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 w
ould benefit from a course that places greater emphasis on fundamentals. These s
tudents 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 chem
istry or who feel that their high school backgrounds are weak. It is most certai
nly possible for such students to do well in general chemistry at Dartmouth. How
ever, many of them find it helpful to study and review, in preparation for the c
ourse. 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 w
ith. You may, of course, review or study as much as you like, but you are encour
aged 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 abbreviatio
ns 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 be
tter off you will be.
4. Chemical Formulas. You should become familiar with the way in which the symbo
ls 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 t
he atom. Be aware that the nucleus, composed of protons and neutrons, is the mas
sive 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 mol
e and Avogadro's number.
8. Concepts from Physics. Have some notion of the meaning of force and energy, a
nd 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 Pasc
als, atmospheres, and torr (millimeters of Hg).
9. Concentrations. Know some common ways of expression concentration; for exampl
e, 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 a
ny 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 multiplica
tion, division, taking square roots, finding logarithms and antilogarithms, and
using exponential notation.
2. Exponential Notation. Be thoroughly familiar with exponents, and be able to m
ultiply, divide, raise to powers, and take roots of numbers with exponents. Unde
rstand the relationship between exponents and logarithms, and be able to work wi
th 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 tw
o unknowns.
5. More Algebra. Be able to solve a quadratic equation.
6. Trigonometry. Be familiar with angles measured in radians as well as in degre
es, and understand and be able to work with the basic trigonometric functions, s
uch as sine, cosine, and tangent.
7. Coordinate Systems. Be familiar with polar coordinate systems in two and thre
e dimensions as well as with the common Cartesian coordinate system.
Most of the definitions and concepts mentioned above will be reviewed quickly du
ring the initial weeks of Chemistry 3 or 5. However, it will be to your advantag
e 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 t
extbook. If you find that the text selected for your course assumes too much pre
vious knowledge, try reading another textbook. Instructors generally make a vari
ety of books available at the reserve desk at Kresge Library and you may find on
e that is more clear to you, especially if you have not previously studied chemi
stry at this depth before.