<p>I know this probably sounds stupid at first, but do I need to be good in chemistry to do well in chemical engineering classes? I'm pulling a Solid B/+ in my gen chem class (might be slightly higher) and am thinking about transfering into chemE. I heard that there's a lot more that one learns and uses in chemE classes than just Chemistry. I just want your thoughts on it. Thanks.</p>
<p>at my school they tell us that ChemEs need to know enough chem to talk to a chemist so...I would say if you have a B you should be ok. ChemE is more about applications, so you need to understand the material, but you don't memorize all that crazy stuff!</p>
<p>Yeah you don't really need to know all that much chemistry with the exception of 1 area in physical chemistry known as Thermodynamics.</p>
<p>Virtually all of chemical engineering in applied, in-depth thermodynamics. A solid basis in physical chemistry is very helpful for chemE.</p>
<p>so there will be less and less reference to general chemistry (or chem in general) as one progresses through the curriculum until one gets to physical chemistry in junior year?</p>
<p>Just the OPPOSITE.</p>
<p>A lot of what you'll see in chemE will be similar to what you learned in general chemistry. Think "stoichiometry" and "free energy, enthalpy, entropy" - these will all come back to you.</p>
<p>A lot of things you'll be learning in gen.chem are basic chemical kinetics (rate reactions,etc..); basic thermodynamics (gibbs free energy; enthalpy, entropy stuff); and basic stoichiometry (moles, etc...) are used heavily in chemical engineering. As a matter of fact; P.chem is like advanced gen. chem and like I said; chemical engineering is all applied p.chem.</p>
<p>However, a majority of chemistry isn't reflective off of general chemistry. You shouldn't confuse "general chemistry" with chemistry in general. In the big scale of things, chemistry is encompassed by 1)organic chemistry 2)biochemistry and 3) physical chemistry.</p>
<p>Organic chemistry (polymers, synthesis,mechanisms,structure) and biochemistry are of absolutely no use in chemical engineering. A lot of pure science material covered in p.chem like quantum mechanics is also not of use in chem. engineering.</p>
<p>But like I said before; certain parts of p.chem like thermodynamics are very important in chemical engineering and the basics of thermodynamics is covered in general chemistry. So if you don't like gen. chem. - do not go into chemical engineering. </p>
<p>Chemical engineering can be summarized in three words (not including the "and"): Stoichiometry and applied thermodynamics.</p>
<p>what if I'm going into pharmaceutical engineering? How much orgo would be involved? I'm asking b/c I actually enjoy orgo a lot...</p>
<p>Don't confuse "pharmaceutical engineering" with "pharmacology". </p>
<p>The latter is about designing medicinal drugs while the former is more about how to better mass produce and optimize those medicinal drugs. Pharm. engineering is almost exactly identical to chemical engineering. It helps to know organic chemistry but you don't really use it much. A pharm. engineer/chem. engineer is more concerned with reactors and machines that mix and produce the pharmaceutical items than he is in the original design of the item.</p>
<p>For example, look at vitamin B12. Commercially, a company may produce tons of vit. B12. The pharm. engineer could care less about how to synthesis the vitamin. Did you know that organic chemists had to struggle for 12 years in order to artifically produce vit. B12? The engineer could care less. He doesn't really need to know the double bonds and stereochemistry of the structure, yada, yada. He gets paid to design the machines which mix the vitamin. </p>
<p>A lot of chemical engineers join the major because they think that chemical engineering is about synthesizing wonder drugs that can cure diseases and stuff which is ********. If you want to really create drugs that can cure AIDS/CANCER - you need to go get a p.h.d in something like organic/biochemistry or pharmacology and then join a research firm (which is very exciting). </p>
<p>HOWEVER, chemical engineering is an excellent major if you want to persue a career in pharmacology/organic chemistry. It gives you rigorous training in physical chemistry, organic chemistry, and a course called INstrumental analysis - these are essential in order to do well in graduate school for pure, advanced chemistry related sciences. A chemical engineering major also allows you to get a decent job right after graduation with a 54k+ starting salary while pure chemistry majors are forced to persue 5-6 years of graduate schooling.</p>
<p>You could also looking into Cell and Tissue engineering (sub of bioE) or Biomolecular engineering which is a sub of ChemE [at U of I that is] but as far as making the drugs I'd listen to wingardium. As far as making processes to mass produce, at a cheaper cost, and bring them to the market, and creating easily mass produced synthetic pharmacores at a cheaper and faster and better rate (equally important) you will need chemEs will a very large basis in chemE and orgo, physical chem.</p>
<p>If the yield of a drug is increased by 1% it can mean more than $10 million dollars for the pharmaceutical company. That is why chemEs are still important (with more advanced degrees in bioE and or chem, that part is important) in the pharmaceutical industry.</p>
<p>Also high school grades don't predict crap. Also you may not like gen chem like me but really really like orgo which is completely different from gen. I think a lot of the math and science students get confused because they are used to thinking in terms of equations (I don't so I have to get used to my own system of visualization) and suddenly when there is no equations they freak and don't know what to do. Organic is taught on a purely visual basis. I know physical chem is like a microscale combination of both (visual and equational) and very hard (am I right? I think I know what I'm talking about). So just because high school isn't the best if you like it, try it. That's what I did and didn't look back once.</p>
<p>is chemical engineering involved with math or theory? </p>
<p>IlliniJ, so not doing well in gen chem doesn't mean that I'll be a failure later on? It's just so disheartening to see many other prospective freshman chemE's doing SO well in gen chem when I try my hardest and don't do so hot (compared to them).</p>
<p>Yeah a lot get ****ed by orgo. Seriously it's the real wall. ChemE has simplistic ideas (basic in = out [adv: in + consumed - out - gen = accumulation], to make and design processes using ideas from physics and chemistry. Knowing reactions and if they are hard to achieve, dangerous, or which is best for the process (physical and organic), causing mechanics of the machines to work, what goes where, how much energy is needed for a process (bernoullis and physics), there are often a lot of variables for a mass balance and matricies can be used to solve for them. ChemE is taking a process and either creating it or making it better, more efficient, safer, lower cost. There are many other job opportunities but that is chemE's most fundamental idea.</p>
<p>You need a fundamental grip on how chemicals react, why, and which ones. This is why orgo and p-chem are more useful than gen chem ever will be. Not to say that it isn't important. For equilibrium and ice tables ae important and are the ideas behind reaction mechanics but that is just the basis for reaction chemistry and keq. Gen chem doesn't really get into it enough to be truly useful to industry but is a basis for parts of your other courses.</p>
<p>What exactly about gen chem aren't you getting? Do you not like atomic orbitals, structure, bonding? Stoich? Equilibrium? Kinetics? Electro-chem? Are you having a true problem or just getting it slower than your classmates? Are you not understanding the fundamentals or the details? Or even vice-versa? Answering these question might help. If you are truly having problems I don't think you should try chemE. If you are just getting it a little later or having trouble with a small segment.</p>
<p>I truly did not do that well in gen chem but orgo is much easier to me. If you have any questions pm me. I always try to help prospective chemEs but I make sure they understand what they're getting themselves into and whether they would like it or not.</p>
<p>well, I 'm only a freshman so i haven't gotten too in-depth yet. I understand the concepts( I had a HORRIBLE high school teacher so relearning everything in college correctly probably influenced me in thinking that chem is hard since I spent so much time on it and still got B's.) yet everytime i do problems on tests or hw i there's always a couple that I have no idea where it came from. mostly ratio problems that seemingly have no basi, etc. I can't give examples now.</p>
<p>having a bad teacher in a critical subject is unfortunate. For my energy and material balances, we had the worst possible teacher. He always skipped steps on the board and it was next to impossible to understand him. Unfortunately, I have him for two more classes my senior year. But I've decided it's not worth changing my major due to one lousy professor.</p>
<p>As far as gen.chem. is concerned; it's very hard at first to understand. When I first took chemistry in high school, I failed it and it was a nightmare. When I took it during college, I ended up doing very well. Everyone struggles w/ gen.chem the first time around.</p>
<p>B's aren't horrible. You're fine. I horrible teachers in every subject related to science and math. You are competing against kids who love the subject because really good teachers inspired them. That's hard. I had a horrific prof for mass balances. I have him for thermo too. Save me.</p>
<p>I took the first semester and got a B- and second was a B+ (should've been an A seriously I always screw up something).</p>