Unit Synopsis
Introductory Chemistry will provide you with a foundation for university study in the chemical sciences. This unit will provide fundamental principles of chemistry by introducing topics such as matter, molecules, bonding, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, acids and bases, and organic chemistry. In addition to gaining an introductory understanding of chemical concepts, you will learn to perform chemical calculations.
Details
| Level | Non-award |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | Not Applicable |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
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 | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
Term 1 - 2027 Profile
Term 2 - 2027 Profile
Term 3 - 2027 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 Non-award 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. Interactive Oral Assessments | 30% |
| 2. Interactive Oral Assessments | 50% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 20% |
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.
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: Students
Positive feedback for the way that academic staff check in with students.
Continue to regularly communicate with students, checking progress and providing information and advice where appropriate.
Students were contacted weekly by email by the Unit Coordinator with learning activities for the week to promote active learning and engagement. Staff made every attempt to be available to students to answer any questions related to the unit.
Source: Students
Occasional errors and issues with presentation of some sections of the textbook.
Continue to revise and edit the textbook to fix errors and improve clarity and presentation where issues are identified.
The textbook has been revised to include 10 modules (previously 12) to streamline the learning experience. In the current revision, several errors were corrected and concepts were clarified.
Source: Unit Coordinators
Some students not presenting answers according to the requirements.
Continue to emphasise the necessity to use the symbols and conventions as shown in the unit materials.
The necessity to use the symbols and conventions shown in the unit materials was emphasised. The use of consistent symbols has been added to the learning outcomes for the unit.
Source: Unit Coordinators
Students attending online tutorials and turning cameras on in live sessions achieves positive results.
Continue to encourage students to attend live tutorials and turn their cameras on as it builds connection, improves communication and enhances learning.
Revised assessments (interactive oral assessments) introduced in T2 2026 require students to have their cameras switched on.
Source: Unit Coordinators
Assessment structure required changing.
Introduce interactive oral assessments as a means to engage students and foster learning.
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinators
Unit materials lack interactivity and could be improved.
Develop the textbook into a Moodle book to add an alternate way for students to engage with the material.
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinators
Virtual laboratory could be further developed.
Expand the existing virtual laboratory to include more detail and interactivity. Consider the introduction of an assessment relating to laboratory skills and equipment.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Describe the structure of atoms and ions, including sub-atomic particles and relate these to the design of the Periodic Table
- Explain the nature of chemical bonding that is present in ionic and covalent compounds
- Apply chemical concepts and calculations of quantities to solve chemistry problems
- Apply International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists (IUPAC) nomenclature, symbols, units and notations
- Perform calculations involving strong and weak acids and bases, including pH calculations
- Identify and distinguish between major classes of organic compounds based on functional groups and structural features
- Communicate chemical concepts, processes and reasoning accurately in both written responses and structured oral discussion.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1 - Interactive Oral Assessments | • | • | • | ||||
| 2 - Interactive Oral Assessments | • | • | • | • | |||
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | |||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1 - Self Management | • | • | • | ||||
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • | ||
| 3 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | |||
| 5 - Problem Solving | • | • | |||||
| 6 - Critical Thinking | • | ||||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |