--- title: General Chemistry description: General chemistry introduces the fundamental concepts of matter, energy, and chemical reactions. Learners will understand stoichiometry, thermochemistry, gas laws, solutions, and basic chemical kinetics, establishing a foundation for advanced scientific study. category: sciences subcategory: chemistry difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/general-chemistry --- # General Chemistry General chemistry introduces the fundamental concepts of matter, energy, and chemical reactions. Learners will understand stoichiometry, thermochemistry, gas laws, solutions, and basic chemical kinetics, establishing a foundation for advanced scientific study. ## Available Resources 3 Books • 5 Courses • 3 Websites ## Courses ### 1. Principles of Chemical Science (MIT 5.112) **Author:** Christopher Cummins, Sylvia Ceyer 35 lecture videos from a fast-paced introductory course for students with strong preparation: atomic and molecular electronic structure, thermodynamics, acid-base and redox equilibria, kinetics and catalysis, applied to coordination, organic and biological chemistry. Assumes single-variable calculus. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/5-112-principles-of-chemical-science-fall-2005/ **Tags:** general-chemistry, electronic-structure, chemical-equilibrium, chemical-kinetics, coordination-chemistry ### 2. Principles of Chemical Science (MIT 5.111SC) **Author:** Catherine Drennan Atomic and molecular electronic structure, periodic trends, bonding and molecular shape, thermodynamics, acid-base and redox equilibria, chemical kinetics and catalysis, assuming only high school chemistry. Includes 46 lecture videos, lecture notes, and problem sets and exams with solutions. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/5-111sc-principles-of-chemical-science-fall-2014/ **Tags:** general-chemistry, atomic-structure, chemical-bonding, thermodynamics, chemical-kinetics ### 3. Khan Academy Chemistry Khan Academy's free chemistry library of short videos and practice exercises covering atoms, the periodic table, chemical bonding, stoichiometry, gases, thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibrium, acids and bases, and electrochemistry. Learners build a working foundation equivalent to an introductory college chemistry course. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry **Tags:** general-chemistry, stoichiometry, chemical-bonding, equilibrium, acids-and-bases ### 4. Chemistry **Author:** Adam Le Gresley Lecturio's chemistry course for health-science students, covering atomic structure and bonding, stereochemistry, acid-base equilibria and buffers, redox reactions, functional groups and reaction mechanisms, and medical topics such as enzymes and pharmacokinetics. Learners connect core chemical principles to clinical practice. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/lecturio-chemistry **Tags:** general-chemistry, organic-chemistry, acids-and-bases, medicinal-chemistry, pharmacokinetics ### 5. Energy and Thermodynamics **Author:** James Anderson HarvardX introductory chemistry course, part of the University Chemistry MicroBachelors program. It covers forms of energy, atomic mass and matter, enthalpy, phase changes and the first law of thermodynamics, preparing learners to calculate heat flow in chemical and physical processes. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/chemistry/harvard-university-energy-and-thermodynamics **Tags:** thermodynamics, enthalpy, energy, thermochemistry ## Websites ### 1. OpenStax Chemistry A free, peer-reviewed introductory textbook from Rice University's OpenStax covering the standard two-semester general chemistry sequence. Readers work through stoichiometry, atomic structure, bonding, thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibrium and electrochemistry with worked examples and end-of-chapter exercises. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://openstax.org/details/books/chemistry-2e **Tags:** general-chemistry, textbook, open-educational-resources, stoichiometry, chemical-bonding ### 2. Chem LibreTexts - Acids and Bases Open general chemistry textbook chapters covering acid-base definitions, ionization constants, pH calculations, polyprotic acids, buffers and hydrolysis, with worked examples and exercises. Suited to working through the theory at your own pace alongside a course. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry **Tags:** acid-base, open-textbook, ph, buffers, general-chemistry ### 3. chem.libretexts.org LibreTexts Chemistry is a free, open‑access library of General Chemistry textbooks and learning resources, offering modular chapters, tutorials, and practice problems. It covers core topics from matter and measurements through thermodynamics and kinetics, with multimedia content and interactive exercises. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://chem.libretexts.org **Tags:** websites, science-research, chemistry ## Books ### 1. The Disappearing Spoon **Author:** Sam Kean Entertaining exploration of the periodic table through historical anecdotes, discoveries, and the human stories behind chemical elements. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Spoon-Madness-Periodic-Elements/dp/0316051632?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** book, sciences, chemistry ### 2. General Chemistry **Author:** Linus Pauling Dover reprint of the 1970 third edition of Pauling's first-year text, which presents chemistry through unifying principles rather than memorized facts. Readers build understanding of atomic and molecular structure, the chemical bond, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and equilibrium from a Nobel laureate's perspective. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486656225?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, chemistry ### 3. Principles of Modern Chemistry **Author:** David W. Oxtoby A rigorous general chemistry textbook for science and engineering majors that grounds descriptive chemistry in physical principles. Readers learn to apply quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, kinetics and equilibrium to explain molecular structure, bonding and reactivity quantitatively. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0030156521?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, chemistry --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/general-chemistry