CHEM1100 – Chemistry 1
Lecturer | Dr Gwen Lawrie |
Course Link | UQ Site |
Faculty | Science |
Prerequisites | Senior Chemistry or CHEM1090 |
Contact Hours | L3P3 |
Semester(s) Taught | Semesters 1 + 2 |
Course Units | 2 |
Lecturer | Dr Gwen Lawrie |
Course Link | UQ Site |
Faculty | Science |
Prerequisites | Senior Chemistry or CHEM1090 |
Contact Hours | L3P3 |
Semester(s) Taught | Semesters 1 + 2 |
Course Units | 2 |
71.3/100
Overall, this is a pretty straight forward class if you've taken CHEM1090 or high school chemistry. The first module is basically a recap of topics taught in CHEM1090/HS chem but explained in more depth. Modules 2 and 3 are trickier and a bit more dense, but if you stay on top of your revision and do heaps of practice questions you will sail through this course.
There are lots of lectures and plenty of class involvement, so I recommend going in person or at least attending the zoom lectures.
Workshops are an excellent tool for ongoing revision - make sure you go to every one. Even better, do some revision and practice questions before you go so that you can have any tricky concepts explained to you in depth before the course gets harder. There are always heaps of tutors and the lecturer eager to help you learn.
Labs are pretty straight forward but time consuming. Your tutor has a wealth of knowledge to help you and will often pretty much give you the answers to your post lab quiz, so make sure to befriend them early on. Try and get through the actual lab component quickly so that you can get through your questions while you're still in the lab with your tutor. If you do your labs well, they're an easy 25% of your grade. Same goes with the online quizzes - pretty simple and you will get a feel for them quickly.
I found the midsem pretty easy but the final was pretty tricky. Keep on top of lectures, revise and do practice questions regularly throughout the semester, get help with any concepts you don't understand and you will do just fine.
Semester 2 - 2022
Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Yes
No (but it has lots of practice questions)
I took this course in Semester 1, 2021 (external mode).
I took HL chemistry for IB so this course was quite manageable, especially for the content before the midsem. It was basically a repeat of IB chemistry and there weren't too many new things introduced. I'm someone who generally clicks with chemistry so maybe this is why I found this course so straightforward. Content after midsem gets a little bit harder and also the lecturers don't explain these harder concepts that well - most of the time you need to go through the slides again in your own time to consolidate your understanding. After going to lectures, doing the PSS worksheets is really useful too every week to help you prepare for the Sapling. For the midsem and final, doing past papers definitely help you practice the concepts although they don't tend to repeat past exam questions that frequently.
I did find the lab quizzes and Sapling quizzes slightly time consuming because they only worth a very small percentage but do require some time and effort, so this adds up to the workload. But considering the content doesn't require that much effort to grasp, as in doing extra textbook questions is not necessary and only the PSS worksheets + past papers would be sufficient, I think the workload balances out. (but this is only for someone who grasps new chemistry concepts quickly, not sure whether it applies to everyone)
Overall, since the midsem content is a lot easier, try to score as high as possible for it, as well as the lab components and Sapling, so there's less pressure when it comes to the final. The lab quizzes are actually quite annoying because they use this platform which automatically checks your answers but there are a lot of glitches and you need to be EXTREMELY careful about your significant figures or else you'll get the answers wrong. I was actually so mad at the quizzes that I sent rage emails to the chem1100 address....but when you put things into perspective, you actually don't need to stress that much because one small error only counts for a very small percentage. That being said, do try to get as high as possible for the lab quizzes because a lot of small percentages added up together might make a difference.
They started using Campuswire this semester and at first lecturers were quite responsive, but it died down a lot towards the end. Students do help each other out. To contact a lecturer or seek help, emailing the course email address would be a great idea and the course coordinator is quite responsive through this address too.
Workshops feel a bit dry. I did the course externally so it was very difficult to fully enjoy the workshops. People were either shy or not bothered to talk to each other or type in the chat even. But the workshop questions are valuable as it helps to test understanding and often contains past exam questions.
Long Long Ago!
Biomedical Science
Maybe?
No
I really enjoyed this course when I did it. It has great content and practicals. However, I felt that the final exam should not include multiple choice questions which require so much working.
Semester 2 - 2016
Chem. Eng.
YEs
Yes
Course content is not bad but I don't like lectures. Profs of this course heavily relied on their PowerPoints, which makes my lecture attendance less necessary. I can learn from Powerpoints and textbook by myself at home.
Assessments are reasonable.
For difficulty, it depends on your background. It's not a easy 7 course unless either you have already learned much chemistry in high school or you study hard while taking it.
Semester 1 - 2017
BENS
no
no
Coming from high school chemistry, this course was a frustrating mixture of good lecture content, mediocre lecturers, and terrible prac sessions. Unfortunately this course is required for a number of degrees and majors, so the best advice would be to get through it without letting it affect you too much.
Content/lecturers - Before midsem content was fairly straightforward, and most of it will be revision if you did high school physics. Content after mid sem was also straightforward once you mastered the difficult concepts (and there will come a point where you suddenly understand the formulae you have to use). How well you understand the concepts partially depends on the lecturers you have. About half the lecturers for the course were not effective in explaining complex concepts and spent too much time on the simple stuff. One lifesaver was the POD notes (get them, the $20+ is worth it), considering some lecturers went so fast it was difficult to write everything down. Despite the POD notes, I would still recommend going to the lecturers as they often do past exam questions.
Pracs - I think the general consensus is that the pracs were stressful and useless, and I totally agree. Never did I use prac knowledge to understand lecture content and vice versa. The prelabs were time-consuming, and I spent more time trying to find answers than understand the content. The pracs themselves were rushed, and it wasn't until my last prac of the semester did I actually understand why I was running certain experiments. How good or bad your prac experience is depends heavily on the tutor you get. Mine wasn't very helpful and we were left to fend for ourselves. The report you have to do for the last prac is straightforward provided you read the criteria and follow the report structure.
CROMS - great way to check how much you actually took from the lectures, but the time limit made you more prone to making mistakes. Don't forget to do them, they are a great source of easy marks.
PASS - not compulsory, but I'd highly recommend going. It was the best opportunity to ask for clarification on concepts, and the PASS sheets were immensely helpful for exam prep (although the answers to the PASS sheets were a bit dodgy at times). If you don't like the class you are enrolled it, shop around until you find the one for you.
Exams - midsem was actually a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, and surprisingly found the final easier. Past exam papers (we had to use CHEM1010/1020 ones as the course is so new) and PASS sheets are all the materials you need. Form study groups as well, they're a great opportunity to make friends and sometimes your peers can explain concepts better than the lecturers.
Overall, if you are planning to do biological/chemical majors or your degree requires you to do CHEM1100, then you can't get out of this course. To be honest, this course nearly put me off doing further chemistry (I know many people who avoided CHEM1200 because of CHEM1100), but it is a foundation course and essential for many upper level science courses. Just remember, chemists are fabulous at solving problems because they have all the solutions :P.
Semester 1 - 2015
BSc (Biomedical Science)
Recommended
Nope - I never opened mine
This course is well put together, with knowledgeable lecturers and very informative course slides. Quite challenging, with an intensive work load. Prac sessions are interesting but very hectic in their nature; due to the many calculations and computer graphs you need to generate and submit by the end of the prac. The ability to succeed in these pracs really depends on the assistance provided by the individual prac tutor, and this is a variability that should be more consistent.
Semester 2 - 2014
Bachelor of Science
Yes
NO
Very good course. The academics are very knowledgeable and always approachable and helpful.
The content is very interesting (providing you enjoy chemistry) and well taught. I found that the order in which the content was taught somewhat odd and confusing at times. This is my subjective view and others may not feel that way.
I found the labs quite good to be honest; I know that others found the confusing and not related to the content. I disagree. The pracs are very well related to the concept, but require some extra reading and preparation at home. I think that having a few days to prepare the report after the session would be better, giving students 3 hours of hands on lab work. It is a good idea to do some of the work for the lab report at home before the prac in order to save time at the end of the session.
The PASS sessions were very good and the tutors were really helpful and enthusiastic, which is always good.
Overall I must say, that I have really enjoyed this course.
Semester 1 - 2014
Bsc
not necessarily, but it won\\\'t hurt to go
Yes, but any 1 year chemistry will. I used another one and had no issues
Basically a slightly more in depth overview of high school chemistry with some new stuff that was pretty straight forward
Good pass classes, it was good how all pass sheets had solutions (in some courses they don't)
My pass leaders were really helpful
PRACS ARE SO STRESSFUL
They have little relevance to lectures and it turns out they had no importance regarding the exam
The booklet questions were so random and difficult and often required google
There was barely any time to satisfactorily complete the prac and booklet in 3 hours
Both the midsem and final were surprisingly easy
I had Jo Blanchfield - funny, good and engaging, Michael Montiero - constantly talked about the story of how he won a beer, other than that he was good and engaging, Mark Reilly-really really good and did really cool redox reactions in lectures including the gherkin hooked up to a 200v battery by alligator clips and 2 forks
CROMs were a pain but only because I was kind of behind in lectures but answers were easily Googleable
The online activities/videos that you 'had to do' before CROMS were unnecessary and annoying
But I liked how if you get more that 75% in all CROMs you get a bonus 1%
and I also liked how completing a survey on the CHEM1100 course also gives you a bonus 1%
Semester 1 - 2014
Bsc
not really
not really
The first half of the semester has very little new content, it is essentially a review of high school chemistry. The midsem is a lot easier than expected.
The second half is really interesting, and extends upon topics which students should have studied in high school. There are a lot of fiddly equations that can trip you up on units and the like but double (and triple) checking should take care of that.
The lectures are engaging and well prepared, but the course notes are so comprehensive you don't need to attend lectures. Announcements are made weekly on Bb and email reminding you of upcoming tasks, and there are weekly podiums for you to ask questions.
My PASS class had terrible tutors, but the students all worked with each other to help and that was okay.
CROM quizzes are simple, with 2 hours to complete 4 questions, and access to google and your notes.
The pracs are definitely the worst part of the course. Prelab quizzes are confusing and seem unneccessary. I recommend reading the process of the prac thoroughly the day before. The tutors are pot luck, mine was amazingly helpful and is the reason I did so well, but others are stubborn and refuse to help, denying you the chance of getting good marks. I also recommend photographing your pracs, as prelabs test info from past pracs and you hand in the answers and don't get them back in time.
You are not retested on midsem content in the final exam (always a bonus), and with solid revision during SWOTVAC you should be fine. Take great care with units, they can be misleading. Past papers (we had to use CHEM1020 ones) are very helpful and allow you to see where you made errors.
Overall a great course, with the exception of pracs which perhaps need more guidance. Easy to do well in and very interesting.
Semester 1 - 2014
BE/BSc
No, if you look at the lecture slides
Definitely not
I found the topics taught to be really interesting; albeit sometimes abruptly stops before something completely new is thought. It may have to do with filling up the course content. Even so, the content is interesting to say the least if you kept on top of things. The lecturers are mostly good at what they teach, though you can easily learn almost everything from the lecture slides (which is amazingly thorough). You have to do CROM (an online quiz) every week, which can be a pain if you're as forgetful as I am, but it kept you on track of whatever content that was taught that week.
The worst part of this subject is it's practicals are annoyingly hectic. It's 3 hours of confusion and rushed labwork with little time for the appreciation of what's actually going on. You have to answer questions based on the labwork done, giving you marks for the individual lab assessment which can be quite painful if you messed up your experiment. I just found it to be one of the worst practicals in almost any first year subject because they expect you to be on top of things as well as well versed with the experimental details in such a short period of time.
Semester 1 - 2014
BSc (Biomed)
pracs are a pain; they feel to drag for ages and concepts ate often poorly explained by your lab tutor. I always dreaded it every two weeks. Nether the less, they are not difficult and you'll so get a good mark if you don't complete all of the calculations.
My PASS leaders were not very helpful and I felt like I was in a terrible learning environment. Thank goodness PASS was not compulsory.
Jack Klegg (I think that is his name) was a great lecturer and his review sheets were helpful. I also liked the text book.
CROMs were annoying because there was no leniency in answers.
Midsemster exam was easy and the final was 35 questions, 25 were multi choice.
Semester 1 - 2014
Bsc/Ba
The prac component was very stressful and the sessions were rushed and always difficult to get everything done on time. The prelab quizzes were not overly difficult but quite time consuming. Set reminders for your CROM's because it's very easy to forget about them. Google any question you don't know it will usually be there. The lecture content was fairly interesting and the pass worksheets were fantastic for exam prep. Very easy midsem exam and the low 40% weighting of the EOS makes it a bit less stressful.
Semester 1 - 2014
Bachelor of Science - Biomed major
you can Google pretty much every online question (CROM and Prelab) and find it pasted into yahoo answers at some point. The labs are full of of rushed lab work, terrible tutors, and unexplained chemistry with no links to the lectures. The lecturers are quite good and the pass sheets helpful, all know how to use the recording equipment for echocentre . Mid term is insanely easy for some reason given the difficult subject matter
Semester 1 - 2014
biotech