General Chemistry College Course

Learning general chemistry is one of the most important steps you can take if you're planning to study science in any serious way. Chemistry is foundational. It connects to biology, physics, environmental science, engineering, medicine, and so much more. If you understand chemistry, you’re not just memorizing facts. You’re learning how to think about matter, energy, and the interactions that shape the physical world. It teaches problem-solving, quantitative reasoning, and how to break down complex systems into smaller, understandable parts. These are skills that are valuable far beyond a chemistry class.

We just published a full General Chemistry video course on the freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel. It’s a college-level course that walks you through the core topics you'd cover in a first-year chemistry class. The course starts from square one, covering the structure of matter, the periodic table, and basic units. From there, it builds toward more complex ideas like thermodynamics, chemical equilibrium, kinetics, and electrochemistry. It’s meant for anyone who wants a solid introduction to chemistry or a full refresher on key concepts.

The course is taught by Chad McAllister. He spent over 15 years managing the tutoring facility for the chemistry department at a large US university. That means he’s spent a lot of time helping students one-on-one, figuring out where people get stuck and how to explain things in a way that actually makes sense. His experience makes this course feel approachable even when the material gets more advanced. He doesn’t assume prior knowledge, but he also doesn’t talk down to you.

What makes this course especially useful is how clearly it’s organized. The video is broken into almost 100 sections, so you can go straight to the topics you need. Want to understand naming acids? It’s there. Need help with stoichiometry or balancing redox reactions? Covered. Want to figure out pH calculations for weak acids and bases? There’s a section just for that. The structure lets you watch the entire course from start to finish or just skip around to the parts that match what you’re studying or working on.

Here’s a quick overview of what’s included:

• The basics: matter, scientific notation, units, and conversions

• Atomic theory, the periodic table, and chemical bonding

• Naming ionic and molecular compounds, acids, and more

• Chemical reactions, mole calculations, limiting reactants

• Thermodynamics, calorimetry, Hess’s Law

• Light, quantum numbers, electron configurations

• Periodic trends like atomic radius and ionization energy

• Lewis structures, VSEPR theory, molecular geometry

• Gas laws, intermolecular forces, and phase diagrams

• Reaction rates, mechanisms, and equilibrium

• Acids, bases, buffers, titrations, and solubility

• The laws of thermodynamics, Gibbs free energy

• Redox reactions, electrochemistry, and cell potentials

• Nuclear chemistry and nuclear reactions

• Coordination chemistry, complex ions, and crystal field theory

Whether you're in school, self-studying for a test like the MCAT, or just curious about how chemistry works, this course is packed with real instruction.

You can watch the entire course for free on the freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel (34-hour watch).