Foundation Studies in Chemistry

This unit is designed for students with little or no background in chemistry who wish to gain an understanding of basic chemistry. Topics covered include the nature of matter, solutions and gases, the chemical change related to equilibrium, energy and kinetics, and the nature of redox processes; and structures and functional groups of inorganic molecules. In introducing the nature of matter and the chemical elements, an elementary discussion of atomic structure and the bonding of elements to form compounds is given. Further development requires a discussion of the mole concept. This leads to a study of chemical reactions, with discussions on oxidation and reduction, acids and bases, energy changes in reactions, reaction rates and chemical equilibrium, and an introduction to organic chemistry.