Chemistry

Brad Fravel

Antoine Lavoisier (1734-1794), who is generally considered to be the father of modern chemistry, was not a "professional" chemist. He was a French nobleman and member of the Ferme Générale, pre-Revolutionary France's version of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Lavoisier did spend a considerable portion of his income on his beloved hobby, chemistry. Would you purchase quantities of diamonds just to burn them in a solar furnace during combustion experiments?! His controlled approach to every activity, which we know as the scientific method (careful observation, quantitative measurements and hypothesis testing) enabled him to discover oxygen, overthrow accepted scientific theories, and collect the Royal taxes & duties very, very well. A course in General Chemistry contains fundamental concepts of analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry to be sure, but more importantly it teaches these same approaches and perspectives that transcend purely scientific problem-solving. Hopefully exposure to these ideas as one aspect of your Liberal Arts education will empower you to be just as successful as Lavoisier…but without getting yourself guillotined. Nobody likes the taxman!

Todd Hopkins

"The world today is made, it is powered by science; and for any man to abdicate an interest in science is to walk with open eyes toward slavery." -- J. Bronowski

This course is an introduction to the science of chemistry, and part of a liberal arts education at Butler University. In this course, we will think analytically, solve problems, and learn a framework of guidelines and principles that we can use to explain a wide range of natural phenomena (of a chemical nature). We will explore numerous topics including the nature of chemical reactions, the electronic structure of atoms and molecules, and the properties of gases. Many of the laws, theories and principles that we will be discussing are considered to be among the great intellectual achievements of the 19 th and 20 th centuries.

Joe Kirsch

The subject of chemistry is part of the Liberal Arts and Sciences, and our course will support the notions of liberal education. Our course will engage the notions of liberal education through critical thinking, scientific inquiry, quantitative thinking, and problems solving. The methods used in learning chemistry and solving chemical problems are extendable beyond the subject of chemistry. I don't mean to be corny, but I will suggest that the lessons of chemistry are related to the lessons of a life of continual learning. OK, it is a bit corny. In chemistry, we will certainly learn standard methods for solving standard problems, the so called algorithmic methods. While you will need to learn the standard methods, it is also expected that you look beyond the mechanical methods and ask what does it mean and how can it be applied to other situations and other problems. At this point, these notions may seem a bit abstract, but they will be played out in the learning of chemistry and the associated laboratory experiences for our course.

Stacy O'Reilly

General Chemistry 1&2 - CH 105 & 106
Stacy O'Reilly

The two-course sequence is meant to provide an introduction to the study of the structure, composition and properties of materials primarily at the microscopic level. The sequence serves as a foundation for chemistry, biology, and pre-health science majors as well as others interested in the study of science. It will explore the language, tools, and methods of chemistry. We will work to develop critical thinking skills to solve a variety of problems and to understand if answers "make sense" in the physical world.

Robert A. Pribush

It might be tempting to consider general chemistry as merely a "professional training" course because there are laboratory and computational skills that must be mastered, and a degree in chemistry provides numerous employment opportunities. However, the inherent value of this course is the contribution it makes to your liberal arts education. In this course rote memorization will be discouraged with emphasis placed on a conceptual understanding of principles on macroscopic and atomic levels and the manner in which these principles are expressed symbolically. You will learn how a chemist is able to use various tools to understand phenomena on an atomic level, which helps develop visualization skills. These visualization skills not only will enable you to better comprehend physical and chemical changes for which we currently have explanations, but they will free your imagination to contemplate things that currently do not exist, so that someday perhaps you might be the designer of a new drug for combating malaria or an alternative fuel to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels that are found primarily on foreign soil.

Frequent references will be made to the manner in which chemistry is or could be applied to solve problems in fields as diverse as medicine, forensic science, and art. You will be encouraged to discover how chemistry affects you daily. Moreover, you will be asked to consider the ethical and moral implications of the use of chemicals.

Laboratory exercises generally will be inquiry based. A problem will be presented, and you will develop an appropriate analytical methodology for its solution. You will identify the necessary equipment and amounts of materials required to perform your experiment, analyze your experimental results to determine whether the results are logical, and suggest refinements to your procedure.

In the laboratory you will work as a member of a cooperative-learning group in which each of you will have equal time to provide input into problem solving and methods development exercises. Each group will reach one conclusion that will be shared with the class by one member of the group. The reporting responsibility will rotate among the group members. Also, each member of the group is responsible for submitting his/her individual concise lab report using the rich symbolic language of chemistry and mathematics.

The ultimate course goal is for you to acquire the skills and confidence that you will be able to apply the knowledge and problem-solving skills derived in this course to solve problems that you will face in unfamiliar situations. Indeed, in your lifetime you will be called upon to solve problems that we cannot even begin to imagine today!

In a visit to the recently reopened National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of American Art in Washington, DC, I saw a number of quotations by artists and others that strike me as appropriate to the value of a liberal arts education as experienced in this course:

• I look at nature, I see myself. Paintings are mirrors, so is nature.
  Arthur Dove
• Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind.
  Hans Hofmann
• Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.
  Charles Kettering

Chemistry provides an atomic-level understanding of nature. By the end of this course I contend that you will better understand yourself and your world, be more creative and open-minded, and be more capable of opening new frontiers.

Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

If you are willing to embrace the concept of life-long learning and employ a decent work ethic throughout your life journey, I believe that extraordinary possibilities reside in each one of you. This course is one step in that journey - come with me!

Adriana Dinescu

General Chemistry explains how chemistry relates to other sciences and to the world in general. One of the objectives of this course is to make you better aware of the chemical world around you and appreciate life's "mysteries." Apart from learning chemistry, this course will improve your self study and problem solving skills along the way. During this semester, we will discuss some of the basic chemical concepts, such as matter, atoms, molecules, thermochemistry, chemical bond, structure.

As chemistry is part of liberal arts education, my intent is not to promote memorization of specific details, but to provide the student with the background and resources necessary to critically assess how, we, chemists think.

Tracy LeGreve

CH 105 is an introductory course in chemistry that is part of the liberal arts curriculum at Butler University. Over the course of the semester, we will learn about the structure of the atom, composition of molecules, chemical reactions, and properties of gases. We will also learn to think analytically to solve both quantitative and qualitative problems to achieve a foundation of understanding of the principles and theories of chemistry.

Adriana Dinescu

Welcome to General Chemistry 106, the second semester of a year long introduction to Chemistry for Science Majors.

General Chemistry explains how chemistry relates to other sciences and to the world in general. During this semester, we will survey the chemical properties of elements, chemical kinetics and equilibria, acid-base systems, thermodynamics, and electrochemistry. Apart from providing a foundation for other chemistry courses, this course will improve your critical thinking and problem solving skills by using logical and analytical reasoning to solve real world problems. As chemistry is part of liberal arts education, my intent is not to promote memorization of specific details, but to provide the student with the background and resources necessary to critically assess how, we, chemists think. Many of the questions posed in this course are open to interpretation, and students are encouraged to give logical reasons for their claims.

Shannon Lieb

Philosophy: Learning General Chemistry is more than an assemblage of what appears to be loosely connected areas of scientific thought. Learning Chemistry broadens your abilities in the area of "pattern recognition". Some might characterize this as a development of analytical skills ­ i.e., the horrifying "word problems" that we all encountered in grade school. Doing the mechanics of mathematics correctly is an essential skill, but attaching meaning to the final answer is the ultimate goal. Extending this skill to problems that require a qualitative (non-numeric) judgment, is referred to as having a sense of proportion. Having a sense of proportion is one earmark of a well educated citizen.

John Esteb

In this course we will focus on a great deal of content, teaching the foundations as to how we as scientists talk about organic structures, reactions, and mechanisms; however, as a course in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, we will go beyond the simple memorization of facts. We will focus on developing your ability to think critically and to engage in scientific inquiry, quantitative thinking, and problem solving. These tools, developed through the learning of organic chemistry, will be applicable to your everyday life and to any of your chosen careers. As students in this course, you will learn a new way to think about systems and how they work. You will learn how to apply your understanding to systems that are entirely new to you.

LuAnne McNulty

There are far more connections between the study of organic chemistry and other courses within the college of liberal arts and sciences than may at first appear obvious. Our lives are predicated on the ability to communicate ideas through oral and verbal language. Organic chemistry is like a foreign language in that the traditional language, English, is replaced by an alternate vocabulary. The vocabulary of organic chemistry is based on structure and the communication of ideas occurs through the use of these structures. It is a very beautiful, yet nonverbal, language. As such, learning to speak the language of organic chemistry demands that we approach communication in a different manner, forcing us to appreciate the different ways that disciplines speak. I find the vocabulary of organic chemistry beautiful. An artist friend of mine once asked me to draw some structures for her that she could use as inspiration for her art. What we are teaching as faculty in a Liberal arts and sciences college is both the relatedness of seemingly diverse thought and an appreciation of each of those diverse disciplines. The way in which we think is shaped by our primary discipline, but the ideas (critical thinking, problem solving, etc.) are not unique. Our ideas will be single reactions, how they relate is a map that gives us a vision of how things are created on a molecular scale, which is the relationship between understanding the big picture of organic chemistry and understanding how one views most other disciplines.

Paul Morgan

The content goals for Organic Chemistry I include an understanding of the language of organic chemistry, the ability to draw, recognize and manipulate models of molecules, the ability to recognize the reactivity of functional groups, the ability to comprehend and write mechanisms for reactions and the ability to propose multi-step syntheses of molecules. The content in this course will prepare you for future learning in chemistry, biology, and the medicinal sciences; the curriculum of this course will challenge you to think analytically and critically and to develop problem solving skills. These skills are applicable to most endeavors in our lives, and are core values of a liberal arts and sciences education.

Anne Wilson

Many courses in the liberal arts speak to "critical thinking skills." Organic chemistry takes that a step further and teaches a specific critical thinking paradigm. Successful students will learn a new way to think about systems, how they work, and use them both in the laboratory and through directed problem solving activities. Creatively engaging in complex problem solving will be rewarded, as there are often multiple correct answers. By the end of the two-semester sequence, the emphasis will be on the process of thinking, not only obtaining the correct answer.

John Esteb

In this course we will continue to build on the foundations of reactions, mechanisms, and synthesis first encountered in CH351. In addition, this semester we will add the fourth pillar of organic chemistry, which is the interpretation of spectra to ascertain structure. All of these exercises will go beyond the simple memorization of facts and instead will focus on the application of knowledge. As a course rooted in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, we will focus on developing your ability to think critically and to engage in scientific inquiry, quantitative thinking, and problem solving. These tools, developed through the learning of organic chemistry, will be applicable to your everyday life and to any of your chosen careers. Lastly, as students in this course, you will learn a new way to think about systems and how they work, which will lay the groundwork for future courses (i.e. Biochemistry, Principles of Drug Action, etc.) where application of the knowledge gained in CH352 will be fundamental to your success.

Paul Morgan

Organic Chemistry in a Liberal Arts and Sciences Environment: While the principle purpose of this course is the preparation of a student for a future career and/or scholarship in the chemical, biological and medicinal sciences (among other fields), this course requires you to attempt to develop skills which can reach across the curriculum. Such skills include: comprehension, retention and recall of large amounts of information; critical and analytical thinking; problem solving skills.

Anne Wilson

Many courses in the liberal arts speak to "critical thinking skills," and this second semester of organic chemistry continues to serve this purpose. This semester, we will build on your problem solving foundation from first semester, and build in additional problem solving skills as well as augment the skills you honed first semester. You will continue to learn new ways to think about systems, how they work, and use them both in the laboratory and through directed problem solving activities. Creatively engaging in complex problem solving will be rewarded, as there are often multiple correct answers. By the end of this semester, the emphasis will be on the process of thinking, not only obtaining the correct answer.