11 units, in the order of the UT Dallas course. Each starts from the experiment, and you run it. Open “What it covers” under a unit to see its topics and what is built.
What is matter really made of?
Describe the structure of the atom from the evidence for it, find protons, neutrons and electrons in any atom or ion, and work with isotopes and average atomic mass.
The moment The gold foil: an atom is almost all empty space, with a tiny, dense nucleus at the centre.
Why does hydrogen glow in only a few colours?
Connect light to energy, read atomic spectra, use the Bohr model, and describe orbitals with quantum numbers.
The moment Standing waves: the energy levels fall straight out of the electron being a wave.
Why does the periodic table have exactly this shape?
Write electron configurations and orbital diagrams, and predict how size, ionization energy, electron affinity and electronegativity change across the table, and why.
The moment The table builds itself, electron by electron, and the blocks come out 2, 6, 10 and 14 wide.
Why does table salt exist, and why is it a crystal?
Name compounds, write formulas, and tell ionic from covalent by their properties.
The moment Energy accounting: the energy released when ions pack into a lattice outweighs the cost of making them.
How do atoms share electrons, and what does a bond look like on paper?
Draw Lewis structures, assign formal charges, and judge resonance, bond order and bond energy.
The moment Resonance: ozone and benzene are none of the drawings you can make, and all of them at once.
Why is water bent, and why does that make life possible?
Predict shape and polarity, relate intermolecular forces to properties, and use hybridization and molecular orbital theory.
The moment Electron clouds push apart into a shape; the shape makes water polar; polarity makes ice float.
How do you count atoms you cannot see?
Balance equations and use the mole to run stoichiometry, limiting reagents and yield.
The moment The mole: weighing becomes counting, and a balanced equation turns into a recipe you can run backwards.
What really happens when salts dissolve and solutions mix?
Predict precipitates, balance acid-base and redox reactions, and do solution stoichiometry and titrations.
The moment Spectator ions: most of what is in the beaker is not reacting at all.
Where does the heat of a reaction come from?
Do thermochemical calculations: heat, enthalpy, calorimetry and Hess's law.
The moment Hess's law: energy adds up like arithmetic, whatever route the reaction takes.
What is pressure, and why do all gases behave alike?
Use the gas laws and the kinetic molecular theory.
The moment The gas law is derived, not assumed, from nothing but colliding particles.
Why does ice melt at 0 degrees and a diamond not at 3,000?
Read phase diagrams and relate structure to the properties of liquids and solids.
The moment The phase diagram: every force from the earlier units draws one map of when matter is solid, liquid or gas.
Order and groupings follow the UT Dallas CHEM 1311 (Fall 2024 syllabus), which follows Chemistry: Atoms First, 5th edition (Burdge and Overby). An independent study resource, not affiliated with UT Dallas.