Dear Chemist 17th August 2017
We are looking forward to seeing you here in October! Please find below some information about the course, links to useful online resources and work to do before you arrive to prepare you for your course.
In the first year of the chemistry course you will study Inorganic, Physical and Organic Chemistry plus Mathematics. Some biological chemistry is included in the Organic Chemistry paper and some physics is included in the Physical Chemistry paper. The course assumes AS maths (or equivalent), but nearly all students will have A-level maths (or equivalent) as a background.
CHEMISTRY: You should prepare for the course by working through the animated “Pre-University Chemistry Course” available at:
http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/vrchemistry/foundation.html
n.b. there are currently some issues relating to the Chime Plug-in within this website, please ignore them.
One of the major topics covered in the 1st year will be the molecular orbital view of bonding, which is simplified in the hybrid orbital view of bonding used by organic chemists. If you have not met hybridization and hybrid orbitals before then make sure you are familiar with this concept before you arrive in October.
PHYSICS: While a significant number of the undergraduates reading chemistry have not done Physics A-level, some post GCSE physics is part of the background to physical chemistry and it may be assumed in the lectures. A-level physics (or equivalent) will, naturally, be helpful for the physics element of the course. The physics lectures will not assume you have taken the subject beyond GCSE level, but some topics will be dealt with quite fast and you will benefit in your first term if you have already made yourself familiar with some of the ideas and concepts. If your maths included mechanics, you will find that revising it will help with the physics. As an alternative, the first two chapters of the following primer will be useful:
Foundations of Physics for Chemistry. Ritche and Sivia, Oxford Chemistry Primers. OUP.
MATHS: You will need a sound understanding of A-level maths to deal with the first year material. You will find your AS and A2 notes (and text books if you have them) useful, particularly at the beginning of the course, so do remember to bring them with you! The http://www.mathtutor.ac.uk/ website is a very useful resource. Work through the sections on integration and differentiation to make sure you are up to speed before the course starts.
When you come to Oxford we will give you a book list and will suggest you get hold of the following books, which you may want to consider getting now or when you arrive:
Organic: Organic Chemistry. Second Edition. Clayden, Greeves and Warren. OUP.
Inorganic: Inorganic Chemistry. Fifth Edition. Shriver and Atkins. OUP.
Physical: Elements of Physical Chemistry. Atkins and de Paula. OUP.
If you have any questions please send an e-mail, otherwise we look forward to seeing you in October!
Dr Lydia Gilday Prof Stephan Rauschenbach Prof Darren Dixon