latrobe.edu.

au

CHE1CHF
Chemistry
Foundations
Lecture 1

Prof. David Wilson

CRICOS Provider 00115M

Welcome!

What will you be learning?

• A foundation to understanding of chemistry, which is important for the many

different courses that you are all taking.
• How chemistry is essential to explain the world around you
• We will examine the nature of matter and quantify matter (amounts of molecules
is import for medical science; in fact, it is critical for all science).

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Welcome!

CHE1CHF is delivered by a dedicated team.

A/Prof Evan Robertson Dr Rebecca Karmis

Subject Coordinator, Lecturer Lab Coordinator

Prof David Wilson Dr Julie Angerosa

Lecturer, Head of Chemistry Tutorials

Dr Carmel Abrahams Team of tutors in Science Hub

Lecturer, Tutorials Team of demonstrators in labs
Lab Technicians

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 Why Study Chemistry?
• Basic knowledge of chemistry helps you to understand product
labels and quantify amounts. Do I put NaCl or NaCN on chips? How
much pesticide do I mix? What dose do I give a patient?
• Chemistry can help you make informed decisions. Will a
product work as advertised, or is it a scam? Is Homeopathy the
answer to everything, or a load of rubbish? Is ‘alkaline water’ a scam?
• Chemistry is at the heart of cooking and food science. Heston
Blumenthal.
• Helps you to understand current events. Climate Change,
Coronavirus, Environment, Energy
• Because it is a science, learning chemistry means learning how
to be objective and how to reason and solve problems.
• Chemistry opens up career options (science, medicine,
engineering, research).

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Contribute to Global Challenges Better batteries, Solar
conversion, Fuel cells.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
• Energy: Petroleum has powered the modern world for almost PHOTOCHEMISTRY
100 years. It is now clear that we need alternative energy
sources that do not release CO2 into the atmosphere.
Water quality, Water
purification, Pollution control
• Water : Over the last 50 years the human population has ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
nearly tripled, while industrial pollution, unsustainable ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
agriculture, and poor civic planning have decreased the overall PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
water supply.

Air quality, Atmospheric Chemistry

• Climate Change : Global warming is an empirical fact. ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
• Health: 36 million deaths each year are caused by non-
communicable diseases, 6.7 million of infectious diseases. One
billion people lack access to health care systems.
Diagnostics, Drugs discovery, new
therapies.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
BIOLOGOCAL CHEMISTRY 5
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Chemistry is Central to Science and Jobs!

Australian Chemical Industry

(Chemistry is the only science that has an industry)

• Worth $38 billion per annum, about 2-3% of national GDP

• 3rd largest manufacturing sector
• Directly employs 61,000 people in highly skilled jobs
• 5,500 small, medium, and large businesses
• Industry underpins 212,000 jobs in related supply chains
• Supplies 108 of 114 industries in Australia

Chemistry is very important for many jobs, and including

more chemistry in your course enhances your employment
options.

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Chemistry is Central to Science and Jobs!

Results are 3000

typical of job options 2500

in Australia
(seek.com, Feb ’24) 2000

Studying chemistry 1500

significantly 1000
improves job options.
500

Chemistry doubles
your options for jobs! 0
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What is Chemistry?

It is often called "the central science" because it is concerned with both the fundamental
energy or forces that hold matter together studied in physics, and the molecular systems
and characteristics of the complex organisms studied in biology.
It is the study of how atoms interact to form molecules, and how molecules interact with
each other through a process called chemical reaction
Chemistry includes clusters of atoms (nano-materials and nano-science) and macroscopic
phenomena, such as the interaction of proteins and DNA in complex solutions and the
properties of new materials.

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http://xkcd.com/
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Chemists Like to Make New Compounds

Prozac Aspartame

Taxol Tamiflu

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Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)

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 Nature has achieved an outstanding
degree of complexity in biological
systems using a limited number of
building blocks.

As chemists we have access to a much

Complexity

larger array of building blocks and we

Biology

have only begun to scratch the surface

in terms of what may be achieved.

Chemistry

Breadth/Diversity of building blocks

Jean-Marie Lehn (Nobel Laureate) - Supramolecular Chemistry 12

 Molecules for
harvesting sunlight

Photosystem II

Chlorophyll A

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Welcome!

Now, what will you be doing?

• Learning Design
– Develop an understanding of molecular science
– Apply chemistry principles to real-world problems
– Provide foundation learning for further studies

• Learning activities
– Lectures (3 per week)
– Laboratory (6 experiments)
– Tutorials
– OWL, Tests
on campus
on campus (chemistry lab)
on campus
online with SCI-Hub/tutorial help

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Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this subject, you should be able to:

• Recognise chemical and physical properties of elements and molecules in order

that substances can be categorised and their behaviour predicted in specified
chemical environments (relationship between molecule structure and properties).
• Predict the outcome of different types of chemical reactions and describe the
influence of factors affecting the progress of chemical changes.
• Describe the individual properties of the three states of matter as well as how the
different states interact with each other and explain how these properties are
dependent on environmental conditions.
• Use practical techniques and tools to observe and measure the outcomes of
laboratory procedures to recognise connections between theoretical and practical
phenomena.
• Employ mathematical tools to solve chemical problems.

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Subject Lecture Content

Introduction to Chemistry - Prof David Wilson

• Atoms and molecules, periodic table, electronic structure,
chemical reactions, molecular structure, chemical bonding

Organic Chemistry - Dr Carmel Abrahams

• Chemistry of carbon: structure, nomenclature, identifying
functional groups, organic reactions and mechanisms,
stereochemistry

Physical Principles of Chemistry – A/Prof Evan Robertson

• Understanding why chemical reactions happen, how far they
proceed; gases, equilibrium, chemical energetics

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Learning Resources
Textbook:
• Chemistry: Human Activity, Chemical Reactivity 2nd Ed.
(Mahaffy, Bucat, Tasker, Kotz, Treichel, Weaver, McMurry)

LMS website: http://lms.latrobe.edu.au

• Announcements, instructions – basically everything!
• Lecture notes
• Laboratory manual
• Tests
• Tutorial problem sheets
• Past exam papers and solutions

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Assessment of Learning
Laboratory
• 25% Laboratory reports from experiments. Hurdle requirement.

Tests
• 12.5% Four online tests on chemistry concepts – like end of chapter tests for a
regular check on your progress.

Online Web Learning (OWL)

• 12.5% Weekly online exercises focused on conceptual understanding, problem
solving, and mastery (can be repeated). Weekly homework but you get marks!

Exam
• 50% Final exam of summative assessment.

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Assessment of Learning
Pass Mark for Subject
• Need 50% overall to pass the subject. Below 50% is not a pass.

Grade Mark
A 80-100%
B 70-79%
C 60-69%
D 50-59%
N 0-49%

• Hurdle requirement for Lab.

– Must complete 75% of lab classes
– Must obtain at least 50% of the marks for the laboratory component.

• Exam does not have a hurdle requirement.

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Assessment of Learning
How does this compare to other subjects/universities?

Laboratory
• 25% reflects the importance of lab skills in learning science.
• Attendance hurdle requirement of 75%. Must also pass the lab component (50% is
a pass). Chemistry is accredited by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI).
• Lab reports are handed in at the end of the 3-hour lab session.
• First lab session is a training session – you will get used to the environment and
learn what to expect.

Exam
• 50% in-person exam (2 hr).
• Monash/UniMelb chemistry exams are 60-80% of subject mark.
• In-person exam assesses skills that cannot be assessed online (drawing structures,
showing working out).
• Past exams (with answers) show you what to expect and allow you to practice.
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How to Use Learning Resources
OWL (online web-based learning)
• Weekly “Required” assignments which are assessed, with additional
recommended “Optional” questions to enhance your learning
• Accessed through LMS

Mentimeter / Kahoot
• (A bit like Kahoot)
• It is free, fun, and great for learning
• Works on any device

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How to be a uni student…

General
• Form a study group. Come to uni and make the most of the day (Library, study
spaces, tutorials, coffee…)
• Join a club. Make friends. Have a conversation in person.

Lectures
• Go to classes, take notes, summarise after class. Rewatch recording to go over
concepts you might not have understood.
• Ask questions. Engage with the lecturer.

Tutorials and Sci-HUB

• Attend, engage (ask questions). Practice is what produces learning. Don’t be
scared to try – that is how you learn!

Laboratory classes
• Be prepared – know the timetable, complete the pre-prac online quiz.
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Who to contact when you have questions
Most things: che1chf@latrobe.edu.au
• Labs, Tutorials, Lectures, all subject admin

• Lecturer - if your question relates to what is being taught, lecture

notes, contact the lecturer directly by email
• OWL
– due dates etc requests go to subject email (che1chf@latrobe.edu.au)
– technical support is available from OWL itself (24/7). Assignment due
dates/extensions should be directed to che1chf@latrobe.edu.au.
• LMS questions that relate to computer/technical issues - contact
Student ICT help desk

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Some FAQs

• Yes, you need to come to class. There are activities for you in
each of my lectures (including demos, explosions, problem
solving, mentimeter/kahoot interactive quizzes).
• There is NO lab/experiment in Week 1.
• Tutorials DO start in Week 1.
• The Science Hub (Learning Hub) is an excellent place to get
help. Really, it is awesome.
• OWL can be accessed through LMS. Stay up to date.

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Outline of Unit 1 (Dr David Wilson)

• Week 1-3 based on Chapters 1-3, 5-6

– Structure of the Atom and Matter
– Mole concept (quantifying chemistry)
– Chemical reactions

• Week 4-5 based on Chapters 8, 10

– Molecular Structure and Bonding

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 Prof. Dr David Wilson BEd BSc(Hons) PhD MRACI CChem SFHEA

A bit about me
Dr David Wilson
• Grew up in country Victoria
• B.Education (Chem/Maths/Physics)
• B.Science(Hons) and PhD in Chemistry
• Researcher for 2 years at the University of Oslo
• Passionate about chemistry teaching and research!
• Published 135 research papers
• Professor at La Trobe University, Head of Chemistry DOI: 10.1002/chem.201302715

• Won national teaching awards

Recent Advances in the Field of Main-Group Mono- and Diatomic
“Allotropes” Stabilised by Neutral Ligands

David J. D. Wilson* and Jason L. Dutton*[a]

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13626 ! 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Chem. Eur. J. 2013, 19, 13626 – 13637
What to start learning...

• Read Ch 2 of textbook
• Prefixes for SI units (milli, micro, nano, kilo)
• Names of first 36 elements
• Names/charges of ions

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As chemistry educators we face many challenges:
• it is a vast subject touching nearly every aspect of lives
• it involves understanding many things we cannot see

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 As the future generation of scientists...
Oath of the Scientist

I earnestly assert that

• I will apply my scientific skills and principles to
benefit society;
• I will continue to practice and support a scientific
process that is based on logic, intellectual rigor,
personal integrity, and an uncompromising respect
for truth;
• I will treat my colleagues’ work with respect and
objectivity;
• I will convey these scientific principles in my chosen
profession, in mentoring, and in public debate;
• I will seek to increase public understanding of the
principles of science and its humanitarian goals.

Adapted from: Ravid & Wolozin Acad Med. 2013 Jun; 88(6): 743. 29
Consider joining the RACI
which exists to support the professional needs and interests of
scientists in the field of Chemistry.
Student memberships are available.

http://www.raci.org.au/membership/type/student-member
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Critical Thinking 1
At the atomic/molecular level, heating leads to expansion

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Critical Thinking 1
Consider a rectangular metal plate with a circular hole in it.
When the plate is uniformly heated, the diameter of the hole…

1. increases.
2. stays the same.
3. decreases.

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Critical Thinking 1
Let’s analyse the results.

When the plate is uniformly heated, the diameter of the hole…

1. increases.
2. stays the same.
3. decreases.

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SCIHUB_Promo_2023_FINALedit.mp4

The Elements
by Tom Lehrer
http://www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html

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