GenChem Reviewer (3rd Sem End Term)
low as -9°C.
Lesson 1: Colligative Properties of Solutions
Colligative Properties
• Properties that depend only on the number
of solute particles in solution and not on the
nature of the solid particles.
Vapor Pressure Lowering
• A solute that is nonvolatile (does not have a
measurable vapor pressure), the vapor
pressure of its solution is always less than
that of the pure solvent.
• A substance that evaporates readily is called
volatile.
• The pressure due to the gaseous molecules
of the evaporated liquid.
• EXAMPLE:
• An increase in the pressure on the surface of
a liquid will increase the boiling point of the
liquid.
• More pressure on the surface decreases the
vapor pressure.
Boiling Point Elevation
• The boiling point of the solution minus the
boiling point of the pure solvent.
• The temperature at which the vapor pressure
of a liquid is equal to the atmospheric
pressure.
• If a liquid has a high vapor pressure it means
that the molecules evaporate faster, and it
takes a shorter time to equalize the vapor
pressure of the liquid and the atmospheric
pressure.
• EXAMPLE:
• Adding salt will take slightly longer to boil,
since its boiling point has now been elevated.
This is adding a nonvolatile solute such as
salt toa solvent.
Freezing Point Depression
• The difference in the freezing points of the
solution from the pure solvent.
• As solute is added to a solvent, the freezing
point of the solution will be lowered than the
freezing point of the pure solvent (without the
solute).
• EXAMPLE:
• 1. Extreme Cold Climate in Kazakhstan,
which is located in the Artic Circle.
• The salt that is being added on the roads will
result for the water to not freeze on its normal
freezing point (0°C) instead it lowers to as
• Ice in contact with salty water therefore
melts, creating more liquid water, which
dissolves more salt, thereby causing more
ice to melt, and so on.
• The higher the concentration of dissolved
salt, the lower its overall freezing point.
• 2. De-icing of planes
• A solution such as ethylene glycol, or a less
toxic monopropylene glycol, is used to deice
an aircraft.
Osmotic Pressure
• The pressure needed to prevent osmosis.
Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules
across a selectively permeable membrane
from an area of higher concentration to an
area of lower concentration that allows the
passage of solvent molecules through a
porous membrane from a dilute solution to a
more concentrated one.
Lesson 2: Boiling Point Elevation, Freezing Point
Depression and Molar Mass Calculation
Boiling Point Elevation
• The addition of a nonvolatile solute lowers
the vapor pressure of the solution;
consequently, the temperature must be
raised to restore the vapor pressure of the
solution to the value conforming to the pure
solvent.
Boiling Point
• The temperature at which the vapor pressure
of a liquid is equal to the atmospheric
pressure.
• The boiling point elevation of a solution, ΔTb,
is directly proportional to molality, that is,
• Where Kb is the molal boiling point
elevation constant of the solvent and m is
the molal concentration of the
solution(mol/kg)
Freezing Point Depression
• The freezing point of a substance is the
temperature at which the solid and liquid
forms can coexist indefinitely, at equilibrium.
• Under these conditions molecules pass
between the 2 phases at equal rates
because their escaping tendencies from the
two phases are identical.
 • The difference in temperature between the
freezing point of a pure solvent and that of a
solution.
• The freezing point of a solution is directly
proportional to
• where ΔTf refers to the freezing point
lowering, Kf, the freezing point
depression constant, and m, the molality
of the solution.
• EXAMPLE:
• A solution is prepared by dissolving 2.40 g of
biphenyl,C12H10 (molar mass = 154 g/mol),
in 75.0 g benzene. Find the (a) Boiling point
and (b) Freezing point of the solution.
Lesson 3: First Law of Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
• The scientific study of the interconversion
of heat and other kinds of energy.
• Combustion is a reaction with oxygen.
• In the combustion reaction, the species
reacting with the oxygen is oxidized
(because oxygen is very electronegative).
• Fossil fuels are composed primarily of
hydrocarbons (molecules containing
primarily carbon hydrogen bonds). In these
molecules carbon is in a very reduced state.
• During the combustion reaction, the
hydrocarbon molecules are converted to
carbon dioxide and water.
• Combustion energetics can be estimated
from the bond energies for all the
classifications of fossil fuels.
• The amount of energy released is dependent
on the oxidation state of the carbons in the
hydrocarbon which is related to the
hydrogen/carbon ratio.
First Law of Thermodynamics
• It states that energy cannot be created nor
destroyed, that means that energy is
constant.
• This first law could be considered
"bookkeeping" It states that the energy used
and released in any reaction must be
balanced.
• The energy stored in glucose can also be
released through cellular respiration.
• Chemical energy stored within organic
molecules such as sugars and fats transform
through a series of cellular chemical
reactions into energy within ATP molecules.
Thermodynamic System
• which in the case of chemistry is a reaction,
with the surroundings being everything else.
• All substances have their own stored
chemical potential energy that is released
when reaction takes place.
Endothermic
• Cooler than surroundings
Exothermic
• Hotter than surroundings
Lesson 4: Enthalpy of a Reaction
Enthalpy
• The enthalpy of a system is defined as the
sum of its internal energy (U) plus the
product of its pressure P and volume V: H =
U + PV
• Enthalpy is also a state function. So, we can
define a change in enthalpy: ΔH = Hfinal –
Hinitial
Enthalpies of Reaction:
1. Enthalpy of combustion
• The change in enthalpy that occurs during
combustion reaction.
• Enthalpy changes have been measured for
the combustion of virtually any substance
 that will burn in oxygen; these values are
reported as the enthalpy of combustion per
mole of substance.

2. Enthalpy of fusion
• The enthalpy change that accompanies the
melting (fusion) of 1 mol of a substance.
• The enthalpy change that accompanies the
melting, or fusion of 1 mol of a substance;
these values have been measured for almost
all the elements for most simple compounds.

3. Enthalpy of vaporization Lesson 6: Factors Affecting Rate of Reaction

• The enthalpy change that accompanies the
vaporization of 1 mol of a substance; these
values have also been measured for nearly
all the elements and for most volatile
compounds.

4. Enthalpy of solution
• The change in enthalpy that occurs when a
specified amount of solute dissolves in a
given quantity of solvent.
• The Enthalpy of a Reaction or Delta H can be
given together with a Balanced Chemical
Equation.
• A thermochemical equation is a chemical
equation that includes the enthalpy change
of the reaction.
Lesson 5: Hess's Law
Hess's Law
• When reactants are converted to products,
the change in enthalpy is the same whether
the reaction takes place in one step or in a
series of steps.
• It is based on the fact that because H is a
state function, ΔH depends only on the initial
and final state (that is, only on the nature of
reactants and products).
• Steps in solving enthalpy change:
1. Balance the individual equation.
2. If necessary, look up standard
enthalpies.
3. Flip equations around if necessary to
cancel out terms on opposite sides.
4. Changing the equation around requires a
sign change of the Hof that individual
step.
5. Sum up the individual step.
• EXAMPLE: The standard enthalpy of
formation of carbon monoxide
(CO):C(graphite) + ½ O2(g) → CO(g)
Factors Affecting the Rate of Reaction:
Temperature
• Increasing the temperature will speed up the
rate of reaction.
• Lowering the temperature means decreasing
the reaction rate, this is why foods kept in the
refrigerator last longer as compared to the
foods left at room temperature.
Concentration
• The higher the concentration of the
reactants, the faster the rate of reaction.
• Applying or increasing the pressure in a
given volume of gas, means decreasing the
space or area where gas particles move.
This would result to an increase in a
frequency of collision among particles, thus
increasing the rate of reaction.
Surface Area
• Reacting particles of the same phase
(liquid/liquid) or (gas/gas) have the maximum
opportunity to collide.
• The size of a solid particles, the greater its
surface area that the reaction can take place,
therefore increasing the rate of reaction.
Nature of Reactants
• Not all substances react to form products.
• The rate of reaction of substances differ from
each other because they have different
activity rates.
 • These differences in the rate of reaction is • Particles that lack the necessary kinetic
due to the fact that each substance has a energy may collide, but the particles will
unique structure of ions, atoms, and simply bounce off one another unchanged.
molecules. Collisions can classified as ineffective (not
successful) and effective (successful)
Presence of Catalysts collision.
• A catalyst (positive catalyst) is a substance • Energetic collision leads to product.
that speeds up a chemical reaction without
being chemically changed itself.
• Catalysts that are present in organisms are
called enzymes. There are also catalysts
that inhibit the rate of reaction they are
sometimes called as negative catalysts or
simply known as inhibitors.

Lesson 7: Reactions and Molecular Collisions

• For a reaction to take place, the reacting

molecules must collide with each other. (On
average, there are about 109 collisions per
second).
• The particles must collide with a certain
minimum energy called the activation
energy of the reaction. This converts the
reactants into activated complex, also known
as the transition state.
• The activated complex is a chemical
species with partially broken and partially
formed bonds which possess high energy.
• Any chemical reaction results in the
breaking of some bonds (which requires
energy) and the formation of new ones
(which releases energy).
• Some bonds must be broken before new
ones can be formed. Activation energy is
involved in breaking some of the original
bonds.
• If a collision is relatively gentle, there is
insufficient energy available to initiate the
bond-breaking process, and thus the
particles do not react.
• Once molecules collide they may react
together or they may not, depending on two
factors:
1. The collision must involve enough energy
to produce the reaction; that is, the
collision energy must equal or exceed the
activation energy.
2. The reacting molecules collide in the
proper orientation for new bonds to form
for a collision to lead to overcoming the
energy barrier, the reacting molecules
must have sufficient kinetic energy so
that when they collide the activated
complex can form.