Course Details

Chemistry

Academic Year 2026/27

BCA005-A course is part of 1 study plan

​ BPA-SIS Winter Semester 1st year

Credits

3 credits

Language of instruction

English

Semester

winter

Course Guarantor

prof. RNDr. Pavel Rovnaník, Ph.D.

Institute

Institute of Chemistry

Forms and criteria of assessment

course-unit credit and examination

Basic Literature

Rovnaník P. Building chemistry – Laboratory Sessions, Akademické nakladatelství CERM, Brno, 2014. (en)
Hewlett P. C. Lea’s Chemistry of Cement and Concrete, Butterworth Heinemann, 4th edition, Oxford, 1998. (en)
Zumdahl S. S. Chemistry, D. C. Heath and Company, USA, 1986. (en)
Rovnaník P. Presentations from Building Chemistry, 2025. (en)

Offered to foreign students

To offer to students of all faculties

Course on BUT site

https://www.vut.cz/en/students/courses/detail/299082

Lecture

13 weeks, 2 hours/week, elective

Syllabus

  1. Atomic mass, mole, atomic structure, isotopes, radioactivity.
  2. Atomic shell structure, electronegativity, periodicity of properties of elements, periodic table.
  3. Chemical bonding, polarity of bonds, chemical equations, stoichiometry, dissociation of molecules, pH.
  4. Chemical kinetics, reaction rate, catalysis, thermochemistry, chemical equilibria.
  5. States of matter, gases, liquids, solids, surface tension, capillary phenomena.
  6. Dispersion systems – aerosols, foams, emulsions, suspensions, colloidal systems, gels, real solutes, surfactants.
  7. Properties of selected inorganic compounds of carbon and silicon, chemistry and degradation of glass.
  8. Chemical composition and properties of natural and secondary raw materials used in civil engineering.
  9. Binders – production, composition and properties of gypsum, Sorel cement, lime, hydraulic lime, Portland cement and alumina cement. Pozzolanas.
  10. Chemical degradation of binders and construction materials, protection against degradation.
  11. Electrochemical properties of metals, standard redox potentials, galvanic cells, electrolysis, metals and corrosion of metals.
  12. Chemistry of water and air. Chemical composition of wood and degradation to wooden structures. Asphalts.
  13. Composition and properties of carbon-based polymers, their chemical stability. Composition and properties of polysiloxanes, chemical stability.

Exercise

13 weeks, 1 hours/week, compulsory

Syllabus

  1. Basic information. Safety instructions.
  2. Acids and bases.
  3. pH, oxidation and reduction.
  4. Lime, cement and other building materials.
  5. Water.
  6. Metals.
  7. Final test.

Self-study

13 weeks, 1 hours/week

Individual preparation for an ending of the course

26 weeks, 1 hours/week