CHE 250 is a survey of chemistry and biochemistry designed for nursing majors, specifically for those in the nursing consortium and is to be taken primarily by RNs already accepted into their BSN degree completion program. The course will present an overview of how biological systems work at the molecular level. To understand these systems, students will begin with a review of several general chemistry topics, such as atomic and molecular structure, properties of gases, liquids and solids, and types of chemical reactions. Students will then narrow their scope by focusing on the chemistry of carbon. Carbon can combine with itself and other non-metals to produce more types of molecules than all the other elements on the periodic table combined. These carbon-based compounds are called organic compounds because many were derived from compounds that were made by living organisms. Students will spend time surveying major types, structures and properties of organic compounds, and then they will focus on organic compounds found in living systems, or biochemistry. During their study they will look at the chemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes, vitamins, metabolism and nutrition. It is important to remember that a student majoring in chemistry or biochemistry will take at least 4 chemistry courses before beginning an in-depth biochemistry course. Students are going to tackle the topic of biochemistry with their introductory chemistry knowledge.

For this journey, students will focus on four goals:

• Understand the basic concepts of atomic and molecular structure and how these structural features are related to the chemical and physical properties of substances.
• Be able to recognize, name and predict the properties of organic molecules by building on their knowledge of molecular structure and bonding.
• Be able to predict the properties of biological molecules by building on their knowledge of organic functional group chemistry.
• Examine how biological systems work at the molecular level, especially focusing on the functions of different biological molecules and how the various molecules work together.