CU Boulder CHEM 1113: General Chemistry 1
CHEM 1113 is CU Boulder's first general chemistry course for science and pre-health tracks: stoichiometry, atomic structure, bonding, thermochemistry, and intermolecular forces. It's typically taken alongside its lab and feeds directly into CHEM 1133 in the spring.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with University of Colorado Boulder. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
The exams are time-pressured, multi-step problems where stoichiometry fluency is assumed from the early weeks onward, and the room is full of pre-meds, so the curve sets a serious bar. Students who follow lecture fine but practice few problems get their wake-up call on exam one, when 'decent' preparation lands below the average.
What you'll cover
- • Stoichiometry and the mole
- • Atomic structure and periodicity
- • Chemical bonding and molecular shapes
- • Thermochemistry
- • Gases
- • Intermolecular forces
The CHEM 1113 study guide
How to study for CU Boulder CHEM 1113, step by step.
- 1
Make stoichiometry automatic immediately
Mole conversions and reaction stoichiometry are embedded in everything CHEM 1113 does after the first weeks. Drill daily until they cost no thought; slowness here bleeds points all semester.
- 2
Work problems cold every day
Following lecture while practicing little is the classic setup for an exam-one shock. Solve daily with solutions closed and redo every miss the next day.
- 3
Let units do the navigating
Write units on every quantity and make them cancel. Dimensional analysis turns the course's long calculation chains into guided paths and catches errors before the grader does.
- 4
Respect the curve's competition
The room is heavy with pre-meds, so calibrate against exam-style problems rather than homework comfort. 'Decent' preparation lands below average here by design.
- 5
Do timed past-exam practice before each midterm
Old exam-style questions under real time limits, no notes. Exam speed is trainable and the curve effectively grades it.
Today
Today's CHEM 1113 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for CHEM 1113. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is CHEM 1113 at CU Boulder a weed-out class?
It carries that reputation, and the curved, time-pressured exams in a pre-med-heavy room are why. Daily problem practice beats it reliably; lecture attendance plus passive review reliably doesn't.
How do I pass CHEM 1113?
Make stoichiometry automatic in the first few weeks (everything after assumes it), then solve problems daily with solutions closed and run timed past-exam practice before each midterm. Units-first dimensional analysis catches most of the rest.
What comes after CHEM 1113?
CHEM 1133, General Chemistry 2, offered in spring: equilibrium, acids and bases, kinetics, and thermodynamics, all built on 1113's foundations. Mastery now, especially of stoichiometry and bonding, is what makes 1133 manageable.
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