DALMINE
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
Aim of the course is to provide the students with some basic notions of general chemistry, necessary to challenge any problem concerning the behaviour of matter; besides, to provide also basic concepts essential for the comprehension of cellular biology and physiology. Therefore, the main aspects to be addressed will be: interactions between atoms and molecules, which are responsible for cohesion and physical properties of matter; general principles of chemical equilibrium, to explain the evolution of chemical and physico-chemical systems. Organic chemistry will mainly deal with nomenclature and modes of reactions of organic substances, reactions which will be found in the biochemical processes, which represent the subject of the last part of the course.
Course Prerequisites
Teaching Methods
Lessons on the various subjects included in the program. Use of the software Kahoot! to verify the comprehension of the presented concepts. The lessons concerning general chemistry and organic chemistry will be followed by exercises, to be performed in class and preferably in groups, under the supervision of a tutor, aimed to exemplify and apply concepts presented in the lessons.
Assessment Methods
The exam includes a written and an oral part. Written part on general and organic chemistry. The complete final test, whose duration will be 90 minutes, is constituted by 10 questions, each valued up to 3 points. All questions have the same value. There is no penalty for wrong answers. Sufficiency (18/30) in the written part will grant admission to the oral part, concerning biochemistry. The final vote will be determined by taking into consideration both the results of the written and oral parts, though it will not be calculated as their exact average.The written part can be substituted by two intermediate tests, one held at about half course and the second at the end, each including 5 questions for a duration of 45'; if both tests are sufficient they grant direct access to the oral part.
Contents
Atom structure and periodic properties. Chemical bonds: covalent, ionic and metallic bonds; intermolecular forces. Mole, stoichiometry. Thermochemistry and calorimetry. Thermodynamics: the three principles, enthalpy, entropy and free energy. Homogeneous and heterogeneous equilibria, state transitions and phase diagrams. Equilibria in aqueous solution: strong and weak acids and bases, hydrolysis. Buffer solutions. Solubility equilibria. Phase equilibria: state diagrams. Two-component systems: Raoult law and distillation. Colligative properties. Balancing of oxido-reduction reactions. Standard reduction potentials. Batteries; Nernst law. Corrosion and protection of metallic materials. Kinetics and catalysis. Basis of organic chemistry: nomenclature, terminology and simbology, aromaticity, chirality. Main types of organic reactions: nucleophilic and electrophilic additions and substitutions, eliminations. Biochemistry: carbohydrates and polysaccharides; aminoacids, proteins and enzymes; lipids; nucleotides and nucleic acids. Anabolism and catabolism: metabolism of carbohydrates and of fatty acids, catabolism of proteins. Bioenergetics: Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation.
Online Resources
More information
On the Moodle platform (Chimica e fondamenti di biochimica a.a. 2025-26) interactive quizzes and exercises for self-evaluation are available, as well as a series of thematic sheets on the various subjects, reporting the essentials of the theory together with a number of problems and several old exam texts with solutions. The Kahoot! software will be used during the lessons for quizzes and questions with the purpose of exemplification and self-evaluation.