<p>Has any chem majors taken this class before? What is the workload like and would you recommend taking pchem before taking this class? Thanks!</p>
<p>Oh, and I know that Chem 120 isn’t a pre-req for this course, but the textbook seems to be written for a post-pchem inorganic course and the sample 4-year schedule for chemistry majors puts Chem 120A the semester before this class. Any insight is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>I haven’t taken this class yet, but my friends have said that pchem is not necessary (though it could be helpful because all of the results of inorganic chemistry are rooted in physical chemistry). And the workload isn’t supposed to be that bad compared to a lot of chemistry courses, since there’s no lab. Also, all the sample 4-year plans that I’ve seen for chemistry show 104A and 120A in the same semester (fall of junior year, check page 26 of the document below).</p>
<p><a href=“http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/publications/chem_11_12.pdf[/url]”>http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/publications/chem_11_12.pdf</a></p>
<p>Hmm, I guessed they changed the schedule a little bit. I looked at the schedule on the undergraduate website :</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley, College of Chemistry](<a href=“http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/USLI/chemistry/index.php]UC”>http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/USLI/chemistry/index.php)</p>
<p>Thank you for replying. I was panicking after reading that the textbook was written for students who have already taken pchem. You definitely calmed me down =)</p>
<p>Ah I see, interesting. Yeah they must have changed it a few years ago.</p>
<p>Ah. That schedule was before they revised the requirements for Chem 120A. Now you need to have finished Physics 7A/7B as well as Math 53 and 54 before you take it, which pushes it back into junior/senior year.</p>
<p>I’m glad they made p-chem more rigorous haha.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, that makes more sense. Forgot about the new math requirement. Thanks meakame =)</p>
<p>Did they actually change the course structure of Chem 120 or was it only because they found that kids were not doing so well without completing Math 54?</p>
<p>104A isn’t really a bad course; I think Prof. Yang is teaching it again. Midterms are very straightforward and course moves at a pretty reasonable rate. Yang’s lectures are okay…he’s very monotone but nice in person. His final will own you, however (seriously).</p>
<p>You don’t need 120A to understand this course. I took 104A and 120A in the same semester. There will be references to 120A material in 104A but you don’t need to know a lot of quantum mechanics to understand 104A. </p>
<p>With that said, 104A focuses mostly on group theory and molecular orbital theory, which has to do with molecular symmetry. If you can visualize things spatially, you should be okay. I feel like this course is a hit-or-miss. Like singh2010 said, the results of inorganic chemistry are rooted to pchem.</p>
<p>104B will deal more with transition metal chemistry and periodic trends. And all the weird-hokey-pokey stuff happening at the molecular orbital level.</p>
<p>Also, the course mostly follows the book by Dekock and Gray. Use that as your primary reference, not so much the book by Miessler and Tarr.</p>
<p>Thanks Spontaneity for taking the time to write this! Lol I think I’m actually excited for 104 now.</p>
<p>Ugg, how nice…I purchased Dekock and Gray for $30 but Miessler costed around $130.</p>