This visual course book covers IMAT chemistry for students applying to medical school in Italy. It begins with the constitution of matter and the ideal gas laws, then moves through atomic structure, isotopes and electronic configuration, the periodic table and periodic properties, and chemical bonding with intermolecular forces.
The middle chapters cover inorganic chemistry and nomenclature of oxides, hydroxides, acids and salts, stoichiometry and limiting reagents, solutions and concentration, aqueous equilibria and Le Chatelier's principle, kinetics and catalysis, and oxidation and reduction. The final content chapters address acids, bases, pH, hydrolysis and buffers, the fundamentals of organic chemistry, and aromatic compounds alongside the chemistry of amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids.
Every content chapter ends with an IMAT trap and chapter review that highlights where students commonly go wrong. The book finishes with IMAT-style practice questions and a final chemistry visual revision checklist.
Look inside
Preview this book
Browse the full contents and read the opening topic.
Sample · 00-Introduction
0.1 How to Use This Book
How to Use This Chemistry Book
This version is designed for students who need a clear visual route through chemistry. Every chapter starts with the big idea, then gives diagrams, detailed explanations, mini-checks, IMAT traps and a medical/pharmaceutical connection.
Study method: first read the diagram, then read the explanation, then cover the explanation and explain the diagram aloud. Finally, solve the mini-checks without looking back.
Design principle: Chemistry is easier when students can see particles, charges, units, formulas and conservation. The visuals are original schematic diagrams made for safe use in this course book.
More detailMore diagramsFormula mapsIMAT trapsMedical linksPractice MCQs8 VerityPrep Standard MCQs under every topicMedicine/Dentistry links
Chapter 01 — Constitution of Matter: States, Systems, Elements and Compounds
Big idea: Students must be able to classify matter before solving any chemical problem. Many IMAT distractors confuse chemical identity with physical appearance.
Particle-level visual — Matter classification
Original schematic visual — States of matter
1.1 States of aggregation
States of aggregation
Solids have particles arranged close together with limited movement. They usually keep both shape and volume. Liquids have particles close together but able to move past one another, so they keep volume but take the shape of their container. Gases have particles far apart and moving rapidly, so they fill the available container and are compressible.
Changes of state such as melting, freezing, boiling and condensation are physical changes. The molecules remain the same. When ice melts, H2O molecules do not become hydrogen and oxygen; only their arrangement and movement change.
IMAT questions may combine chemistry and logic: a system containing ice and liquid water is chemically one substance but physically two phases, so it is heterogeneous.
Continue reading — 17 chapters, worked examples and practice.
