneous
linear equations in two unknowns.
5. More Algebra. Be able to solve a quadratic equation.
6. Trigonometry. Be familiar with angles measured in radians
as well as in degrees, and understand and be able to work with
the basic trigonometric functions, such as sine, cosine, and tangent.
7. Coordinate Systems. Be familiar with polar coordinate
systems in two and three dimensions as well as with the common
Cartesian coordinate system.
Most of the definitions and concepts mentioned above will be reviewed
quickly during the initial weeks of Chemistry 3 or 5. However, it
will be to your advantage to have seen such material and thought
about it in advance. You will also find most of these topics are
included in the first chapters or appendices of your textbook. If
you find that the text selected for your course assumes too much
previous knowledge, try reading another textbook. Instructors generally
make a variety of books available at the reserve desk at Kresge
Library and you may find one that is more clear to you, especially
if you have not previously studied chemistry at this depth before.
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