Students

Chemistry 121: Structure and Bonding in Chemistry

Course Level: 
First Year
Academic Year: 
2017/2018

Textbook: Chemistry 121: Integrated Resource Package (ChIRP)

Outline

  • Chemical Bonding and Lewis Structures
    • Chemical bonding (covalent, polar covalent, ionic)

    • Lewis structures of polyatomic species

    • Resonance structures

    • Chemical reactivity: acids/bases

  • Shapes of Molecules and Ions

    • Molecular shape and VSEPR

    •  Molecular polarity

  • Fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics

    • Wave-like properties of matter

    • Wave and probability concepts

    • When to treat an electron as a wave

    • Heisenberg uncertainty principle

    • Quantum mechanics basics

    • One dimensional particle-in-a-box

  • Electronic Structure of Atoms and Ions

    • One-electron species

    • Graphical representations of orbitals (s, p, d)

    • Wavefunctions and energies

  • Interactions between Light and Matter

    • The nature of light

    • Photoelectric effect

    • Absorption/emission transitions between quantum states

    • Atomic spectroscopy

  • Multi-electron Species and Periodic Properties

    • Arrangement of electrons

    • Magnetic properties

    • Periodic properties

  • Introduction to Molecular Orbital Theory and Valence Bond Theory

    • Molecular orbital theory – an introduction with H2

    • Molecular orbitals of second row homonuclear diatomic species

    • Valence bond theory

    •  Hybridization and complex chemical systems

  • Chemical Origin of Colour

    • ​Conjugated molecules

    • Metallic bonding

    • Colour vision and colour theory

    • Vibrational and rotational transitions

  • Physical Properties and Chemical Reactivity

    • Physical properties

    • Types of solids

    • Chemical reactivity: condensation reactions

    • Application: soaps

  • Introduction to Polymers

    • Line-bond structures

    • Polymer characteristics

    • Polymer synthesis

    • Biopolymers

  • Chemistry and Society: Chemicals in our World

    • Natural vs. synthetic chemicals

    •  Pharmaceutical drug development

    • Chemistry and sustainability

    • What do chemists do?