News & Events

The Chemistry and Geosciences Department is excited to return to teaching many of our courses on both the Brighton Campus and the Downtown Campus! Courses in Chemistry, Geography, and Geology will all have opportunities for in-person, on-campus instruction. We will continue to serve students who prefer online and/or remote courses as well.

A sampling of introductory courses, all fulfilling SUNY Gen Ed Natural Science requirements, planning to return to on-campus instruction include:

• Physical Geology (GEO 101)
  What controls the locations of volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountains? Where does our drinking water originate? What forces shape landscapes to create caves, glaciers, and landslides? What natural resources are used to create the technology we love and the resources we need? How does this impact people, both locally and globally? This course answers these questions and more while investigating plate tectonics, the rock cycle, and the Earth as a system. Two field trips [in person or virtually] to study local geology are incorporated into lab each semester.

• Physical Geography (GEG 100/101)
  Physical Geography is the science concerned with the spatial aspects and interactions of the physical elements and processes that make-up the environment. GEG 101 is an introductory course presented through two of Earth’s major spheres: the atmosphere and hydrosphere. Topics include Earth/Sun relations, Earth’s energy budget, atmospheric temperature, moisture and precipitation, winds, weather, climate, and Earth’s water.

• Preparatory Chemistry (CHE 100)
  This course meets the pre-admission chemistry requirement for selected health related programs. It is also recommended to students with limited mathematics and/or science background who plan to take higher level chemistry courses such as CHE 124 or 145. Topics include dimensional analysis, atomic structure, nomenclature, bonding, reactions, chemical calculations, periodicity, states of matter, solutions, acids, bases, and the pH concept.