The Department of Chemistry offers first (CEM1000W), second (CEM2005W) and third year (CEM3005W) courses leading to a major in Chemistry as well as service courses for Engineers and Medical students as listed below. Courses may be a full-course taught over the whole year (W) or a first (F) or second (S) semester course. An H course is a half course but with full contact time over the whole year, whereas X courses constitute a special allocation.

  • CEM1000W

    CHEMISTRY 1000
    36 HEQF credits at level 5

    Course Coordinator: Prof G S Smith

    Entrance requirements: Students wishing to register for CEM1000W will normally be expected to have passed Physical Science at least at NSC level 5.

    Course outline:
    Microscopic and macroscopic concepts, atomic structure, chemical bonding and molecular structure, chemistry of the elements and inorganic chemistry, chemical equilibrium, acids and bases, solubility products, chemical analysis, phases of matter, thermodynamics and thermochemistry, colligative properties, oxidation and reduction, electrochemistry, chemical  kinetics and radiochemistry. Introduction to structure and reactivity in organic chemistry and the language of organic chemistry; describing and predicting organic reactivity; introduction to the structure, properties and reactivity of biologically important molecules.

    Lectures: Four lectures per week, Monday to Wednesday and Friday, 2nd or 4th period.

    Tutorials: One tutorial per week, Thursday, 2nd or 4th period.

    Practicals: One practical per week, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, 14h00-17h00.

    DP requirements: Attendance and completion of practicals, tests and tutorial exercises and at least 35% for the class record.

    Assessment: Class record (comprising tests and practicals) counts 50%; one 3-hour paper written in November counts 50%. It is necessary to pass the theory examination and the whole course in order to secure an overall pass.

  • CEM1008F

    CEM1008F CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERS
    16 HEQF credits at level 5; 4 lectures per week, 1 practical and/or tutorial per week.

    Course Coordinator: Dr C L Oliver

    Prerequisites:

    Course outline: Basic chemical concepts, stoichiometry, some systematic inorganic chemistry, particularly metal oxides. Atomic structure and chemical bonding, with the emphasis on the structure of solids. Chemical equilibrium and aqueous solution chemistry, acids and bases. Thermochemistry. Basic electrochemistry and corrosion of metals, polymers.

    Lecture times: Four lectures per week, Monday to Wednesday and Friday, 4th period.

    DP requirements: Attendance and completion of practicals, tests and tutorial exercises, and at least 35% for the class record.

    Assessment: June examination 2 hours counts 60%, course record counts 40%.It is necessary to pass the theory examination and the whole course in order to secure a pass.

  • CEM1009H

    CHEMISTRY 1009
    18 HEQF credits at level 5
    This half course is taken by students who are admitted to the General Entry Programme for Science and is run over the whole year. Students who pass CEM1009H can register for CEM1010F during the following academic year. The half courses CEM1009H and CEM1010F together are equivalent to the first-year full course CEM1000W.

    Course Coordinator: Dr C Edmonds-Smith

    Course outline:
    Microscopic and macroscopic worlds, gases, atomic structure, chemical  bonding and molecular structure,  introduction to acids and  bases,   solutions,   thermochemistry,   kinetics,   chemical equilibrium, acid-base  equilibria,  introduction  to the  language  of organic  chemistry,  functional groups and isomers in organic chemistry.

                                                Period

                               Mon Tue   Wed   Thu   Fri

    Lectures:                               4        4       4

    Tutorials: Two tutorials per week, Monday and Tuesday, 4th period.

    Practicals: One practical per week, Wednesday, 14h00-17h00.

    DP requirements: Attendance and completion of practicals, tests and tutorial exercises and at least 35% for the class record.

    Assessment: Class record (comprising tests and practicals) counts 50%; one 2-hour paper written in November counts 50%. It is necessary to pass the theory examination and the whole course in order to secure an overall pass.

  • CEM1010H

    CHEMISTRY 1010
    18 HEQF credits at level 5
    This half course is taken by students who have completed CEM1009H during the previous academic year. The half courses CEM1009H and CEM1010F  together are equivalent to the first-year full course CEM1000W.

    Course Coordinator: Dr C Edmonds-Smith

    Entrance requirements: CEM1009H

    Course outline:

    Course outline:

    This course builds on the foundation laid in the CEM1009H course and several of the topics are covered at a more advanced level. Topics include microscopic and macroscopic concepts, atomic structure, chemical bonding and molecular structure, the chemistry of the elements and inorganic chemistry, chemical equilibrium, acids and bases, solubility, vapour pressure and phase diagrams, thermodynamics, colligative properties, oxidation and reduction, electrochemistry and chemical kinetics. The course includes an introduction to the language of organic chemistry, structure and reactivity in organic chemistry, describing and predicting organic reactivity and the properties and reactivity of biologically important molecules. Practicals aim to develop essential manipulative and technical laboratory skills, as well as to draw links to interpreting the physical world in terms of its molecular nature.

                                                 Period

                           Mon   Tue   Wed    Thu    Fri

    Lectures:       4         4         4         4         4

    Tutorials: One tutorial per week, by arrangement.

    Practicals: One practical per week, Thursday, 14h00-17h00.

    DP requirements: Attendance and completion of practicals, tests and tutorial exercises and at least 35% for the class record.

    Assessment: Class record (comprising tests, tutorials and practicals) counts 50%; one 2-hour paper written in June counts 50%. It is necessary to pass the theory examination and the whole course in order to secure an overall pass.

    • CEM1011F

      CHEMISTRY FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS (Faculty of Science)
      18 HEQF credits at level 5

      Course Coordinator: Dr S Wilson

      Course outline: This is a compulsory half-course offered by the Department of Chemistry for first year medical students. It does not qualify as a first year course in the Faculty of Science. It is an introductory course in chemistry specifically designed to provide first-year medical students with knowledge of the fundamental aspects of chemical theory. At the same time the course is used as a diagnostic tool to explore students’ scientific knowledge and the possible need for intervention. The course comprises 60 formal contact hours during which selected topics in physical and organic chemistry that are relevant to biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, chemical pathology and medical microbiology are covered. Topics have been selected to equip students with the basic understanding of those key chemical principles they require for the medical programme.

      The formal contact sessions are augmented by a practical course and weekly tutorial sessions that run in parallel with the lectures. Specific support activities are provided to those students who show difficulty in understanding the scientific domain. During the practical course, students are required to demonstrate that they are able to use a variety of laboratory techniques with precision and accuracy. The practical course also seeks to expose students to the methods used in the acquisition, recording and manipulation of scientific data and expects students to derive inferences from such data. At the start of the course, students are provided with details of the weekly timetable and scheduled learning activities. 

      DP requirements: To qualify for the summative assessment (final examination), students have to meet the DP requirements, which entail:

      • Attending and completing practical sessions
      • Attending tutorial sessions
      • Completing worksheets
      • Writing class tests and taking the practical examination. 

      Absence on the ground of illness requires a medical certificate. Validity of absence on grounds of personal or other problems will be considered on an individual basis. A student who misses a test for approved medical or compassionate reasons will be required to write a deferred test. 

      Assessment: The class record comprising results in two tests, practical and tutorial records and a practical examination counts for 45% and one three-hour paper written in June counts 55% of the total mark. It is necessary to pass both the theory paper (obtain at least 50%) and the course as a whole. General scientific principles are assessed during all assessments.

Second-Year Courses

CEM2005W is required courses for students proceeding to a major in Chemistry.

  • CEM2005W

    INTERMEDIATE CHEMISTRY
    48 NQF credits at HEQSF level 6

    Course Coordinator: Dr G A Venter

    Entrance requirements: For Science students: CEM1000W (or equivalent), 1000-level full course in Physics, 1000-level full or semester course in Mathematics. Concurrent registration for STA1000F/S (or equivalent) is highly recommended. For Chemical Engineering students: CEM1000W (or equivalent), PHY1012F/S, MAM1020F/S, CHE1005W

    Course outline:
    This course develops the foundations of a major in Chemistry at an intermediate level and allows continuation to third year Chemistry for the completion of a major in Chemistry. The theory component features a set of intermediate topics, and the laboratory component develops both experimental and interpretative skills. The course includes the following topics: structure and modern analytical tools, introduction to inorganic chemistry, organic structure and reactivity, thermodynamics, thermodynamics of solutions, phase equilibria, chemical reaction kinetics and equilibria, reactions of organic molecules (patterns, predictions and preparation of new products), introduction to coordination chemistry, structures and energetics of inorganic solids and electrochemistry. The practical course covers the same topics and aims to develop manipulative and technical laboratory skills including the application of modern analytical methods to the elucidation of chemical structures.

                                               Period

                              Mon  Tue   Wed   Thu   Fri

    Lectures:          3        3        3         3        3

    Tutorials: Six tutorials by arrangement

    Practicals: Practicals, EBE: Tue, 14h00-17h00; Science: Thu, 14h00-17h00.

    DP requirements: Attendance and completion of practicals, tests and tutorial exercises; minimum 45% for the practicals; minimum average of 35% for class tests

    Assessment:The class record (comprising tests and practicals) counts 50%; one 3-hour examination written in November counts 50%. The class record consists of two class tests (2 x 5%), one 2-hour June test counts 15%, tutorials count 5% and practicals count 20%. A subminimum of 45% is required in the final examination.

Third-Year Courses

CEM3005W is the required course for students proceeding to a major in Chemistry.

  • CEM3005W

    CHEMISTRY 3005
    72 HEQF credits at level 7

    Course Coordinator: Dr W F Petersen

    Entrance  requirements:  CEM2007F  and  CEM2008S,  1000-level  full  course  in  Mathematics; completion of or concurrent registration for STA1000F/S is highly recommended.

    Course outline:
    Wave mechanics and spectroscopy, adsorption and heterogeneous catalysis, X-ray crystallography, dynamics,   inorganic   reaction mechanisms,   organometallic  chemistry,   organic   structure  and reactivity,  organic  synthesis, organic  dynamic  stereochemistry. The practical course covers the lectured material.

                                                        Period

                                  Mon    Tue    Wed    Thu     Fri

    Lectures:              3         3         3          3          3

    Practicals: Two practicals per week, Wednesday and Friday, 14h00-17h00.

    DP requirements: Attendance and completion of practicals, tests and tutorial exercises and at least 50% for the class record.

    Assessment: Class record (comprising tests, writing project and practicals) counts 50% and two 3- hour papers written in November count 50% towards  the final mark. It is necessary to pass the theory examination and the whole course to secure an overall pass.