WGU C672: General Chemistry I with Lab

What C672 Is and Who Takes It

WGU C672: General Chemistry I with Lab is a graduate-level science content course in the School of Education. It sits inside WGU's Master of Arts in Science Education (Secondary Chemistry) and the chemistry teaching endorsement track, so most people who take it are already-licensed teachers adding a secondary chemistry credential. In other words, this is not a casual elective. It rebuilds college general chemistry from the atom up so that you can eventually teach it with confidence in a high school classroom.

Direct answer: Learn the content in order — atomic structure and periodic trends first, then bonding, nomenclature, balanced equations, stoichiometry, and thermochemistry — using active recall and a steady diet of worked practice problems, and complete every experiment in your at-home lab kit carefully enough that you can document and analyze what you observed. Passing comes from consistent problem-solving practice and clean lab work, not last-minute cramming.

Because C672 is a graduate course for practicing educators, WGU frames it around both the chemistry itself and the scientific habits of mind you will model for students. It is the first half of a two-course sequence: C672 is the prerequisite for C673: General Chemistry II with Lab, which continues into gases, solutions, equilibrium, acids and bases, and organic and nuclear chemistry. Concepts in Science is the prerequisite going into C672, and this course is the foundation the rest of your endorsement leans on.

What the Course Covers

According to WGU's official program materials, C672 is built around a set of chemistry competencies. The core topic areas are:

• Scientific investigation and lab safety — conducting safe, effective, hypothesis-driven experiments to answer testable questions about the physical and chemical characteristics of matter, and applying laboratory safety and maintenance procedures.
• Atomic structure and periodic trends — analyzing the electronic structure of atoms and using periodic patterns to explain the behavior of elements.
• Nomenclature and chemical formulas — using the periodic table and IUPAC naming rules to name compounds and write correct formulas.
• Chemical bonding and molecular structure — how bonds and electron arrangement shape the structure and behavior of molecules.
• Balancing chemical equations — writing balanced equations to describe what happens in a reaction.
• Stoichiometry — analyzing the quantities of substances consumed and produced in a reaction.
• Thermochemistry — analyzing heat released or absorbed during reactions.
• States and changes of matter — explaining transformations in matter and energy.

The course also includes hands-on laboratory work. WGU ships a self-contained home science lab kit with the equipment and materials you need to run experiments from home, so plan with your program mentor to order it early. Expect to both demonstrate what you know about the concepts and to complete, document, and analyze lab work. Confirm the exact assessment structure in your course of study, since the way content knowledge and lab tasks are checked can differ by program version.

How Hard C672 Feels and How Much Time to Budget

General chemistry has a long-standing reputation as one of the more demanding science subjects, and C672 is a genuine general chemistry course rather than a lightweight survey. It is quantitative: you will be balancing equations, converting between moles, grams, and particles, and working heat calculations. How hard it feels depends heavily on two things — your comfort with algebra and unit conversions, and how recently you studied chemistry.

If you use chemistry regularly, much of this will come back quickly and you can move at a brisk pace. If it has been years since your last chemistry class, give yourself extra runway and do not be surprised if the first week or two feel slow while the vocabulary and math loosen up. C672 carries 3 competency units, which signals a substantial but not enormous course. The lab work adds real calendar time because you have to receive the kit, run the experiments, and write them up, so front-load ordering the kit rather than saving it for the end.

A Study Plan Built Around Chemistry

Chemistry rewards a specific kind of studying. Passive rereading of a textbook is one of the weakest strategies for this material; the students who succeed practice the actual skills repeatedly. Build your plan around three proven techniques applied to C672's content:

• Practice testing over rereading. Chemistry is a doing subject. Work problems — balancing equations, mole conversions, limiting-reactant and heat problems — until the steps are automatic. Redo missed problems from scratch a day later instead of just reading the solution.
• Active recall for the memory-heavy pieces. Nomenclature rules, polyatomic ions, and periodic trends respond well to flashcards you quiz yourself on. Cover the answer, retrieve it, then check. Retrieval beats recognition.
• Spaced repetition. Revisit atomic structure and nomenclature on a schedule (day 1, day 3, day 7, then weekly) so the foundations stay fresh while you build toward stoichiometry and thermochemistry, which depend on them.

Sequence your weeks to match how the concepts stack. Start with atomic structure and the periodic table, because bonding and trends grow directly out of electron configuration. Then move to nomenclature and writing formulas, then to balancing equations, and only then to stoichiometry and thermochemistry, which combine everything before them. Lean on WGU's provided learning resources first, and use quality free explainers to fill gaps in your understanding. Run your lab experiments alongside the matching topic so the hands-on work reinforces the theory rather than feeling disconnected from it. A little math confidence goes a long way here. General chemistry leans on algebra, arithmetic, and dimensional analysis rather than calculus, so if equations and unit conversions feel rusty, a short algebra-and-conversions refresher will make the quantitative parts far less stressful.

Where Students Trip Up in General Chemistry I

A handful of predictable mistakes cause most of the pain in C672:

• Skipping the foundations. Rushing past atomic structure and electron configuration to get to reactions leaves you without the reasoning that later topics require.
• Memorizing instead of understanding. Chemistry has vocabulary, but stoichiometry and thermochemistry are logic, not trivia. Memorized steps collapse the moment a problem is worded differently.
• Ignoring units and significant figures. Sloppy unit tracking is the top source of wrong answers in quantitative chemistry. Carry units through every calculation.
• Procrastinating on the lab kit. Ordering the kit late, or treating the lab write-ups as an afterthought, is a common way to stall out near the finish line.
• Studying by reading only. Highlighting the textbook feels productive but does not build problem-solving speed. Work problems with the book closed.

C672 Readiness Checklist

Before you sit the assessment and submit your lab work, use these self-checks. You are close to ready when you can honestly say yes to most of them:

• Can you write the electron configuration of an element and use its position on the periodic table to predict its behavior?
• Can you name ionic and covalent compounds and write correct formulas using IUPAC rules, including common polyatomic ions?
• Can you explain how bonding and electron arrangement determine a molecule's structure?
• Can you balance a chemical equation quickly and reliably?
• Can you carry out mole conversions and solve a limiting-reactant stoichiometry problem from start to finish?
• Can you set up and solve a basic heat (thermochemistry) calculation and track your units throughout?
• Can you explain the states of matter and the energy changes involved in transformations between them?
• Have you completed your lab experiments and written them up clearly enough to defend your observations and conclusions?
• Can you follow standard laboratory safety and maintenance procedures without prompting?

C672 FAQ

Is C672 an objective assessment, a performance assessment, or both?

C672 pairs chemistry content with hands-on laboratory work using an at-home kit, so plan to both demonstrate your understanding of the concepts and to complete and document lab experiments. Because the exact structure can vary by program version, confirm the specifics in your official course of study before you plan your final weeks.

Do I really need the home lab kit?

Yes. WGU provides a self-contained kit with the equipment and materials so you can run experiments from home. Order it early with your program mentor, because waiting until the end of the course to start the labs is a common way to lose time.

How many competency units is C672 worth?

WGU's program materials list General Chemistry I with Lab as 3 competency units. That is a meaningful course, and the lab component adds real calendar time on top of the studying.

What comes after C672?

C672 is the prerequisite for C673: General Chemistry II with Lab, which extends into gases, solutions, reaction rates, equilibrium, acids and bases, and an introduction to organic, biochemistry, and nuclear chemistry. The stronger your foundation here, the smoother C673 goes.

I haven't taken chemistry in years. Can I still pass?

Many adult students return to chemistry after a long gap and do fine. The keys are giving yourself extra time up front, rebuilding the math fundamentals, and practicing problems rather than only reading. Go in order — atoms, then bonding, then reactions, then stoichiometry and heat — and the material builds on itself.

Where can I confirm the official course details?

Check your WGU course of study and program materials directly. You can also review the program overview on WGU's site, such as the secondary chemistry endorsement page, for how C672 fits into the larger credential.

For more study strategy across the science-teaching sequence, explore related guides like C650: Geology I — Physical, browse the School of Education hub, or see every guide in our complete course index.