FROSH-
Information literacy

Below are the goals the Professors of Biochemistry and Chemistry have selected that every student ought to at least begin to understand in the classes we teach. Please look at them periodically during the semester, as a quiz sometime during the semester may ask you for examples you can provide from the course material, readings, labs, and discussions.

What are the essential concepts in chemistry?     Peter Atkins - Oxford University
1. Matter is atomic.
2. Elements show periodic relationships that we can understand in terms of atomic structure.
3. Atoms link by sharing electrons.
4. Molecular shape is of paramount importance.
5. There are residual forces between molecules.
6. Energy is conserved.
7. Energy and matter tend to disperse in disorder, but that dispersal can generate [less] order.
8. There are barriers to reactions so the world sinks only slowly into disorder.
9. There are only four kinds of chemical processes:
      - proton transfer
       - electron transfer
     - electron sharing
      - electron pair sharing

BIOCHEM/CHEM DEPARTMENT GOALS FOR COURSES

Conceptual Framework
Macroscale – What you can detect or observe with your senses
Atomic/molecular – What is happening at the scale of atoms and molecules
Symbolic language – How we represent both of the above through chemical formulas, graphs, and equations

Process Framework
Synthesis – How are molecules formed and degraded by reaction mechanisms and metabolism?
Analysis – How do we determine through observation, measurements, instruments, and statistics both things and processes?
Structure/bonding – How are atoms attached to form molecules, how do molecules interact intra- and inter-molecularly?
Systems – How do molecules organize, change, and signal beyond a few isolated molecules? How can materials with desired properties be designed?

Chemical Concepts
Elements and periodicity – How and why do atomic properties vary?
Synthesis and reactivity – How can we plan to make molecules or understand systems that make molecules?

• Atoms link by sharing electrons – What are the kinds and nature of chemical bonds?
• Changes in matter occur through electron and proton transfer – Reaction mechanisms
• All chemical processes proceed toward a “balance” which can be quantitatively treated as chemical equilibrium.
• Energy is released when a bond is formed
• Kinetics and Catalysis – How fast will processes occur, and can catalysts be designed and function to control those rates?
• Entropy – Disorder in the universe always increases!  So how can the orderly system of life on earth evolve?

Intermolecular forces – Once atoms attach, how does a molecule interact internally and externally?
Interaction of matter with the electromagnetic spectrum – Much of analysis and life on earth depend upon how light, photons in the electromagnetic spectrum, interact with matter.
Strategies for Analysis – How can shifting chemical equilibria, application of intermolecular forces for separations, and the interaction of matter with the electromagnetic spectrum give us chemical information?
Molecular visualization and representation – How do we determine, show, and believe what molecules look like?

Professional Skills
Information literacy – accessing, evaluating, and producing information and science - spelling, grammar, plagiarism, reliability, citations
Independent learning – to be able to acquire and produce ideas outside the classroom environment
Molecular visualization and representation – using symbolic, software, instrumentation, and other systems to represent and understand
Instrumentation – To use and understand the function, choice and application of instrumental methods, to know when and how to get assistance
Communication – To be able to present and inquire through tools used by educated non-specialists, especially for career access and success
Quantitative Literacy – To understand, develop, and use quantitative information comfortably
Confidence and Enthusiasm – To have the technical confidence to know when and how to ask for assistance, to seek new information and ideas with pleasure, and to recognize that learning is a worthwhile, lifelong endeavor that is often rewarding
Career Exploration and Development

Excerpt from our departmental learning gains evaluation form (used for the previous decade until replaced last year by the required all-College form):

To what extent did this class help you MAKE GAINS in or ADD TO YOUR SKILLS in: