Chemistry Team 2010-11 Basics Lecture Daniel Sun

xiaodi.daniel.sun@gmail.com

Basics Lecture in Two Pages

Key fundamental concepts:
 Outside of nuclear chemistry, chemistry is the study of the behavior of electrons.
 Everything (atoms, molecules, electrons) likes to do whatever is more energetically
favorable for itself. The keyword is like, not always.

Lewis Dot Diagrams:

Lewis Dot Diagrams tells us:

1. the number of valence electrons surrounding that atom
2. the charge of the entire molecule or a specific part of the molecule
3. where and what the bonds are

Reactions:

Example:
Boron Trichloride + Ammonia

We know that ammonia has already obtained its octet (the eight valence electrons). However,
boron is short by two, so the lone pair will then be shared by the boron and the nitrogen so both
can have the octet.

Parts of the atom:

Proton: A proton carries +1 electric charge, weighs about 1amu, and resides in the nucleus.
Neutron: A neutron carries no net charge (not zero), weighs about 1amu and also resides in the
nucleus.
Electron: An electron carries -1 electric charge, weight is ignorable compared to proton and
neutron and resides outside the nucleus.
Chemistry Team 2010-11 Basics Lecture Daniel Sun
xiaodi.daniel.sun@gmail.com

Periodic table:

Mass Number: The number of protons plus the neutrons.

Atomic Notation:

Stoichiometry:
Stoichiometry is a complicated term for dimensional analysis. It shows up EVERYWHERE, so
you must know how to do it.

Key concepts for stoich:

 Extensive Property: A property which is dependent on how much material is present
such as mass
 Intensive Property: A property which is not dependent on how material is present
such as density.
 Therefore, the ratio of two extensive properties gives you an intensive property, or
otherwise, proportions.
 Think proportions: Because there will always be two oxygens in a carbon dioxide
molecule, the proportion mols oxygen: mols carbon dioxide will always be constant.

Practice Problems for Stoich:

QUESTION 1. Which of the following contains the greatest number of molecules?

(A) 3.00 moles of Carbon dioxide
(B) 2.00 moles of Carbon dioxide
(C) 2.00 moles of Sulfuric acid
(D) 88.0 grams of Carbon dioxide
(E) 98.0 grams of Sulfuric acid