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Chemistry: Ten Important Reactions
I’ve made a list of ten reactions I would like all my students to know:-)
Chemistry 201: Study Sessions
Monday April 29th from 2 to 4
Monday May 6th from 1 to 4
These two sessions are reserved for Chem 201 students to prepare for Exam III and the Final.
Chemistry 201: Book Chapter Sections for Exam III
Chapter Nine
Areas of the Periodic Table: Alkali Metals, etc.
Atomic Size
Ionization Energy
Ionic Size
Metallic Character
Skip 9.5
diamagnetic and paramagnetic
Study Figure 9-9, Figure 9-12, Figure 9-18
Chapter Ten
Electronegativity: Figure 10-6
Writing Lewis Dot Stuctures for covalent molecules and for polyatomic ions.
Formal Charge
Skip 10-6 radicals but learn about expanded valence.
Table 10-1 is very, very important.
10-8
single bond is longer than a double bond and a double bond is longer than a triple bond
triple bond is stronger than a double bond which is stronger than a single bond
triple bond means bond order of 3, double bond means bond order of 2, and single bond means bond order of 1
Chapter 11
Table 11.1 (memorize)
sigma vs. pi
hybridization for different geometries
Chapter 12
12.1 to 12.4 only
Chemistry: Undergraduate Research Opportunity
I received this email from Mike Davis, VP at Wright College:
******************************************************************
Colleagues,
Good evening. Forgive the late notice, but I wanted to make sure that
word got out as widely as possible.
On Friday 4/26 Wright College will be hosting an
Undergraduate Research Symposium. The focus of the program is the
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). This is an initiative that
is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that seeks to include
undergraduate students in authentic research. REUs are paid positions
that are hosted all over the United States. Community College students
are eligible to apply for these programs, and would benefit greatly from
participating (take it from a former REU!).
The event will feature two panel discussions:
Student Panel – Three students who have
completed undergraduate research will discuss some of their experiences,
including how they got there, what kind of work they did, how it helped them,
and advice for other interested students.
Researcher Panel – Representatives from Hope
College, Northwestern University, and IIT will discuss their REU programs, the
opportunities for community college students, and what it takes to be
successful in these programs.
This will take place at the Wright College Theatre on Friday
April 26th. The program goes from 9:00 – 11:00 with
refreshments being served at 8:30.
Please pass this information on to your students. They
will be able to talk with REU directors and professors, who can give them
advice on applying for future programs.
Michael Davis
Interim Vice President
Wilbur Wright College
Chemistry 201: Tomorrow’s Quiz
The quiz tomorrow will cover Lewis Dot structures, geometry and shape of molecules, polar vs. non-polar – very similar to the lab. If you want your graded lab back – stop by today.
Chemistry 201: Beyond the octet
I found an excellent power point presentation that explains expanded valence very well. Please take a look…
http://depts.washington.edu/chemcrs/bulkdisk/chem152A_sum07/notes_Lecture_27_bey8nVSEPR.pdf
Gardening: Early Spring Activities
This has been a cold April and it is still too early to plant most types of seeds – but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to do in the garden. This is a great time to work with your soil – acidify it around the roses, blueberries, rhododendrons and other acid-loving plants, turn it over and aerate it. Add compost to it – build it up in places where it has eroded.
This is also a great time to take some photographs – the before pictures you will use to compare with those taken at the end of the growing season.
The Pond in April
This scene looks pretty baren. The hostas are just beginning to show some leaves. The gooseberry bus is budding. The pond water has recently melted. The wisteria looks hopelessly tangled. It will be amazing to see how this small space is transformed over the next three months.
Tulips and Daffodils
Some of the earliest plants to greet us are the bulbs – tulips, daffodils and other types of bulbs that are planted in the Fall. Having some of these provides some early excitement.
A barren corner
This area is completely brown and lifeless in appearance. Who would guess that honeysuckle is going to take over the fence, forsythia is just about to burst out with yellow flowers and zoysia grass will come to life.
Raised Beds
This is the time to haul bags of soil and fill in areas that need work. A few bags every year pays off after a few years. A garden is not developed in one season – it takes time to determine what grows best and in what locations. This will be for corn this year. Last year this same space was for beans. Beans are nitrogen producers and corn is a heavy feeder so I practice this simple crop rotation – corn and beans swap spaces each year. Of course Thor believes this is to be his space for rolling in the dirt. Part of the preparation is the fences that must go around the young plants to protect them.
A retaining wall
Walls like this one are easy to build – no mortar needed. The bricks are notched and hold together well. This area lost a lot of soil last year so I decided a wall would help retain the soil better. All those canes will be rasberries. The rasberries began as only two plants – that was two years ago. Look how they have multiplied.
So the early garden is dominated with the colors of the earth – browns of all shades. Spend some time looking at your space while everything is dorment – this is a time to dream…
Chemistry 201: Quantum Theory Review
This is a check list so you can determine if you have the skill set required for the part of the Exam on Tuesday that covers quantum chemistry:
A prepared student should be able to:
1. convert between wavelength and frequency (speed of light is provided: 3.00 X 10E-8)
2. put common areas of the electromagnetic spectra in order (gamma, x-ray etc.)
3. find the energy of a photon or any number of photons (moles of photons for example)
4. Name the scientist and the main idea of the three experiments we talked so much about in class – ultraviolet catastrophe (blackbody radiation), photoelectric effect, atomic emission and absorbtion spectra
5. describe the rules for generating quantum numbers
6. state the Pauli Exclusion Principle and Hund’s Rule
7. determine which combinations of quantum numbers are allowed or forbidden and be able to say why
8. describe the main idea behind each quantum number (size/distance, shape, orientation of orbitals, spin of electron)
9. Discuss wave/particle duality.
This is the basic list and hopefully will cover the main ideas of chapter eight. If you have specific questions – just email me.
Chemistry 201: The Metric System
Antique Scales and Weights
You can see the use of the metric system in this antique equipment that was once used to weigh gold.This photograph was taken in Paraty, Brazil.
Chemistry 201: Simulation of Specific Heat
Thanks to Kiley for sharing this very useful link:
http://www.chm.davidson.edu/vce/calorimetry/index.html
I recommend you give it a try.
Chemistry 201: Extra Credit Oportunity
Please complete the following handout using the online PhET gas law simulator:
http://phet.colorado.edu/files/activities/3329/Bouncing%20Off%20the%20Walls.pdf
Turn this in by Tuesday, March 12.
Chemistry 201: Vocabulary for Exam One
Please be sure you can provide definitions for the following terms:
Chapter One:
anhydrous
intensive, extensive property
Chapter Three:
empirical formula versus molecular formula ( what is the difference)
Chapter Four:
molarity
limiting reactant
solute, solvent, solution
Chapter Five:
electrolyte, non-electrolyte
oxidation, reduction
disproportionation reaction
oxidizing agent, reducing agent
Plus the volcabulary of colloids (chart from wikipedia):
| Medium / Phases | Dispersed phase | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas | Liquid | Solid | ||
| Continuous medium | Gas | NONE (All gases are mutually miscible) |
Liquid aerosol Examples: fog, mist, hair sprays |
Solid aerosol Examples: smoke, cloud, air particulates |
| Liquid | Foam Example: whipped cream, Shaving cream |
Emulsion Examples: milk, mayonnaise, hand cream |
Sol Examples: pigmented ink, blood |
|
| Solid | Solid foam Examples: aerogel, styrofoam, pumice |
Gel Examples: agar, gelatin, jelly |
Solid sol Example: cranberry glass |
|
Chemistry 201: Calcium Oxalate
I found this amazing photograph in Wikipedia – under Calcium Oxalate:
Scanning Electron Micrograph of the surface of a kidney stone showing tetragonal crystals of Weddellite (calcium oxalate dihydrate) emerging from the amorphous central part of the stone. Horizontal length of the picture represents 0.5 mm of the figured original.
Chemistry 201: Exam this Thursday – Useful Links
A summary of the oxidation number rules:
http://justonly.com/chemistry/pdfs/oxidation_number_rules.pdf
Electronegativity Chart:
http://www.northcampus.net/Module4II/Chapter6/electronegativityChart.jpg
Activity series for metals:
http://justonly.com/chemistry/pdfs/activity_series_metals.pdf
Solubility Rules
http://justonly.com/chemistry/chem121/students/handouts/pdfs/solubility_rules.pdf
Stoichiometric Map
http://justonly.com/chemistry/chem121/students/handouts/pdfs/stoichiometry_map.pdf
Solubility Chart to Complete
http://justonly.com/chemistry/chem121/students/laboratories/pdfs/solubility_chart.pdf
Polyatomic Ions
http://justonly.com/chemistry/pdfs/ion_chart.pdf
A puzzle
http://justonly.com/chemistry/chem201/students/handouts/logic_puzzle.pdf
Physical Science 112: Pulleys
Students explored the mechanical advantages and efficiencies of various pulley systems in Physical Science 112 this week.
Pulley systems
Pulley systems are describes in mathematical equations such as work in = work out and force=work X distance. Students predict what will happen and then make measurements to determine outcomes.
Team Work
To construct these systems requires many hands. The discussions were lively as the students shared their observations about what was happening in each system.
Success
There is a certain satisfaction that is experienced when the pulley mechanism is demonstrated to decrease the force required to lift a weight.
Physical Science 112: Newton’s Laws
Recently I keep hearing “There’s an app for that!” and I have to ask myself – can an “app” help a person develop a real sense of how forces work in the 3D world? In Physical Science 112 the students carry out labs that give them hands-on experience testing and observing the laws of physics.
Here students explore concepts of velocity and acceleration using an air table:
Motion from a little push and a bigger push
A spark generator will leave a track of dots that can be analyzed carefully to allow precise measurement of position, velocity and acceleration.
Students also examined effects of air resistance by building and testing parachutes:
Making and testing a parachute
The goal is to design a parachute that will bring a ball down more slowly than when it is simply dropped.
By carrying out experiments students develop their own intuition about Newton’s Laws of Motion.