Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Alaska Fairbanks

Information about Prerequisites for Enrollment in Chem 105X and Chem 106X, General Chemistry I and II, for the Fall 2009 Semester
  Beginning last fall semester (2008), enrollment in Chem 105X required placement in ENGL F111X or higher; placement in MATH F107X or higher; or a B or better in CHEM F103X; or permission of instructor and department chair.

The prerequisites were approved by Faculty Senate in December 2007, and are printed in the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 UAF catalogs.

Placement in Math 107X requires a minimum SAT math score of 530 or ACT math score of 23. Placement in English 111X requires minimum SAT critical reading score of 430 or ACT English score of 18 or better. See pp. 33-34 of 2009-2010 UAF catalog for more details.

Chem 105X and 106X are chemistry courses for science and engineering students that incorporate extensive use of algebra to describe chemical phenomena. Our studies of the transcripts of Chem 105X students correlated better chemistry grades with higher-level math preparation, and showed that students below the 107X level have unacceptably low success rates in Chem 105X. This result is similar to other studies on student success rates published in Science and the Journal of Chemical Education.

For more information regarding this policy, contact professors John Keller (ffjwk@uaf.edu, 474-6042), Bill Howard (ffwah@uaf.ed, 474-6019), or Tom Clausen (fftpc@uaf.edu, 474-5512).