CHEM1011 Chemistry 1A: Atoms, Molecules and Energy (UNSW Sydney): rated 3.3/5 overall, difficulty 0.0/5 (higher is harder), would-recommend 1.0/5 across 36 reviews collected on UNSW Wall.
CHEM1011 is a UNSW Sydney course taught by the Faculty of Science in School of Chemistry. This page brings together its handbook details and what UNSW students say about it.
Review data updated 2026-10-24.
Chinese title: 化学1A：原子、分子与能量
Type: Undergraduate course
Credit points: 6
Subject area: School of Chemistry
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Level: Undergraduate Level 1
Handbook year: 2026
This course builds on an elementary knowledge of chemistry (equivalent to one year of high school chemistry, such as Year 11 chemistry, or CHEM1001 at UNSW) to explore the quantum mechanical structure of atoms leading to an understanding of the periodic trends in the properties of the elements. This knowledge is applied to understanding chemical bonding and intermolecular forces which together are responsible for determining the properties of materials.
CHEM1011 has 36 scored reviews: overall 3.3/5 · usefulness 3.8 · difficulty 0.0 · would-recommend 1.0 (all out of 5; higher difficulty means harder).
Sources: 1 review by UNSW students on UNSW Wall (1.0/5 overall); 5 StudentVIP reviews (average 4.6 stars); 30 Reddit comments that an AI model judged to be reviewing this course (average would-recommend 3.2/5).
On Reddit: "Go to all tuts and read the lecture notes. Use the quizzes to help guide you on the important parts of this course. This course shouldn’t be too much to handle. I was shit in chem since hs but managed to get a credit. Also during labs make sure to ask ur demo, doesnt matter how …"
On Reddit: "I'm not even sugar coating it but chem1021 is easy shit. Legit. It's so much better than chem1011 which was such a pain in the ass. Most of the content is straightforward and makes sense. Lmk if you need notes or anything though"
The course panel on UNSW Wall shows every review and discussion in full.
Q: Is CHEM1011 hard?
A: Students rate CHEM1011's difficulty 0.0/5 on average (higher is harder), which makes it on the easier side.
Q: Is CHEM1011 worth taking?
A: Averaged over 36 reviews: would-recommend 1.0/5, usefulness 3.8/5, overall 3.3/5.
Q: Which faculty teaches CHEM1011, and when is it offered?
A: CHEM1011 is taught by the Faculty of Science. Check the official handbook for the current year.
UNSW Wall is an independent student community and is not affiliated with UNSW Sydney.