Chemistry-4 is a rigorous theoretical course in college-level chemistry intended to prepare students for university-level courses in chemistry as required for majors in science, medicine or engineering. Process skills such as analytical thinking, problem solving, making sense out of data, and writing/communication are essential. Depth of coverage and intellectual challenge are more important than breadth of coverage. Therefore I have adopted the following goals for this course:
Grades in the course will be broken down as follows:
Tests: 40%
(1 per quarter)
Quizzes: 30% (4 - 6 per quarter)
Labs:
30% (4 - 6 2-hr labs per quarter)
The schedule at the end of this introductory material shows what to expect for each unit. Specific dates are not given in the interest of maintaining flexibility. The number of hours of class time for each unit is indicated as a goal. Also in the schedule is recommended Memory Work which are items that you should commit to memory.
For each unit you will be required to complete a brief Outline of the important points in the reading assigned for that unit. This Outline must be separated into the sections used in the chapter. Sometimes one or two entries on the Outline will be sufficient for a given section. For other, more complicated sections you will need to use your judgment as to what the most important ideas and problem-solving techniques are. Keep Outlines brief! This is not meant to be a burden but rather a way to encourage you to prepare thoroughly for class. Outlines should be completed by the first day of a new unit: you must read ahead!
A tip about reading textbooks: they are not novels. In a novel you typically read a passage once with full comprehension. The action carries you forward through the text. Textbooks build sequentially in each chapter and you will at times need to read a section several times—and work through its examples on paper— before you can move on to the next section. Be self-aware and check in with yourself: Did I understand that passage? Could I solve problems based on it?
Each unit has a Problem Set that consists of questions and problems from the ends of the chapters. At times I will assign problems from supplementary material for the Problem Set. These problem sets will be approached in several ways:
Both Outlines and Problem Sets count as Homework. Homework is not collected, graded, or checked off. Instead, you must keep Outlines and Problem Sets neatly in a dedicated binder. At the end of the quarter you must show this binder to the instructor for a Homework Quiz grade. It will be graded on completeness and organization.
The date of the Homework Quiz will be set whenever we begin a new unit. The Homework Quiz will draw on problems directly from your homework and will be short.
Test dates will be near the end of each quarter.
Tests will be comprehensive and will be designed to be completed in one hour.
Labs will be offered four to six times each quarter. Lab assignments will vary in scope but at minimum will require completion of pre-lab work by the first day of work and completion of post-lab questions. Two to three times each quarter you will be required to submit a full formal lab report (format available separately). A portion of your lab grade will depend on your diligence in keeping a good scientific lab notebook. Required for this purpose is a permanently bound ruled notebook. In this notebook you will write your lab procedures, lab notes and data while you work in the lab. A handout is available separately that describes how to make good use of your lab notebook.
Study Groups are strongly recommended. During the first week of class you will form study groups of 3 - 4 people. Make a regular time to meet and work on Chemistry together. Working together makes tackling the difficult material of this course a bit more manageable. These groups will continue to work together during class. Re-shuffling of Study Groups will be allowed, if necessary.
Frequently I will ask students to present problems at the board. Presentations will consist in writing out the detailed solution to a problem on the board and explaining how you came to it to the class. The other members of the class are active participants in the process and are expected to ask questions and demand that the presenter justify his or her work. Problem presentations will be a frequent part of this course and will usually precede a Homework Quiz.
In this course our motto is FIO (an acronym that I leave to the reader: you will figure it out if you think about it for a bit).
It is important that you evaluate yourself frequently as you work to find out what you have learned. Try repeating to yourself the contents of class discussions. Even better, go over the concepts and problem-solving techniques with your study group: communicating something you have learned forces you to organize your thoughts about it. When you do so, you learn it better yourself. This is true also about writing in the course. Your lab reports and the answers to lab questions are learning opportunities. When you explain what you have learned in writing you often find that you have not learned it as well as you thought you did. Go back and learn it properly and your writing will improve.
Primary textbook: Chemistry: The Central Science,
11th edition, Brown, LeMay, Bursten & Murphy,
Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2009.
Laboratory Experiments for Advanced
Placement Chemistry, 2nd edition,
Sally Ann Vonderbrink, Ph.D., Flinn Scientific, Inc.,
Batavia, IL, 2006.
Supplementary Materials available on instructor’s
web site
(http://kaffee.50webs.com/Science/).
| First Quarter | |||
|
Topic
and Time |
Text Information
incl. Problems |
Lab(s) | Memory Work |
|
Matter and Measurement
Dimensional Analysis, Scientific Notation, Significant Figures, Density, Temperature |
Chapter 1
Problem Set: 11 15 17 21 24 26 29 31 33 37 39 40 44 47 53 59 67 72 77 Supplementary Materials: Metrics Conversions Dimensional Analysis Additional Dimensional Analysis Problems Construction of Square and Cubic Units Conversions with Square and Cubic Units |
Observing a Candle Measurement and Significant Figures Lab Precision vs. Accuracy Density Lab (all available on line) |
Tables 1.4, 1.5 and the Rules for Counting Significant Figures (pg 22) |
|
Atomic Structure I:
Basics of Atomic Theory |
Chapter 2: 2.1 - 2.5
Problem Set: 9 11 13 15 18 21 22 24 33 34 35 37 39 Supplementary Material: Atomic Structure Activity (unavailable on line) |
Z, A, Atomic Symbols, Dalton’s Atomic Theory (pg 38) | |
| Molecules, Ions and Naming Compounds |
Chapter 2: 2.6 - 2.9
Problem Set: 41 42 46 47 49 51 53 57 59 61 65 66 69 71 73 104 Supplementary Material: Chemical Formulas and Compounds Naming Compounds 1 Naming Compounds 2 (all available on line) |
None | Names and formulas for all monatomic cations and anions (easily predictable from the periodic table); names and formulas for these ions: copper, iron, ammonium, carbonate, hydrogen carbonate (bicarbonate), chromate, dichromate, cyanide, phosphate, hydrogen phosphate, sulfate, hydrogen sulfate, nitrate, nitrite, permangnate, and peroxide. Also, learn the acetate ion: C2H3O2-; prefixes in table 2.6; how to name acids with and without oxygen |
| Stoichiometry: Atomic Mass, the Mole, Percent Composition, Chemical Equations |
Chapter 3: 3.1 - 3.5
Problem Set: 9 11 13 14 15 17 19 21 24 26 29 32 33 35 37 41 43 49 51 53 Supplementary Material: Intro to Chemical Equations Homework for Balancing Chemical Equations Chemical Equations from Words (not avail. on line) The Mole Moles Practice Calculations Homework Assignment: The Mole and Molar Mass |
Size of an Aluminum Atom (available on line) | Avogadro’s number (6.02 × 1023 particles/mole) and its meaning |
| Second Quarter | |||
|
Topic
and Time |
Text Information
incl. Problems |
Lab(s) | Memory Work |
|
Atomic Structure II:
Nucleus, Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Stability, Nuclear Reactions |
Chapter 21
Problem Set: (2 3 4 7 11 15 17 33 50 57 to be done in class) Supplementary Material: Introduction to Nuclear Chemistry Alpha and Beta Radiation Electron Capture and Positron Radiation Half-life Activity Mass Defect & Binding Energy Activity (all available on line) |
Geiger Counter Demonstration | Alpha, Beta, and Positron Decay modes; half-life equations, E = mc2 |
| Stoichiometry, Limiting Reagent and Percent Yield |
Chapter 3: 3.6 - 3.7
Problem Set: 54 55 57 59 63 66 67 68 70 71 73 74 77 79 80 92 103 Supplementary Material: Demo: Stoichiometry Stoichiometry Activity Stoichiometry Homework Limiting Reagent Activity Limiting Reagent Homework |
Lab: Stoichiometry (available on line) Instructions for the Bunsen Burner Lab: Formula of a Hydrate (available on line) |
|
| Aqueous Reactions: Reaction Types, Solutions, Solution Stoichiometry |
Chapter 4
Problem Set: 11 13 15 19 21 24 27 30 32 35 39 44 45 51 55 59 61 69 73 79 81 83 |
Acid-Base Titration (Peoples 8)
|
Differences btwn. strong, weak and non-electrolytes; table 4.1 (solubility rules); pg 137 oxidation states rules |
| Third Quarter | |||
|
Topic
and Time |
Text Information
incl. Problems |
Lab(s) | Memory Work |
| Gases: Pressure, Gas Laws, Gas Phase Rxns, Partial Pressures, Kinetic-Molecular Theory |
Chapter 10
Problem Set: 11 17 22 23 25 27 31 33 37 40 43 45 47 51 53 56 59 61 67 71 75 77 |
Boyle’s
Law (available on line) Molar Volume of a Gas (Flinn 8) |
PV = nRT; P1V1/n1T1 = P2V2/n2T2; Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures; Definition of Mole Fraction; Molar Vol. 22.41 L at STP |
| Thermochemistry: Energy, Enthalpy, Calorimetry, Hess’s Law |
Chapter 5
Problem Set: 5 13 19 23 25 27 29 33 37 41 49 53 54 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 |
Calorimetry Lab | ΔE = q + w, w = -PΔV, ΔH = q at constant P, Hess’s Law |
|
Electronic Structure of Atoms: EM Radiation, Atomic
Spectra, Quantum Mechanics, Orbitals
|
Chapter 6
Problem Set: 11 15 18 21 25 29 33 35 41 47 50 57 59 61 65 67 79 82 84 Supplementary Material for reference: Group Activity: Light Homework: Light Additional Problems: Light Activity: Graphing Wavelength, Frequency and Energy Activity: Electron Configuration |
Pre-lab:
Flame Tests due on the first day of the lab
Lab: Flame Tests Lab: Hydrogen Atom Simulator Do problems 1 - 5 for homework. The rest of the questions will be answered using an online simulator (link is on the lab page). (computer lab) Pre-lab: Atomic Emission lamps due on the day of the lab Lab: Atomic Emission Lamps |
E=mc2, E = hν, c = λν, quantum numbers, electron configuration method |
| Fourth Quarter | |||
|
Topic
and Time |
Text Information
incl. Problems |
Lab(s) | Memory Work |
| Periodic Trends: Development of the Periodic Table, Effective Nuclear Charge, Ion and Atom Size, Ionization Energy, Electron Affinity, Group Trends |
Chapter 7
Problem Set: 7 8 10-12 16 17 21 23 25 27 30 31 35 37 38 39 41 43 46 48 51 53 57 59 61 63 64 67 69 71 73 75 77 81 83 92 94 |
Analysis by Gravimetry (Flinn 3) |
trends in ionization
energy and atomic radius Trends for atomic size, ion size, ionization energy, effective nuclear charge, and electron affinity |
| Chemical Bonding: Ionic, Covalent, and Metallic Bonds; Lewis Structures, Electronegativity, Bond Strength |
Chapter 8
Problem Set: Ch. 8: 2 4-6 8 9 13 17 19 21 23 29 32 33 35 36 40 45-47 49 50 53 55 57 58 61 65 67 69 90 Activity: Lewis Diagrams Lewis Diagrams: Molecules to draw |
Lab: Glurch and Oobleck Lab: Dissolving Sugar |
Periodic Trend for Electronegativity Lewis Structures method, pg 314 & pg 316 |
| Molecular Geometry: VSEPR, Polarity, Valence Bond Theory, Hybrid Orbitals |
Chapter 9: 9.1 - 9.6
Problem Set: 1 3 4 6 8 12 13 14 15 17 19 23 25 30 31 34 37 38 39 40 43 47 76 82 Lewis Diagrams and VSEPR Shapes Table of VSEPR Shapes and Modifications |
Building Models (hands-on covalent bonding activity) Cranberry Spectrophotometry: Measuring the Cranberry Juice Concentration of Juice Blends Lab: Salt, Ice, and the Coldest Mixture |
VSEPR model method, pg 346
|
