Thursday, January 13, 2022

BS in Chemistry

In 2011-2012 Scott Young completed the coursework for a four year MIT Computer Science degree in 12 months. His accomplishment fascinates me. Such an intense, focused piece of work.

My grandson talked about pursuing a chemistry degree. He liked chemistry so it sounded like a good fit. I wondered what such a degree entailed and if someone could pursue it like Scott did for computer science.

To answer this, I went to the MIT website to find BS Chemistry requirements

UNITS REQUIRED
147Chemistry courses
154General Institute Requirements (GIR)
301Total Units

Then I compared the required courses with the courses available in the MIT Open Courses Library

UNITS ONLINE
66Chemistry courses
154General Institute Requirements (GIR)
220Total Units

In turns out that 73% of the courses are available on-line. Unfortunately, the ones that are missing are the chemistry courses.  This stands to reason.  Chemistry is a study of the material world and so it requires hands-on manipulation of materials.  Something that cannot be done in a virtual world. Labs are an integral part of chemistry.

Oh, sure, you can get started with biology, math, physics, other GIR courses, and the first year's chemistry to solve the myriad of chemistry problems, but to be a chemist you'll need laboratory.skills, Bottom line, you can't meet all the requirements for a BS in Chemistry by means of online courses.

BUT . . . if you want to get started on learning Chemistry, here is the list of MIT Chemistry Courses with links to the Open Course Ware and books you can read online (where books aren't available online, used versions can be purchased for less than $50 total)


MIT Chemistry Courses
NUMBERUNITSNAMERESOURCESTEXTBOOKRENT/BUY
5.0312Principles of Inorganic Chemistry Iwebsiteonline resources
5.0412Principles of Inorganic Chemistry II (Fall 2008)SyllabusChemical Applications of Group Theory, 3rd ed by Frank A CottonInternet Archives
5.07J12Biological Chemistry I (Fall 2013)SyllabusFundamentals of Biochemistry. 4th edition.by Voet, Donald, Judith Voet, and Charlotte PrattInternet Archives
5.08J12Biological Chemistry II (Spring 2016)Syllabus(same as 5.07J)
5.111Principles of Chemical Science (Fall 2008)SyllabusChemical Principles: The Quest for Insight. 4th ed by Atkins, Peter, and Loretta JonesInternet Archives
Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight/Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual. 4th ed.$9.00
5.112Principles of Chemical Science (Fall 2005)Syllabus(same as 5.111)
5.1212Organic Chemistry I (Spring 2005)SyllabusOrganic Chemistry. 5th ed.by L. G. Wade, Jr.Internet Archives
Solutions manual [for] Organic chemistry, fifth edition by L.G. Wade, Jr.Internet Archives
5.1312Organic Chemistry I (Spring 2003)SyllabusFundamentals of Organic Chemistry. 6th ed by McMurry, John (5th ed on Internet Archives)$13.89
Study guide and solutions manual for McMurry and Simanek's Fundamentals of organic chemistry, sixth editionInternet Archives
5.3514Fundamentals of SpectroscopyURIECA Labs
5.3525Synthesis of Coordination Compounds and Kinetics
5.3534Macromolecular Prodrugs
5.3614Recombinant DNA Technology
5.3625Cancer Drug Efficacy
5.3634Organic Structure Determination
5.3714Continuous Flow Chemistry
5.3724Chemistry of Renewable Energy
5.3734Dinitrogen Cleavage
5.3814Quantum Dots
5.3825Time and Frequency-Resolved Spectroscopy of Photosynthesis
5.3834Fast-Flow Peptide and Protein Synthesis
5.39Research and Communication in Chemistry
5.43Advanced Organic Chemistry (Spring 2007)SyllabusAdvanced Organic Chemistry, Part A: Structure and Mechanisms. 4th ed. by Carey, F. A., and R. J. Sundberg (3rd ed. on Internet Archives).
Heterocyclic Chemistry. 4th ed. by Joule, J. A., and K. Mills.Internet Archives
5.6016Thermodynamics & Kinetics (Spring 2008)?SyllabusPhysical Chemistry. 4th ed. by Silbey, R., R. Alberty, and M. Bawendi. (3rd edition on Internet Archives)$11.85
Physical Chemistry. 7th ed. by Atkins, P., and J. de Paula.8th ed 2006 on Internet Archives
Physical Chemistry. 3rd ed. by Castellan, G.Google PDF
5.6026Thermodynamics II and Kinetics
5.6116Introduction to SpectroscopyGoogle books preview of book used in StanfordIntroduction to Spectroscopy 4th Edition by Donald L. Pavia$11.66
5.6126Electronic Structure of Moleculespdf of 6.701Electronic Structure of Atoms and Molecules (LibreTexts)
5.62Physical Chemistry (Fall 2007)syllabusPhysical Chemistry. 7th ed. by Atkins, P., and J. de Paula.8th ed 2006 on Internet Archives
Physical Chemistry. 4th ed. by Silbey, R., R. Alberty, and M. Bawendi. (3rd edition on Internet Archives)
UNITS IN MAJOR147
ON-LINE66

Legend
Required
Elective
Alternate elective
Restrictive elective in Science & Technology
On-line


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