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Learner Reviews & Feedback for General Chemistry: Concept Development and Application by Rice University

4.7
stars
967 ratings

About the Course

This course will cover the topics of a full year, two semester General Chemistry course. We will use a free on-line textbook, Concept Development Studies in Chemistry, available via Rice’s Connexions project. The fundamental concepts in the course will be introduced via the Concept Development Approach developed at Rice University. In this approach, we will develop the concepts you need to know from experimental observations and scientific reasoning rather than simply telling you the concepts and then asking you to simply memorize or apply them. So why use this approach? One reason is that most of us are inductive learners, meaning that we like to make specific observations and then generalize from there. Many of the most significant concepts in Chemistry are counter-intuitive. When we see where those concepts come from, we can more readily accept them, explain them, and apply them. A second reason is that scientific reasoning in general and Chemistry reasoning in particular are inductive processes. This Concept Development approach illustrates those reasoning processes. A third reason is that this is simply more interesting! The structure and reactions of matter are fascinating puzzles to be solved by observation and reasoning. It is more fun intellectually when we can solve those puzzles together, rather than simply have the answers to the riddles revealed at the outset. Recommended Background: The class can be taken by someone with no prior experience in chemistry. However, some prior familiarity with the basics of chemistry is desirable as we will cover some elements only briefly. For example, a prior high school chemistry class would be helpful. Suggested Readings: Readings will be assigned from the on-line textbook “Concept Development Studies in Chemistry”, available via Rice’s Connexions project. In addition, we will suggest readings from any of the standard textbooks in General Chemistry. A particularly good free on-line resource is Dickerson, Gray, and Haight, "Chemical Principles, 3rd Edition". Links to these two texts will be available in the Introduction module....

Top reviews

ZK

Aug 28, 2015

If I'd had access to this material when I first failed freshman chemistry 40 years ago, I probably wouldn't have failed. Kudos to Dean Hutchinson for bringing us his innovative approach.

BM

Oct 1, 2018

DEMAND

I would inform you that i wish to receive my certificate according to general chemistry :concept development and application, then your feed back will rejoice more thank you.

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26 - 50 of 246 Reviews for General Chemistry: Concept Development and Application

By Dr. S J M

May 2, 2020

The course was very helpful to understand the concepts in chemistry and their applications. All the lectures were amazing. Thank you.

By Rain

Jul 18, 2019

This is an extremely flawed course, both technically and academically. Half of the math used in the first week is incorrect (anyone using a calculator would discover this, but I also worked as an accountant for many years, as well as previously working in the financial markets as an investment analyst, so my math skills are above-average), and even when they made one correction in the video, they missed the other 20 or so. Even the textbook written by the professor has math errors in it (such as 12 X 0.99 supposedly being equal o 11.98 - not on this plant, or any other I know of, since it's actually 11.88). There are mix-ups in what shows up in what areas of the quizzes (such as Rutherford's gold foil experiment being in the first test, but the first week covers an entirely different area), and the first quiz talks about stuff that isn't discussed at all. Please explain how anyone would know grams per litre of SF6 at sea level when it isn't covered anywhere in the textbook or the lectures or the test itself. Not once did he explain the terms diatomic vs. monatomic (only the brief blip with Avogadro and how 'some molecules must be made up of two atoms then' as a conclusion, but no way to determine which ones, and not the actual meaning of the terms that ended up on a test). Nor does he talk about what (aq) is supposed to mean, where he uses it in brackets in an actual chemical formula. From my understanding of math, I'm supposed to be able to multiple aq by the rest of the formula, but since there is no element called aq, I have to guess that can't be right and it must mean aqueous solution, rather than a solid, but again that isn't even mentioned. Less than 2 seconds of time to explain, but the students are expected to search all over the internet for the answers. Um, isn't that the entire point of taking a class? So that that someone *teaches* the subject instead of students being forced to go to Wikipedia (which is generally frowned upon by academia)? Science is supposed to be accurate, and Rice is supposed to be a top university in the US. I weep for the entire country.

By Christophe S

Aug 31, 2015

Excellent course, pleasant to listen to. Definitely improved my understanding of chemistry.

By Anna S

Jul 3, 2020

Can I have the certificate of completion?

By Pandimadevi M

May 26, 2020

The course is really interesting with the concepts and application. I could able to learn many such in the basic chemistry. Since chemistry is one of the subject, which is inter related to our day to day life, the curse is very much useful.

I am really proud to be one of the learner!!! -Dr.M.Pandimadevi, Prof., Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India

By Abatayo, D A

Jun 14, 2020

I couldn't wait to take another module everytime i finished one..😍

I love to hear the detailed explanation to each topic's concept..

Thanks Prof. H..God bless you with so much strength and wisdom as you will continue to impart your knowledge to others! 🙏💓😘

By Deleted A

Sep 10, 2017

Great course!! Very helpful and intresting method of study.

By Tripat S

Sep 18, 2016

The best course to grasp the fundamentals of chemistry

By John H

Feb 8, 2016

Fantastic approach to concepts. Excellent instructor.

By 胡启涛

Aug 22, 2016

Excellent course. There are many questions to think.

By Bartolomemeseguer H

Nov 15, 2017

Good Teacher, good Metodology, recomendated 100%

By Jhon A C

Apr 28, 2020

Awesome. I leraned a lot of this course.

By Dr.Shailashree S

May 23, 2020

course completed but no certificate

By Alfonso O

Oct 10, 2019

Excellent refreshing class!

By Kelly H

Jan 24, 2017

Nice !! Thank you very much

By jianghui

Sep 25, 2018

it is very important to me

By Dr M R K

May 10, 2020

Great learning experience

By augustin m k

Sep 6, 2018

it's was good for me

By Andres C P V

Mar 11, 2018

excellent, thank you

By Alma D

Sep 8, 2017

Excellent challenge!

By Abe N

Aug 27, 2015

Very informative

By ABHIJITH S R

Sep 5, 2015

Awesome Course.

By Mohamed A

Oct 3, 2017

Thank you all

By Jaya L

Jun 4, 2016

Great course.

By M.R.T.

Jun 17, 2019

Perfect MOOC