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CHEM1101 - Syllabus


Chemistry 1A


The order of topics presented here is essentially the order of presentation in the lecture course, although individual lecturers may make some variations from this. Some topics span more than one week.

Jump to week <1> <2> <3> <4> <5> <6> <7> <8> <9> <10> <11> <12> <13>


Week

Topics covered

1

Introduction
- administrative matters
- overview of course

Nuclear & Radiation Chemistry
- nucleons, nuclides and isotopes
- fusion
- natural radioactivity
- 4 decay processes
- nuclear stability
- kinetics of decay
- carbon dating
2
Nuclear & Radiation Chemistry (continued)
- biological damage
- medical imaging

Periodic Table and the Periodic Trends 

Wave Theory of Electrons and Resulting Atomic Energy Levels 
3
Shape of Atomic Orbitals and Quantum Numbers 

Filling Energy Levels in Atoms Larger than Hydrogen

Atomic Electronic Spectroscopy
- elemental analysis
- atomic absorbance and emission
- relative independence of core electrons to bonding
- x-ray fluorescence
- generation of x-rays
4
Bonding in H2 - MO theory
- energy levels
- the sigma orbital/bond
- stability due to electron delocalization

Bonding in O2, N2, C2H2and C2H4
- pi orbitals
- non-bonding orbitals (lone pairs)
- O3 and UV absorption
5
Lewis Structures
- as a simple approx. to MO theory
- octet rule

VSEPR
- molecular shape
- application to larger molecules including organic molecules
- shape and bonding of common functional groups
6
Biological Consequences of Shape
- enzyme - substrate interactions
- smell
- functional groups

Types of Intermolecular Forces
- dispersion forces
- Hydrogen bonding
7
Polymers and the Macromolecular Consequences of Intermolecular Forces
- synthetic polymers
- biopolymers

Gas Laws
- effects of temperature and pressure on volume
- ideal gas law
- partial pressures

Liquids
- colligative properties
8
Solids
- conductivity in metals
- semi conductors and insulators
- ionic bonding as a limiting case of MO theory
- lattice energies
- liquid crystals

Thermochemistry
- heat and temperature
- greenhouse effect
- kinetic and potential energy

Enthalpy and Entropy
- heat capacity
- enthalpy
- enthalpy change in a reaction (endo- and exothermic)
- enthalpy as a state function
- Hess's Law
- heat of formation
9
Enthalpy and Entropy Continued
- introduction to entropy
- CO2 /energy release from fuels
- use of H2 as an alternative fuel

Oxidation Numbers

Nitrogen Chemistry & Compounds
- high explosives
- nitrogen biocycle, nitrification and denitrification
- hydrides, halides, oxides, oxoacids

Nitrogen in the Atmosphere
- NO/NO2 cycle
- formation of pollutants
- global warming
10
Chemical Equilibrium
- equilibrium as a dynamic process
- the equilibrium constant
- the reaction quotient
- predicting direction of chemical change
- introduce particular equilibrium constants
- Kp and partial pressures
- Kc and units of concentration
- Ksp 
- Ka and Kb; pKa and pKb
- equilibrium calculations
- Le Chatelier’s principle

11
Equilibrium and Thermochemistry in Industrial Processes
Mining
- general principles
- example: Mining of copper
- example: The Steel Story
Top 10 chemicals produced in the world:
- special example, sulfuric acid , ammonia
12
Introduction to Electrochemistry
voltaic or galvanic cells
-using half-reactions
-table of standard reduction potentials

Electrochemistry Continued
Effect of concentration
- Nernst equation
- link between E and K
- concentration cells
13
Electrochemistry (Batteries & Corrosion)
Primary and secondary batteries
- how common batteries work?
- fuel cells and how they work
- corrosion and corrosion protection

Electrolytic Cells
- how does electrolysis work?
- concept of overpotential
- chlor-alkali process (H2, NaOH, Cl2 from seawater)


Textbook


Blackman, Bottle, Schmid, Mocerino and Wille,
     Chemistry and SI Chemical Data (package), 2nd Edition, 2012 (John Wiley) ISBN: 9781118234228


Textbook resources, including the answers to the odd-numbered problems and the web address for the publisher's site, are available via "Textbook Resources" on USYD eLearning.


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