Molecules Around Us Information Form

● READ all of the information on pages 2-4 for additional instructions, information and advice.
● Download this form and type in your answers.
● Save your final document as a single .pdf file and upload it to D2L. Marks will be deducted if it is not
in .pdf format. Do not include the additional information pages as part of your document.
Name and student number: ________________________________________________________

Basic IUPAC Name

Information
CAS Number

Cost for 100 g

Synonym(s)

Physical Molecular Formula

Properties
Structural Formula

Melting Point (°C)

Boiling Point (°C)

Density (g cm-3)

Hazardous Adverse biological

Properties activity? (e.g., is the
compound a carcinogen,
teratogen, mutagen,
lachrymator, etc.)

Other hazardous
properties? (e.g., is it
extremely flammable?
Pyrophoric? Easily
detonated?

References (where did this information come from)? Use another page if you need more space.
General Instructions:
 Pick a molecular compound. A molecular compound is a substance composed of identical molecules
which are composed of atoms from more than one element held together by covalent bonds.
 A 33.33 % deduction (1 mark out of a total of 3 marks) will occur if you select a substance that is not a
molecular compound.
 Please do not email your instructor or TA to ask if your molecular compound is ‘okay’ or to have them
approve of your choice.
 Be creative. Picking really common substances (e.g. water, caffeine, vitamin C, acetic acid,
theobromine (chocolate), etc.) may result in a loss of marks allocated to creativity and originality in
part 3 of the project.
 If you have questions, you should post them in the Molecules Around Us - Information Form forum in
the Discussions area of D2L. Do not email your instructor. If you really prefer to send an email, then
you should contact your TA. TA contact info will be posted in D2L.
 Do not leave any blank boxes on your form! If, after checking all the available resources, you really
can’t find the information, or the information is not available, then state that on the form by writing
‘not available’ or ‘none’ in the appropriate box. Leaving a box blank will result in a loss of marks.
 The form and list of references should not exceed two pages.
Tips on Finding Different Types of Chemical Information
The guide below suggests a starting point online for each portion of the information form. All compounds will
be different; your information may be in the first place you look, or you may need to check several sources
before you find what you need.

Basic information Section

The following resources will be helpful in finding information about your molecular compound:
 PubChem website (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) PubChem has a great deal of information so
you may have to spend some time scrolling and exploring links.
 Sigma-Aldrich catalog online. (https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/CA/en) Sigma-Aldrich is a chemical
retailer and should provide some basics, including cost. Sigma and Aldrich are companies with a history
of printing useful reference books, and most of this information has been synthesized into their site.
Look for physical properties and safety information in the safety data sheet (SDS) while you're there.
 Chemicalbook.com
 Chemnetbase.com

IUPAC name: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) name uses the official rules for
chemistry nomenclature and may be different than the common name. For example, the IUPAC name for
vitamin C is (2R)-2-[(1S)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl]-3,4-dihydroxy-2H-furan-5-one.
CAS number: A Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number is assigned to a substance when it enters
the CAS registry database. Numbers are assigned in sequential order to unique, new substances identified by
CAS scientists for inclusion in the database.
Cost for 100 g: Not all substances will have a price per 100 g so you may have to do some math to convert to a
cost per 100 g.
Synonyms: Some compounds have many different names. List no more than five (5) synonyms.

Physical Properties Section

Information, such as molecular formula, boiling point, etc., might be available in hundreds of places if the
compound is simple, common, or useful. You should try to verify anything you find in Wikipedia or an
unfamiliar source by checking multiple sources. You'll also find that a lot of this information is copied and
pasted throughout hundreds of websites. It's important to understand that the availability of information will
be different for every compound. For some compounds all the information you need may be found on one
site. For other compounds, you may need to visit multiple sites. You can't count on the goodness of
Wikipedia users to compile information like this for you. This is where professional reference sources come in
handy. They are quick to search and contain a wealth of data.
Molecular formula: A chemical formula that shows the actual number of atoms of each element in a molecule
of a compound. For example, the molecular formula for vitamin C is C6H8O6.

Structural formula: A structural formula shows how the atoms in a molecule are connected or bonded to each
other. No drawing by hand or copying figures from the internet. Use a structure drawing program such as
ChemDraw or ACD Chemsketch (free version) to build your molecule and insert the image into the appropriate
space. Molview.org is an online structure building site that may also suit your needs. Learning to use these
structure drawing programs now will benefit you later in your program!

Melting point, boiling point, and density: different sources may report different values. It doesn’t matter
which value you pick, but make sure to reference your source. In some cases, a range of temperature may be
listed instead of a specific value. It is okay to list a range.

Hazardous properties Section

Hazard and safety information is usually easy to find. It's in everyone's best interest to make this information
widely available and standardize its format for easy reading. You may use point form or bullet points for the
adverse biological activity (see definition below) and other hazardous properties boxes.
Starting point: An SDS (Safety Data Sheet) for your compound. Sigma-Aldrich or PubChem would be good
places to look.

Adverse Biological activity: biological activity or pharmacological activity that has adverse or negative effects
on living matter.

If your compound does not have any adverse biological activity or other hazardous properties then make sure
to state so. Do not leave blank boxes!

References Section
The sciences generally do not use the common referencing formats (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago) that you may be
used to. For chemistry, a common referencing style is the one published by the American Chemical Society
(ACS). The ACS Style Quick Guide (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsguide.40303) has examples for
common sources.
References should be indicated by numerical superscripts or numbers in parentheses and then listed in
numerical order at the end of the form in the References section. For example,

 Oscillation in the reaction of benzaldehyde with oxygen was reported previously.1

 Oscillation in the reaction of benzaldehyde with oxygen was reported previously (1).

1. Mawhinney, R. C.; Muchall, H. M.; Peslherbe, G. H. A Computational Study of the 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition
Reaction Mechanism for Nitrilimines. Can. J. Chem. 2005, 83 (9), 1615-1625.

While Wikipedia is a valuable source of information and may be a good starting point for your research, you
should avoid using it as a reference source.