CHEM-1311 General Chemistry I - Lecture

Samantha Soebbing

Credit Spring 2026

Section(s)

CHEM-1311-004 (15794)
LEC TuTh 10:30am - 11:50am RRC RRC2 2312.00

CHEM-1311-006 (15796)
LEC TuTh 3:00pm - 4:20pm RRC RRC2 2312.00

CHEM-1311-008 (15798)
LEC MW 1:30pm - 2:50pm RRC RRC2 2312.00

Course Requirements

COURSE PRE- AND COREQUISITES

PRE-REQUISITE(S):

(1) High School Chemistry or CHEM-1305 + CHEM-1105 or equivalent preparation with a grade of C or better AND (2) MATH 1314 or MATH 1414 or equivalent academic preparation with a grade of C or better.
BOTH the chemistry AND math requirements must be fulfilled BEFORE attempting CHEM 1311+1111.

CO-REQUISISTE(S):

CHEM 1311 (General Chemistry I Lecture)
Requests for exemption from the co-requisite must be submitted to the Chemistry Department Administrative Assistant (Mark Jones, mjones5@austincc.edu) BEFORE Wednesday 4 February 2026 . Requests submitted after this date will be denied and subject to the standard withdrawal policy.
To be eligible for exemption from the co-requisite, you must demonstrate successful completion of CHEM-1311 or CHEM-1111 on a college transcript.

* Please see complete syllabus available on our course Blackboard site for further information.

Readings

Students are encouraged to follow the “3-to-1 Rule” (for every hour spent in a college-level lecture, students should expect to work a MINIMUM of 3 hours outside of class). Most of students’ time should be dedicated to practicing the material (reworking in-class examples, doing suggested homework, quiz questions, etc). Students will need to read (and re-read) their lecture notes (and applicable textbook sections) in preparation for assessments. Students may also benefit from skimming upcoming notes, presentations, and textbook sections to familiarize themselves with upcoming topics. Reading notes and simply showing up to class will NOT be enough to pass the course. Students are expected to practice the material exhaustively.

Blackboard should be consulted regularly for important announcements regarding further readings or changes to an assignment.

BETWEEN CLASS SESSIONS:

•   Review previously-covered notes, textbook sections, and exercises. Re-work in-class examples, do recommended homework exercises, and prepare questions for lecture discussion.
•   Prepare note-taking and other class materials (printed, digital download, or other preference).
•   Skim upcoming notes/text.

DURING CLASS:*

•   A sign-in sheet will be passed around the class for roll-taking purposes.
•   Class will begin with a brief review of relevant, previously-discussed lecture material.
•   After the review, lecture will continue with new material. Students are expected to follow along in their notes and work through class examples with the instructor. Students are encouraged to actively participate in lecture and ask questions.
•   Students may occasionally and briefly excuse themselves from the classroom, but repeated comings/goings will be considered disruptive behavior and could result in a warning to the student and possible disciplinary action.

* Please see complete syllabus available on our course Blackboard site for further information.

Course Subjects

COURSE DESCRIPTION

•   Credit Hours: 3
•   Classroom Contact Hours per Week: 2 h 40 min (1 hr 20 min/day, 2 days/week)
•   Laboratory Contact Hours per Week: 0

Covers the fundamental facts, laws, principles, theories, and concepts of chemistry necessary for further work in science or science-related subjects. Stresses atomic structure, periodic properties of matter, chemical bonding, and molecular geometry of organic and inorganic molecules, states of matter, stoichiometry, and properties of solutions.

The course is the lecture to accompany CHEM-1111 laboratory.

COURSE RATIONALE

This course covers the fundamental facts; laws, principles, theories and concepts of chemistry necessary for further work in science or science related subjects.

* Please see complete syllabus available on our course Blackboard site for further information.

Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to perform the following skills:
•   Understand the states of matter and the difference among elements, compounds and mixtures.
•   Understand SI units and use dimensional analysis to perform calculations correctly with proper attention to units and to express results to the correct number of significant figures.
•   Determine empirical and molecular formulas from empirical data.
•   Understand the basic concepts of the quantum theory, determine the electronic configurations of the atoms, and use periodic table to make predictions about trend in their atomic properties.
•   Understand theories of concept of thermochemistry.
•   Use Hess’s law.
•   Understand theories of chemical bonding, Lewis dot structures, and determine the molecular geometry of molecules using VSEPR theory.
•   Understand the polar and nonpolar covalent compounds, hybridization, and molecular orbital theory.
•   Understand formal charges, and resonance theory.
•   Determine name and formulas of molecular compounds, ionic compounds, and acids.
•   Identify basic types of chemical reactions and write molecular, total and net-ionic equations.
•   Balance chemical equations and use stoichiometric relationships and the mole concept to calculate product (percent of yield) and reactant amounts and identify the limiting reactants.
•   Calculate and utilize solution concentration units such as molarity.
•   Understand the gas laws and kinetic molecular theory.
•   Explain the intermolecular attractive forces that determine the properties of the states of the matter and phase behavior.

GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this course, students will demonstrate competence in:
•   Critical Thinking:  Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information.
•   Interpersonal Skills:  Interacting collaboratively to achieve common goals.
•   Quantitative and Empirical Reasoning:  Applying mathematical, logical and scientific principles and methods.
•   Technology Skills:  Using appropriate technology to retrieve, manage, analyze, and present information.
•   Written, Oral and Visual Communication:  Communicating effectively, adapting to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.

Please see complete syllabus available on our course Blackboard site for further information.