General Chemistry

The General Chemistry course aims to introduce students to chemistry starting from the understanding of atomic theory up to chemical reactions.
In particular, the concepts that will be illustrated include the structure of atoms and molecules, chemical bonds, gas laws, chemical reactions (acid-base, oxidation-reduction), chemical equilibrium, and basic concepts on thermodynamics. Particular attention is given to equilibria in solution, acid-base, hydrolysis, buffer and solubility product which are also treated from an experimental point of view in the laboratory training which allows students to approach the use of reagents, to perform simple qualitative test, reactions of titration, precipitation and separation. 16 hours are dedicated to the main calculation methodologies to solve stoichiometry problems and make them understand the importance of using theoretical notions in practical problems that they will face during their future work.
Therefore the fundamental objective of the course is to provide students with the tools to think about the properties of molecules and the chemical and physical transformations of matter.

The desired final learning outcomes will be to enable the student to: recognize chemical compounds and explain their physical properties in light of their structure, correctly write chemical formulas and reactions and identify their different types.
Students should be able to understand and confidently solve stoichiometry problems. At the end of the course they will be able to explain the topics covered during the course with adequate scientific language.