At Purdue University we began revising our general chemistry course for engineers and science majors in 2006.  Chemistry 11500 enrolls approximately 1700 engineering majors and 500 science majors and is taught in large lecture sections of 450 students.  Embracing that many of the engineering majors would only take one semester of chemistry allowed us to question the unquestionable�what chemistry should be taught and why.   The focus of the course became energy and matter and begins with nuclear chemistry, moves to the atom and bonding, organic chemistry, polymers, biochemistry, and ends with material science.  In 2011 we began reforming Chemistry 11100, the general chemistry course taken by students in the College of Agriculture and College of Health and Human Sciences.  Again, we asked what chemistry do they need to know and why.  We found that discussing the course with undergraduate curriculum committees from the College of Agriculture and College of Health and Human Sciences to be very helpful to us in determining what skills to emphasize and content to help the students learn.  Across the two courses we became very comfortable with asking what it was that we wanted the students to learn and embracing the notion that we could not teach the courses as if all the students were chemistry majors.

What is it that we want the students to learn and why?

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.