Tutorial Questions for CHME2201: Chemistry for Engineers II

1. In a tabular form, state the various subatomic particles, giving their charge, mass and
location.
2. Determine the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in the following species:
27 3+ 31 3−
a) 13𝐴𝑙 b) 15𝑃 c) 126𝐶
3. Calculate each of the following quantities:
(a) Mass in grams of 0.68 mol of KMnO4
(b) Moles of O atoms in 8.18 g of Ba(NO3)2
(c) Number of O atoms in 7.3x103 g of CaSO4.2H2O
4. Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient and can be obtained from the following fertilizers:
(i) KNO3 (ii) NH4H2PO4 (iii) (NH4)2HPO4
a) Determine the percentage composition of each element in the fertilizers above.
b) State which of the fertilizers would be more efficient to supply the most important plant
nutrient to improve on agricultural yields, if all the fertilizers have the same solubility
(RAM: K = 39, H = 1, N = 14, O = 16, P = 31).
5. Hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells, carries O2 from the lungs to the body’s cells. Iron
(as ferrous ion, Fe2+) makes up 0.33 mass % of hemoglobin. If the molar mass of
hemoglobin is 6.8 x 104 g/mol, how many Fe2+ ions are in one molecule?
6. An accidental acid spillage occurred in an area where a new road had to be constructed. In
the acid spillage, a certain volume of 11.5 mol/dm 3 hydrochloric acid (HCl) was released
into the environment.
a) What can be done to the soils of this area to reduce or remove this acidity before roads
works can begin?
b) 525 g of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolved in 5.25 L was completely used to
neutralize all the acid in the soil. Determine the volume of concentrated HCl that was
released into the environment.
c) What volume of water (in L) could have been poured into the acid spilled environment
in order to reduce the concentration of HCl from 11.5 M to 1 M?
d) Determine the mass of calcium chloride (in g) formed in the reaction between calcium
carbonate and hydrochloric acid in (b).
e) What volume of carbon dioxide (in L) is produced at STP in the reaction between
calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid in (b)?
7. In a cement manufacturing industry, a new brand of cement (molecular weight = 132
g/mol) is produced from the reaction between reactant A (molecular weight = 98 g/mol)

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 and reactant B (molecular weight = 70 g/mol). In one such process, 10 g of the cement was
obtained from the reaction between 16 g of reactant A and 12 g of reactant B.
a) Determine the limiting reagent.
b) Calculate the percentage yield of the cement.
8. Bitumen is used in tarring roads.
(a) What is bitumen?
(b) Give the elemental composition of bitumen.
(c) Why is bitumen used in road construction?
9. Identify and distinguish between all the chemical bonds that exist in and between various
materials useful in science and engineering.
10. In road tarring, gravel (X), sand (Y) and bitumen (Z) are mixed according to the reaction;
X2 + Y + Z  XY + XZ. It is found that:
i) doubling the concentration of gravel doubles the reaction rate and consequently the
duration of the road,
ii) tripling the concentration of sand, doesn’t alter the reaction rate and consequently
the duration of the road and
iii) doubling the concentration of bitumen, the rate of reaction and consequently the
duration of the road quadruples.
a) Determine the rate law for this reaction involving road tarring.
b) Suggest a mechanism for this road tarring that is consistent with the above rate law.
c) Determine the unit of the rate constant of the above reaction given that concentrations
are in moldm-3.
11. a) Explain the following:

i) Dynamic chemical equilibrium

ii) Position of equilibrium
iii) Reversible reaction
b) Give two conditions needed for a system to attain a state of chemical equilibrium
12. Nitrogen and hydrogen are mixed in a molar ratio of 1:3 in the Haber process for the
production of ammonia. The equilibrium is attained at 6000C and 10atm. Given that the
percentage of ammonia in the mixture of gases at equilibrium is 15%, calculate the Kp.
PCl5( g ) PCl3( g ) + Cl2(g) H = +124
13. At 2000C, Kc for the reaction has a numerical
3
value of 8  10 .
a) Write an expression for Kc for this reaction.
b) What are the units of Kc?
c) What is the value of Kc for the reverse reaction at 200 ℃ and what are its units?
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 d) How will the amount of PCl5, PCl3 and Cl2 in equilibrium mixture change if:
i) More PCl5 is added
ii) The pressure is increased
iii) The temperature is increased.
e) What would be the effect on Kc if:
i) More PCl5 is added
ii) The pressure is increased
iii) The temperature is increased.
14. In road construction, various types (acidic, basic and neutral) of soils are encountered.
When the soil is very acidic, soil liming can be done to reduce this acidity. One of such
liming material is calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, which has a solubility product constant
(KSP) value of 2.62 x 10-11 M3. Determine the solubility of calcium hydroxide in:
(a) Water
(b) 0.2 M calcium chloride, CaCl2
(c) As an engineer to be, say whether it is advisable to apply lime using water or calcium
chloride as solvent for better results to be achieved within a short period of time so that
road works can continue.
15. (a) Define radioactivity and state three major radiations emitted during radioactive decay.
(b) Illustrate the behavior of radioactive radiations when they go through an electric field.
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(c)Radioactive fermium Fm decays into the nuclide Z by emitting  - particles and has
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a half life of 7hrs.
i) Define half life.
ii) Give the atomic number and mass number of Z.
iii) Calculate the time required for 1g of Fm to decrease by 0.873 g.
16. In a study of rate of reaction between two different classes of petroleum products, X and
Y to generate first class bitumen (Z) for road tarring according to the reaction
X(aq) + Y(aq) Z(aq), solutions containing different initial concentrations of X
and Y were allowed to react. The time taken for the concentration of bitumen (Z) to reach
a certain level was measured. The results are shown below.

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 INITIAL [X] /moll-1 INITIAL [Y] /moll- TIME TAKEN /
1
s
0.1 0.1 161
0.1 0.2 80
0.1 0.3 54
0.2 0.1 39
0.3 0.1 18
a) Use these result to derive an expression for the reaction in terms of the concentrations of X and
Y.
b) Calculate the value of the rate constant, stating its units
17. During reconstruction of the Statue of Liberty, Teflon spacers were placed between the
iron skeleton and the copper plates that cover the statue. What purpose do these spacers
serve?
18. Why do steel bridge-supports rust at the waterline but not above or below it?
19. Which of the following metals are suitable for use as sacrificial anodes to protect against
corrosion of underground iron (EƟ = -0 .44 V) pipes? If any are not suitable, explain why:
(a) Aluminum: EƟ (aluminum) = -1 .66 V
(b) Magnesium: EƟ (magnesium) = -2 .37 V
(c) Sodium: EƟ (sodium) = -2 .71 V
(d) Lead: EƟ (lead) = -0.13 V
(e) Nickel: EƟ (nickel) = -0.25 V
(f) Zinc: EƟ (zinc) = -0.76 V
(g) Chromium: EƟ (chromium) = -0 .7 4 V