Chemistry for the Society and Planet

CHEM 111 is a non-technical elective that uses real-world problems — climate change, water scarcity, plastics, the metals inside your phone — as the lens for understanding what chemistry actually is and why it shapes contemporary life. The work is conceptual rather than computational: you read Chemistry in Context, sit through lectures and discussions, and are assessed through ten quizzes, two midterms, and a final, with no lab component. It's designed as a chemical-literacy course for students from any discipline, so there are no prerequisites and it doesn't feed into the chemistry major sequence; think of it as a science GE that leaves you able to read an article about lithium supply or carbon emissions without getting lost.