General and Inorganic Chemistry

Instance: 2021/2022 - 1S

Cycles of Study/Courses

Teaching language

Objectives

The objectives defined for the General and Inorganic Chemistry curricular unit are naturally related to its elementary, generalist and pedagogical support role, but its approach and development will be a consequence of the specific level of knowledge displayed by the students, and of its subsequent evolution . On the other hand, and taking into account the importance that the General and Inorganic Chemistry unit may have in order to obtain solid and interdisciplinary training in the area of ​​Pharmaceutical Sciences, its program and the subjects under study will take into consideration to provide students with chemistry knowledge related, as far as possible, to the exercise of pharmaceutical activity.

Thus, the mais objectives are the following:

a) Revision, uniformity and consolidation of basic and essential chemical knowledge.

b) Systematisation of concepts and development of identification, interpretation and resolution skills regarding problems and situations related to chemical phenomena or reactions.

c) Acquisition of advanced knowledge in distinct chemical areas, whenever possible with a pharmaceutical perspective.

d) Motivation of students to the need of a complementary auto-didactic formation involving the consolidation of the principles, ideas and concepts acquired in classes, by means of bibliographic material, data bases, and other information available in the Internet, etc.

Learning outcomes and competences

Acquisition of theoretical skills involving the subject matter of the program, understanding of the role played by chemistry in the formation of the future pharmacist, and acquisition of the ability to use the knowledge obtained in all aspects directly related to the medicine circuit.

It should be emphasised:

. Nomenclature of inorganic compounds.

. Writing and balancing chemical reactions.

. Calculation of concentrations of solutions and respective preparation.

. Assessment of the state of a reaction and prediction of its evolution.

. Characterization of the properties of matter in the three states and appraisal of parameters that determine them.

. Understanding the properties of matter and their dependence on the elements that compose it and the type of bonding and interactions they establish.

 

  Acquisition of practical skills including:

. Handling equipment and laboratory supplies.

. Execution of unitary operations.

. Implementation of reactions in solution.

. Capacity of planning of laboratory work.

. Critical evaluation of the work performed.

Working method

Program

Theoretical classes.

1. Atoms, molecules and ions.
2. Chemical reactions I: chemical equations and reactions in aqueous solutions.
3. Chemical reactions II: Stoichiometry.
4. Chemical bonding.
5. Intermolecular forces and states of the matter.
6. Solutions.
7. Chemical equilibrium.
8. Bioinorganic systems.

Practical-theoretical classes:

Resolution of practical problems involving the subject matters lectured in the theoretical classes.

Laboratorial classes:

Execution of several experiments in order to familiarise the students with laboratorial practices and to improve their skills in dealing with chemical processes:

1. Preparation of standard solutions
2. Preparation of non-standard solutions
3. Crystallization of a pharmaceutical product
4. Determination of the solubility curve of KNO3
5. Preparation and purification of KNO3
6. Structure and reaction of inorganic solids
7. Chemical equilibrium perturbation
8. Determination of a sample composition.

NOTE: The aforementioned Curricular Unit 
Program, in its theoretical, laboratory and 
theoretical-practical aspects, may be subject 
to changes due to time constraints imposed by 
the Covid-19 pandemic. These changes may 
mainly imply a reduction in the 
Laboratory Lessons Program and in the 
number of laboratory works to be carried out.

Mandatory literature

Teaching methods and learning activities

General and Inorganic Chemistry will have theoretical, practical-theoretical and laboratorial classes.

Theoretical classes aim to present, develop and
discuss the subjects that constitute the 
programmatic content of the discipline. 
Despite the propaedeutic nature of the 
discipline, it will be sought, whenever 
possible, to establish links between the 
subjects to be taught and everyday situations 
that are particularly appealing to students, 
giving a special focus to examples and practices 
that involve the pharmacist's professional 
activity.
Theoretical classes will be taught using slides 
prepared in PowerPoint, which will later be 
printed and made available to students so that 
they can photocopy them, working as texts to 
support the discipline. Simultaneously, classes 
will be available on the course's web page, 
both in PPT format (with automatic preview) and 
in PDF format (for printing). The course page 
also provides the class summaries (simultaneously 
with the Faculty page), exercises on the subject, links to other pages considered to be of interest in the scope of the discipline, as well as a standard exam similar to the one used at the end of the course. semester as an assessment process, so that students can become familiar with how their knowledge will be assessed.
In the first theoretical class of the semester, 
students will be informed about the objectives 
and program of the discipline, standards and 
assessment methods and recommended bibliography.

The practical classes will be used to clarify 
doubts and to solve practical problems (whenever 
possible related to the pharmaceutical activity) 
in line with the subjects taught in the 
theoretical classes.

The laboratory classes will be used to carry 
out a pre-defined set of 8 works, whose 
selection is made so that students can face
 situations or practical problems related to 
the different subjects that make up the 
theoretical program. The works are carried out 
in groups of 2 or 3 students according to the number of students per class. The first laboratory classes will be used to alert students to the safety standards they must obey when carrying out experimental work in the laboratory, as well as the care to be taken and the most correct way to handle the material they will have at their disposal. The theoretical concepts underlying the work to be carried out will also be explained and clarified, as well as the techniques and procedures that should be used in their execution.
Each laboratory class (weekly) will last 
2 hours. The performance of the students during 
the laboratory classes, namely the care and 
commitment placed in the execution of the works 
and the way and security in how they answer the 
questions asked, will be used in the evaluation 
of the students' laboratory competence. This 
evaluation will be complemented with the 
performance, in the last class, of an analysis 
(by group) of the works performed. At the end 
of the semester, a laboratory classification 
will be assigned. Only those successful students 
will have access to the theoretical exam. 
Unsuccessful students will have to carry out a 
laboratory exam, which involves performing a 
random assignment, in order to obtain 
(if approved) access to the theoretical exam.

The pedagogical monitoring of students is 
carried out full time, whenever requested by 
the student, either by direct contact, or by 
clarifying doubts or solving problems by email.

Evaluation Type

Assessment Components

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Eligibility for exams

Calculation formula of final grade

The evaluation of General and Inorganic Chemistry  includes a theoretical and a practical component.

The theoretical component will be subject to distributed evaluation and involves performing two frequencies (assessment tests), one at the midle of the semester (during the month of November), with a gain of 20 points, and a second at the end of the school year ( during the examination period of the regular season), with a gain of 20 points. The final grade of the theoretical component will be calculated considering 40% of the marks obtained in the 1st frequency and 60% of that obtained in the 2nd frequency classification. The maximum score will be 20 values ​​and for approval in the course students should get in all of these two-step evaluation, a rating of at least 9.5.

The practical assessment is of a continuous 
nature and includes the execution of a set 
of laboratory works, some of which will 
involve the presentation of an execution 
report, and a benchmarking work, to be 
carried out at the end of the school year, 
related to the subjects that are part of 
the laboratory content of the course. Failure 
to attain continuous approval or failure 
to carry out all laboratory work provided for
in the UC Program, will require a laboratory
examination to be carried out.

The final classification of the course is calculated considering 20% ​​of the marks obtained in the practical assessment and obtained 80% of the theoretical classification. It is however required approvals in both components.

The examination of the appeal period, for students who do not obtain benefit at the end of regular time, or for those who wish to make classification improvements, will have a value of 20 points, and will cover all matter taught in the course

Observations

Due to limitations in terms of physical access 
to FFUP facilities that may occur due to the 
imposition of health authorities in the wake 
of the covid-19 pandemic, face-to-face classes 
may be replaced by distance learning 
(partially or totally). Likewise, and for 
the same reasons, changes may occur in the 
syllabus contents of the UC and in the way 
the evaluation will take place.