Chemistry

Welcome to the Chemistry Department at Merritt College.

Below is a list of chemistry courses that are currently being offered at Merritt College:

• Chem1A: General Chemistry
  5 units, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lecture-demonstration, 3 hours laboratory
  Prerequisite: Math 203 or 211D
  Recommended preparation: Chem 30A or 50
  General principles of chemistry: Measurements, atomic theory, chemical nomenclature, chemical composition, stoichiometry, reactions in aqueous solution, thermochemistry, electron configurations, periodic properties, chemical bonding, gases, liquids, solids, and solutions.
• Chem1B: General Chemistry
  5 units, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours lecture-demonstration, 3 hours laboratory
  Prerequisite: Chem 1A
  General principles of chemistry: Kinetics, equilibrium, acid-base equilibria, buffers, solubility equilibria, entropy and free energy, electro-chemistry, nuclear chemistry, coordination chemistry, and an introduction to organic chemistry.
• Chem12A: Organic Chemistry
  5 units, 3 hours lecture, 6 hours laboratory
  Prerequisite: Chem 1B
  Students who have previously completed Chem 8A receive only 1 unit of credit for Chem 12A.
  Introduction to structures, nomenclature, properties, and reactions of carbon compounds: Hydrocarbons, monofunctional and polyfunctional compounds; emphasis on structures and mechanisms, spectroscopy, and other analytical techniques. Laboratory work includes reactions, purification techniques, measurements, qualitative analysis, and use of instrumentation.
• Chem12B: Organic Chemistry 
  5 units, 3 hours lecture, 6 hours laboratory
  Prerequisite: Chem 12A
  Students who have previously completed Chem 8B receive only 1 unit of credit for Chem 12B.
  Continuation of CHEM 12A: Reactions of functional groups and interactions of polyfunctional compounds, infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Introduction to biochemistry: Lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids. Laboratory work includes reactions, purification methods, measurements, multistep syntheses, qualitative analysis, and use of instrumentation.
• Chem30A: Introductory General Chemistry  
  4 units, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory
  Prerequisite: Math 201 or 210D or 208
  Fundamental principles of general chemistry: Metric measurements, matter and energy, atomic structure, chemical nomenclature, chemical bonding, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, gas laws, nuclear chemistry; properties of liquids, solids, solutions, acids and bases.
• Chem30B: Introductory Organic and Biochemistry
  4 units, 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory
  Prerequisite: Chem 30A
  Introduction to basic organic chemistry and biochemistry: Hydrocarbons; organic functional groups, nomenclature, and reactions; polymers, carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes, lipids, nucleic acids, protein synthesis, and metabolic pathways.