Chemistry: for

Engineering Students

Chapter 1: Introduction to Chemistry

1.2 The Study of Chemistry
1.3 The Science of Chemistry: Observations and Models
1.4 Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry
1.5 Problem Solving

Jan-15 Chapter-1 1
Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: The Study of Chemistry

Chemistry definition: The Central Science

The macroscopic perspective: The goal of Chemistry is to describe
and investigate the fabric of physical reality, that is, matter, by
characterizing any change in composition and/or energetic variations
experienced by a chunk of matter.

Matter is anything that has mass and can be observed.

It can be readily classified (e.g., Solids, Liquids, Gases)

Matter is characterized in terms of physical and chemical

properties. Many properties of matter can be observed and
measured during physical or chemical processes (changes).

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: The Study of Chemistry
Physical Properties: do not alter the identity of substances
Property Examples Extensive
/Intensive
Temperature 0 ºC for ice and water; 100 ºC for steam and
water.
Mass One € coin weighs 7.50 g.
Physical state Domestic salt is a crystalline solid. Air is a gas.
Volume A tetrabrik pack has a volume of 1.0 L.
Color Elemental sulfur is yellow.
Boiling point Cupper boils at 2570 ºC.
Freezing point Methane freezes at -182 ºC.
Heat capacity A 1.0 g of water absorbs 4.18 J when increasing
its temperature by 1 ºC.
Hardness Diamond is an extremely hard material
Electric Iron is an excellent electric conductor.
conductivity
Thermal Thermal conductivity of glass is rather low
conductivity
Solubility Methane mixes well with water, but oil does not.
Density Cupper density is 8.95 g.mL–1.
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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: The Study of Chemistry

Chemical Properties: they are associated with all types of chemical

changes that alter the identity of matter at the molecular level.

Substance Chemical property

Iron It is a corrosive metal when reacting with oxygen to
give iron oxides.
Carbon It is a fuel that releases heat when reacting with
oxygen.
Silver It darkens when reacting with sulfides to give silver
sulfide. It is a photochemical substance.
Toluene It is a highly flammable solvent (a volatile liquid that
burns easily.)
Nitroglycerin It is an explosive (it decomposes violently to produce
a large amount of gases).
Neon It is a noble gas, chemically inert.
Sulfuric acid It is a strong acid that corrodes the surface of many
kinds of materials.

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: The Study of Chemistry

Chemistry definition: The Central Science

The molecular perspective: The goal of Chemistry is to describe and

investigate the fabric of physical reality, that is, matter, by explaining at
the atomic & molecular level any change and/or energetic variations
experienced by a piece of matter.

Such definition explains well why Chemistry occupies a central position

…but many questions are now open…
What is atomic and molecular structure?
Which changes occur in matter?
How and why matter changes?
What kinds of energy are associated with matter changes?
Which tools can be used to manipulate the molecular structure ….

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: The Study of Chemistry

The molecular perspective is a must!

Molecules are stable atomic sets in which

Matter is made by
atoms are joined by chemical bonds
atoms and molecules
according to a characteristic pattern.

• True understanding of
the physical and
chemical properties of
matter can be achieved
Atomic radii when the macroscopic
from 1 to 5 Å
Atomic Scale and molecular
perspectives of matter
structure and processes
10−10 m = are linked through
1 Å (angstrom) symbolic
representations.
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Chemistry: for Chapter 1: The Science of Chemistry - Models and Observations
Engineering Students

Observations and Models

Chemistry has always been a hard science that relies on
quantitative observations either by experimental
measurements or by computations.

Observations are ideally made on controlled systems.

Chemistry is both an empirical and a theoretical Science.

2.03 g
All measures must be expressed
in terms of significant figures
and units. They involve some
level of uncertainty.
Do Engineers make observations?
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Chemistry: for Chapter 1: The Science of Chemistry - Models and Observations
Engineering Students

Interpreting observations
Accuracy and Precision have their own meaning
in scientific or engineering usage
x
x x xx x
x
x x x
x xx x x

x x x x
x x xx
x
x x
x xx x x
x
x x

Good Precision Good Precision Poor Precision

Poor Accuracy Good Accuracy Poor Accuracy

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Chemistry: for Chapter 1: The Science of Chemistry - Models and Observations
Engineering Students

Interpreting observations
What can we do to build precise and accurate instruments?

Robust design to minimize the effects of

uncontrolled variables
Minimizes
random errors
Temperature changes,
vibrations, humidity, sample impurities, etc.

Careful calibration against accurate

standard references
Minimizes
systematic errors
15.2350g

Analytical
balance

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Chemistry: for Chapter 1: The Science of Chemistry - Models and Observations
Engineering Students

Models in Science

According to the scientific method, all observations must be interpreted

and organized in terms of Models, Theories and ( big) Scientific Laws.

Ideal Gas Thermodynamics

PV=nRT Kinetic Theory Quantum
of Gases
Mechanics
Distinction between models
and theories can be fuzzy

To a large extent, learning Chemistry means learning Chemical

Models and Theories that help us to understand, organize and use
vast amounts of information.

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

International System of Units (SI)

SI Base Units
Fundamental magnitudes Units Symbol
Length meter m

Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s

Current Intensity Amper A

Temperature Kelvin K

Amount of substances Mole mol

Light Intensity Candel cd

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

International System of Units (SI)

1 Å = 10−10 m
Prefixes used in SI
Factor Prefix Symbol Factor Prefix Symbol

10–1 deci- d 10 deca Da

10–2 centi- c 102 hecto- H

10–3 mili- m 103 kilo- K

10–6 micro- µ 106 mega- M

10–9 nano- n 109 giga- G

10–12 pico- p 1012 tera- T

SI is a decimal system
Jan-15 Chapter-1 12
Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

International System of Units (SI)

Derived magnitudes and unit combinations

Derived magnitudes Unit Symbol

Volume Cubic meter m3

Density Kilogram/cubic meter kg·m–3
Force Newton N ≡ kg·m·s–2
Pressure Pascal Pa ≡ N·m–2
Energy Joule J ≡ kg·m2·s–2
Electric charge Coulomb C ≡ A·s

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

Temperature Units

P=1 atm
T ( o C ) = T ( K ) − 273.15
Thermometers
transduce a change Boiling Conversion
of temperature equations
water
into a change of 9
T ( 0 F ) = ·T ( 0 C ) + 32
another observable 5
Body T 100 oF 37.8 oC
physical property. 310 K
68oF 20oC
Ambient T 293 K
Freezing water
0 oF -17.8oC
Empirical Freezing salt 255 K
Scales of +water
Temperature ∆V
∆T Fluid thermometers

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

Numbers and Significant Figures

When writing or handling numbers, we must be aware of the difference

between those numbers that represent exact magnitudes and those that
represent approximate properties and/or measurements.

1, 2, ..., ½, ¾ Integer numbers,

Rational fractions
Examples of
exact (pure) π, e Mathematical constants
numbers
Equivalence
1 kg 4.184 J relationships
,
1000 g 1 cal (by definition)

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

Numbers and Significant Figures

Which are the inexact numbers?

…those that come out originally

from experimental measurements

Assume that you measure the length of a pencil

Units

14.2 cm ≡ 0.142 m ≡ 142 mm

Significant figures
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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

Numbers and Significant Figures

Significant figures: are the figures that can be

considered to be correct in a given measurement.

In the previous example:

3 significant
14.2 cm ≡ 0.142 m ≡ 142 mm figures

Regardless of the adopted units, the “hand

rule” cannot resolve the hundredths of one
centimeter. Therefore, a result like 142.50
X
142.50 mm

mm makes no sense! Wrong!

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students
Chapter 1: Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

Numbers and Significant Figures

Convention of Significant Figures

14.2 14.2 ± 0.1 cm

Scientific hardware (the hand rule in our example) is never perfect so that all
±1
measurements do include a certain amount of instrumental error. Besides
uncertainty
scales or graduation, any scientific device should provide an estimate of the
instrumental error . If an instrument is well designed and calibrated, the
expected error should be below the smallest division of its scale (in the case
of the hand rule, the error would be less than 1 mm)

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures

Example: The mass density of water at 25°C is 0.98 g per mL. Two
child’s swimming pools hold 346 and 125.4 L of water at this
temperature, respectively. What mass of water is in the two pools?
We convert the total volume into mass by applying two ratios (i.e.,
conversion factors)

Volume Unit Density

conversion


( 346 + 125.4 ) L · mL
10 3
 0.98 g H 2 O
·
 1L  1 mL

All quantities are expressed in scientific notation

(use of decimal point, powers of ten)
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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures

How to discriminate the significant figures?

 103 mL  0.98 g H 2 O
(346 + 125.4 )L· ·
 1L  1 mL
approx
exact

Do not depend on experimental determination.

Experiment is the ultimate source of the numerical values

like the density of water and the volume of the pools.

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures
How to count the significant figures?
Simple rules are applied to determine how many significant
figures are contained in an approximate number

 103 mL  0.98 g H 2 O
(346 + 125.4 )L· ·
 1L  1 mL

3 4 2
Zeroes to the left DO NOT COUNT!
(zeroes to the right do count!)

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures
How to count the significant figures?
Scientific notation is absolutely needed to handle
significant figures properly.

6.0221367·1023 Scientific notation

N A =·
1 mol
8
Had we write NA as: !Non Significant!
602213670000000000000000000000
… this would be uneasy and incorrect because all the zeroes
placed at the right are non-significant. In other words, they
Jan-15 merely represent
Chapter-1 totally unknown figures! 22
Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures
How to operate with significant figures?
The output accuracy is limited by that of the least accurate input data
Addition/Substraction

326
Result with
125.4 3 significant figures
451.4 451

Rule: The result must have the same number of digits to

the right of the decimal point as in the term that has the
fewest digits to the right of the decimal point.

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures
How to operate with significant figures?
The output accuracy is limited by that of the least accurate input data
Multiplication/Division
2 2 significant
  figures
103
( 451)· ·( 0.98 )  = (......)
 1 
3

Rule: The number of significant figures in a result must be

the same as the number of significant figures in the factor
with the fewest significant figures.

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures
How to round off numerical results?

Operating with the hand calculator ….

WARNING
451*1000*0.98= 441980.00000 Digits from the
calculator are NOT
significant figures!

Do not forget to round off

and add units!

4.4·105 g H 2O

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures
How to round off numerical results?
The following examples illustrate how to roundoff a result :

Last First non-significant digit

significant
digit
<5
2.571..... 2.57
>5
2.577..... 2.58
=5
2.575..... 2.58
Always round off
2.565..... 2.56 to an even digit!

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Using Ratios and Significant Figures
•Osmium, Os, is the densest metal known so far to man. It has a density of
22.57 g cm-3. Calculate the mass of a spherical Os sample with a 15.0 cm
diameter. What would be the volume occupied by the same mass of water?

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Problem Solving in Chemistry
Conceptual Chemistry Problems
Example: Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide; it is called “dry”
in large part because it goes directly from a solid to a gas
without becoming a liquid under ordinary conditions. Draw
a picture that shows what the carbon dioxide molecules Gas
might look like as a solid and as a gas.

Carbon dioxide CO2

Solid

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Exercises
Focus on Problem Solving
1.82 A student was given two metal cubes that looked similar. One was 1.05
cm on an edge and had a mass of 14.32 g; the other was 2.66 cm on a side
and had a mass of 215.3 g. How can the student determine if these two cubes
of metal are the same material using only the data given?

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Exercises
Focus on Problem Solving
1.7 When we make observations in the laboratory, which perspective of chemistry are
we normally using?
1.8 Which of the following items are matter and which are not? (a) a flash light, (b)
sunlight, (c) an echo, (d) air at sea level, and (e) air at the top of Mount Everest.
1.10 How can a liquid be distinguished from a fine powder? What type of experiment or
observation might be undertaken?
1.13 Label each of the following as either a physical process or a chemical process: (a)
rusting of an iron bridge, (b) melting of ice, (c) burning of a wooden stick, (d) digestion
of a baked potato, (e) dissolving of sugar in water
1.14 Why do physical properties play a role in chemistry if they do not involve any
chemical changes?
1.16 Which part of the following descriptions of a compound or element refers to its
physical properties and which to its chemical properties?
(a) Calcium carbonate is a white solid with a density of 2.71 g/cm3. It reacts readily with
an acid to produce gaseous carbon dioxide.
(b) Gray powdered zinc metal reacts with purple iodine to give a white compound.
1.20 Complete the following statement: Data that have a large random error but
otherwise fall in a narrow range are (a) accurate, (b) precise, or (c) neither.
1.21 Complete the following statement: Data that have a large systematic error can still
be (a) accurate, (b) precise, or (c) neither
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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Exercises
Focus on Problem Solving
1.25 When a scientist looks at an experiment and then predicts the results of other
related experiments, which type of reasoning is she using?
1.40 Superconductors are materials that have no resistance to the flow of electricity,
and they hold great promise in many engineering applications. But to date
superconductivity has only been observed under cryogenic conditions. The highest
temperature at which superconductivity has been observed is 138 K. Convert this
temperature to both °C and °F.
1.43 Express each of the following numbers in scientific notation: (a) 62.13, (b)
0.000414, (c) 0.0000051, (d) 871,000,000, (e) 9100
1.49 A student finds that the mass of an object is 4.131 g and its volume is 7.1 mL.
What density should be reported in g/mL?
1.66 The dimensions of aluminum foil in a box for sale in supermarkets are 60.96 m by
30.48 cm. The mass of the foil is 0.83 kg. If its density is 2.70 g/cm3, then what is the
thickness of the foil in mm?
1.67 Titanium is used in airplane bodies because it is strong and light. It has a density
of 4.55 g/cm3. If a cylinder of titanium is 7.75 cm long and has a mass of 153.2 g,
calculate the diameter of the cylinder. (V =πr2h, where V is the volume of the cylinder, r
is its radius, and h is the height.)

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Chemistry: for
Engineering Students Chapter 1: Exercises
Focus on Problem Solving
1.71 Draw a molecular scale picture to show how a crystal differs from a liquid.
1.74 As computer processor speeds increase, it is necessary for engineers to increase
the number of circuit elements packed into a given area. Individual circuit elements are
often connected using very small copper “wires” deposited directly onto the surface of
the chip. In some current generation processors, these copper interconnects are about
65 nm wide. What mass of copper would be in a 1-mm length of such an interconnect,
assuming a square cross section? The density of copper is 8.96 g/cm3.
1.83 Battery acid has a density of 1.285 g/mL and contains 38.0% sulfuric acid by
mass. Describe how you would determine the mass of pure sulfuric acid in a car
battery, noting which item(s) you would have to measure or look up.
1.85 A solution of ethanol in water has a volume of 54.2 mL and a mass of 49.6 g.
What information would you need to look up and how would you determine the
percentage of ethanol in this solution?
1.88 A calibrated flask was filled to the 25.00-mL mark with ethyl alcohol and it was
found to have a mass of 19.7325 g. In a second experiment, 25.0920 g of metal beads
were put into the container and the flask was again filled to the 25.00-mL mark. The
total mass of the metal plus the alcohol was 43.0725 g. Describe how to determine the
density of the metal sample.

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