Methodological system of the course “Fundamentals of General Chemistry” focuses on effective assimilation of knowledge and development of students’ skills in reading, interpretation and solution of tasks in chemistry in English. The course includes an advanced study of selected topics of General chemistry in English: thermochemistry, chemical equilibrium, and chemical kinetics.

The results of studying the course will be:

1. Mastering of scientific terminology and theoretical bases in accordance with the basic theoretical blocks, including thermochemistry, chemical equilibrium, and chemical kinetics.

2. Skills of solving tests and exercises in chemistry in English in accordance with advanced programs.

3. Skills in solving chemical problems and providing a written solution in English.

4. Skills of self-study of educational, scientific, reference literature in English, and effective orientation in specialized Internet chemical sites.

The course comprises 3 modules.

Module 1 is devoted to Fundamentals of Thermochemistry. Studying heat changes is called thermochemistry and is important for both practical and theoretical reasons. Practical applications in relation to any biochemical processes include measuring the energy values and determining energy requirements of physiological processes. Theoretical considerations include working out the energy to break particular bonds and calculating energy changes for hypothetical reactions. This module includes study of basic definitions of thermochemistry, Law of energy conservation (1^st Law of Thermodynamics), thermodynamic functions and state functions, properties of enthalpy, Hess`s Law of heat summation and its practical applications, bond energies and enthalpy changes.

After completing module 1 students should be able to

- explain that some chemical reactions and biochemical processes are accompanied by energy change, mainly in the form of heat energy;

- construct and interpret a reaction pathway diagram in terms of the reaction enthalpy change;

- explain and use the terms standard heat of formation, standard heat of combustion, bond enthalpy;

- apply Hess`s Law to construct simple energy cycles and carry out calculations involving such cycles;

- show understanding of chemical reactions in terms of energy transfers associated with the chemical bonds breaking or formation.

Module 2 is about Equilibrium. Equilibrium is one of the key ideas of chemistry. The definition of equilibrium in the dictionary is “balance or harmony of opposing forces”. Chemical equilibrium is also about balance – between the forward and back directions of reversible reactions. Understanding the principles of equilibrium is essential to the appreciation of acid-base chemistry and to the control of different processes, including biochemical processes. The unit includes study of chemical equilibrium features, Law of mass action and thermodynamic equilibrium constant in terms of concentration and partial pressure, Le Chatelier`s Principle of displacement of equilibrium, Brønsted-Lowry acid-base theory, pH of a solution, ion product of water, and basic principles to use ICE table for tasks solution.

After completing module 2 students should be able to

- explain in terms of the forward and reverse reactions, what is meant by reversible reaction and dynamic chemical equilibrium;

- state Le Chatelier`s Principle and apply it to deduce qualitatively (from the appropriate information) the effect of changes in temperature concentration, and pressure on a system at equilibrium;

- deduce expressions for equilibrium constants in term of concentrations, K_c, and partial pressure, K_p;

- show understanding of, and use, the Brønsted-Lowry theory of acids and bases;

- explain definitions pH of solution and ion product of water;

- calculate the value of equilibrium constants in terms of concentrations or partial pressures from appropriate data, using ICE table.

Module 3 deals with Kinetics. The word ‘kinetic’ meaning ‘moving’ comes from the same root as the word ‘cinema’. Reaction kinetics is the study of the rates of chemical reactions and the factors that influence them. The data gathered rate experiments give us an insight into how a reaction takes place. We can then make deduction about the reaction mechanism.

The unit includes study of the main kinetics terms: molecularity, rate and order of chemical reaction; Rate Law and rate constant; kinetic derivation of the equation for the equilibrium constant; methods for determination of chemical reaction order; kinetic equations and their solutions; Van`t Hoff and Arrhenius equations; activation energy and energy diagrams for exothermic and endothermic processes.

After completing this module you should be able to

- explain and use the terms: molecularity and order of chemical reaction, rate of reaction, rate constant, temperature coefficient of the reaction rate, activation energy;

- explain quantitatively, in terms of Rate Law, the effect of concentration changes on the reaction rate;

- apply methods for determination of chemical reaction order;

- show understanding of what is meant by the term activation energy;

- explain qualitatively, in terms of collision theory, the effect of temperature change on the rate of a reaction;

- construct and interpret energy diagrams for exothermic and endothermic processes and use kinetic equations for tasks solution.