Unit Synopsis
This unit integrates key concepts from physical and inorganic chemistry to build your understanding of structure, bonding and reactivity in chemical systems. You will study the foundations of thermodynamics, kinetics and electrochemistry, and apply these principles to systems ranging from simple molecules to complex mixtures and materials. Topics include atomic structure and periodicity, bonding theories, molecular shape, solid-state structures, coordination chemistry, and the chemistry of transition metals. You will also examine state functions, enthalpy, phase behaviour, solutions, and interfacial processes that drive solute transport and reaction mechanisms. Electrochemical processes, from fuel cells to batteries, are explored alongside the roles of metal complexes in catalysis and other applications. Laboratory investigations support your theoretical learning and develop your ability to analyse, interpret and report experimental data. By linking physical and inorganic perspectives, this unit prepares you to evaluate chemical problems in environmental, industrial and biological contexts. It provides the foundation for advanced topics such as spectroscopy, nanotechnology and materials development.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 2 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Pre-requisites: Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 30% |
| 2. Practical Assessment | 40% |
| 3. Take Home Exam | 30% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 42.86% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 58.33% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: Head of Course reflections.
The content and assessment in this unit requires a refresh.
Content and assessment review and refresh should begin in the next offering.
Due to time constraints a full refresh of the unit content was unable to be conducted and is continuing. The weekly Moodle content was reviewed and updated where applicable.
Source: Unit feedback
Students recommended improving the video resources for the unit.
Content and assessment review and refresh should continue in the next offering.
In Progress
Source: Unit feedback
Some students noted difficulty connecting the unit content to their course of study and found the assessment questions ambiguous.
Content and assessment review and refresh should begin in the next offering.
In Progress
Source: Staff reflection
The high proportion of high grades in this unit suggest that assessment and assessment rubrics should be reviewed.
Review and update as required assessment and assessment rubrics.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Apply thermodynamics, kinetics, and electrochemistry to chemical systems
- Analyse phase behaviour, bonding, and solutions using state functions and enthalpy
- Evaluate inorganic and coordination chemistry concepts for real-world applications
- Integrate theory with practice through laboratory investigations and reporting.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Take Home Exam | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Team Work | • | • | ||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |