The 2nd midterm average was a 69% and if the course was only based on the first two exams, quizzes 1-4, and labs 24, 25 I, II, and III, TM, 26, and the Thermoquiz here would be the grade breakdown...
In order to get your score add the first two midterm scores together (out of 175 each) and the first 4 quizzes (out of 30 points each).
Then add up all your points from lab #24 (110 points), 25 I/II/III (430 points), TM (110 points), 26 (130 points), and your Thermo lab quiz (40 points) and divide that score by 1350 and multiply by 150. This gives a max of 91.11 points.
Add all these together for a max of 561 points.
The grade cut-offs would be as follows:
517 and up A
491 A-
463 B+
436 B
411 B-
384 C+
362 C
340 C-
318 D+
297 D
lower than 297 E
Currently, the highest grade in the class is a 548/561, which is a 97.7%
Friday, February 26, 2010
Lecture #24, Friday, February 26th
Today I started class with a video outlining how to coat your glass electrode with a TiO2 paste. This technique will be the focus of lab #1 for this week. You will be practicing the technique on standard microscope slides and will then need to prepare a film on your conducting glass by the end of the period. You will also need to fill out a form stating which dye you plan to use for your solar cell. You will need to bring your dye to class with you the second lab period of the week.
I posted a generic procedure for using the doctor blade method to prepare your uniform film, but their are other methods you could use as well, like the one shown in the video in class (it's posted on Carmen for a reference for while you are performing the procedure). Another excellent youtube link, shows how to prepare a solar cell and it is nice because it will show you how to determine which side of your conducting glass you need to deposit the TiO2 paste.
After discussing the lab procedure I started the content from Chapter 12, which is titled Modern Materials. I went over the differences between an isolated, single atom and a molecule and on Monday we will discuss the differences between a molecule and a solid. In each case we need to emphasize and analyze the lowest energy electronic transitions. We will discuss these topics further next week and tie them together with redox chemistry.
Over the weekend I am attending a conference in Pittsburgh. I will not be very accessible to e-mail until Sun evening, so I apologize in advance for not responding as quickly as I normally would.
I posted a generic procedure for using the doctor blade method to prepare your uniform film, but their are other methods you could use as well, like the one shown in the video in class (it's posted on Carmen for a reference for while you are performing the procedure). Another excellent youtube link, shows how to prepare a solar cell and it is nice because it will show you how to determine which side of your conducting glass you need to deposit the TiO2 paste.
After discussing the lab procedure I started the content from Chapter 12, which is titled Modern Materials. I went over the differences between an isolated, single atom and a molecule and on Monday we will discuss the differences between a molecule and a solid. In each case we need to emphasize and analyze the lowest energy electronic transitions. We will discuss these topics further next week and tie them together with redox chemistry.
Over the weekend I am attending a conference in Pittsburgh. I will not be very accessible to e-mail until Sun evening, so I apologize in advance for not responding as quickly as I normally would.
Lecture #23, Wednesday, February 24th
Today I reviewed oxidation/reduction agents and summarized a lecture titled "A Cheap, Efficient and Highly Manufacturable Artificial Photosynthesis," which is posted on Carmen. This talk was given by Dr. Daniel Nocera, who is a faculty member at MIT and is doing some fascinating research. Google him sometime if you are bored to see what he is doing. The talk outlined the global energy crisis and his research is based on trying to figure out the mechanism plants use to convert water to energy and replicate that so we can use water effectively.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Exam #2 Supplemental Informaion
If you noticed, one of the practice exams I posted came from Dr. Hurley and I actually bumped into her today on campus. We discussed some teaching philosophies and she basically convinced me to give you an equation sheet for the second exam. The sheet that you will be handed out will be what is seen here:
https://web.chemistry.ohio-state.edu/~mstoltzf/Exam2supp.pdf
and I also posted it on Carmen in the content section. I guess when it comes down to it, I want you to know what the equations mean and how to manipulate them, rather than memorize them. So sorry to put up the post saying you would not receive any supp. info
https://web.chemistry.ohio-state.edu/~mstoltzf/Exam2supp.pdf
and I also posted it on Carmen in the content section. I guess when it comes down to it, I want you to know what the equations mean and how to manipulate them, rather than memorize them. So sorry to put up the post saying you would not receive any supp. info
Lecture #22, Monday, February 22nd
It's hard to believe that the quarter is already over 2/3 of the way complete and we only have 8 lectures remaining after today :(
Today I finished the main concepts in the electrochemistry unit by going over electrolysis and stoichiometry of electrolytic processes. These concepts are very similar to the ones found in the second day of the electrochemistry lab.
After discussing the electrochemical cells, I then introduced the "Powering the Future: Alt. Energy Sources Solar Cell" lab that I have been referring to throughout the quarter. The youtube video I played in class can be found at the following URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVwzJEhMmD8
and it will be the total emphasis of the next four lab periods. I am currently in the process of putting the lab "procedure" together and it will be posted at some point later tonight or tomorrow. The reason I use the term "procedure" in quotes is because I want this experiment to be as similar as possible to a research experience. In a research experience we do not know the answers we are going to get, but hopefully we can have an educated guess on how to arrive at the correct answer. For some of you this will put you outside of your comfort zone, but in the long run I hope you can look back on this experience and say "That was really useful," and also learn a great deal about chemistry at the same time.
I'm really excited about this portion of the class (not that I wasn't excited about the earlier sections) and I think this lab will turn out well.
Today I finished the main concepts in the electrochemistry unit by going over electrolysis and stoichiometry of electrolytic processes. These concepts are very similar to the ones found in the second day of the electrochemistry lab.
After discussing the electrochemical cells, I then introduced the "Powering the Future: Alt. Energy Sources Solar Cell" lab that I have been referring to throughout the quarter. The youtube video I played in class can be found at the following URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVwzJEhMmD8
and it will be the total emphasis of the next four lab periods. I am currently in the process of putting the lab "procedure" together and it will be posted at some point later tonight or tomorrow. The reason I use the term "procedure" in quotes is because I want this experiment to be as similar as possible to a research experience. In a research experience we do not know the answers we are going to get, but hopefully we can have an educated guess on how to arrive at the correct answer. For some of you this will put you outside of your comfort zone, but in the long run I hope you can look back on this experience and say "That was really useful," and also learn a great deal about chemistry at the same time.
I'm really excited about this portion of the class (not that I wasn't excited about the earlier sections) and I think this lab will turn out well.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Electrochemistry Lab
The point breakdown for the Electrochemistry lab, which is worth 110 points, is as follows:
30 pts: Participation in Lab and completion of the example problems
40 pts: Lab Practical
40 pts: Report Question Quiz on Carmen
The Carmen quiz is currently posted and it will be due on Thursday, Feb. 25th at 11:59 pm.
30 pts: Participation in Lab and completion of the example problems
40 pts: Lab Practical
40 pts: Report Question Quiz on Carmen
The Carmen quiz is currently posted and it will be due on Thursday, Feb. 25th at 11:59 pm.
Exam #2 Content
I just finished writing the second exam. The exam itself is 25 questions worth 175 points (7 points each). The first 12 questions are from the Thermochemistry unit and Thermochemistry lab. The next 10 questions come from the Electrochemistry unit and what we covered in the electrochemistry lab, although Section 20.9 will not be included on this exam, but will definitely be covered on the final. The last three questions come from the transition metal unit and deal with high spin/low spin and the chelate effect.
You will not be given any equations, but all constants, cell potentials, and tehrmodynamic quantities that you will need will be given to you. Let me know if you have any other questions.
You will not be given any equations, but all constants, cell potentials, and tehrmodynamic quantities that you will need will be given to you. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Lecture #20 and #21, Wednesday, February 17th and Friday, February 19th
In these two lectures we have been discussing electrochemistry principles related to the lab and Chapter 20 of the textbook. Thus far, we have covered the content from Sections 20.1 - 20.6 in the textbook. I will finish up this unit on Monday with section 20.9, which is titled electrolysis and this is the content of the second electrochemistry lab period.
For the time being we will skip over section 20.7, which is batteries and fuel cells, but in our energy unit we will come back to it. The next unit will focus on energy and many of the electrochemical principles will resurface.
For the time being we will skip over section 20.7, which is batteries and fuel cells, but in our energy unit we will come back to it. The next unit will focus on energy and many of the electrochemical principles will resurface.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Exam #2 Review Session
The review session for the second exam will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 8:00 pm in 1008 Evans Lab. My review sessions are informal question/answer sessions, so be prepared to ask questions.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Classes Cancelled on Tues
In case you havn't heard, there were no classes on Tuesday :( They will be back in session on Wed. :) Thank goodness we didn't miss any lecture time, especially since the exam is next week.
The class cancellation will have an impact on how the rest of the quarter will be run, particularly the labs. On Carmen I posted a revised schedule and the major changes are as follows:
Mon/Wed Labs: You will finish the electrochemistry lab tomorrow morning and on Monday you will take your quiz at 10:30 am. You will not perform any laboratory experiments on Monday, so enjoy being able to sleep in.
Tues/Thurs Labs: You will complete the first part of the electrochemistry lab on Thurs and finish it next Tues. The quiz will take place at the end of the lab period on Tues.
The Solar Cell labs will be pushed back a day and the Alt. Energy Sources Acticity will be cancelled.
If you still have chemical tests to do for any of the previous labs you will be able to do them in the make-up lab at the end of the quarter.
If you think the stock room may have incorrectly graded a sample, we can test it with teh X-ray fluorescence analyzer during the first day of the Solar Cell lab.
The class cancellation will have an impact on how the rest of the quarter will be run, particularly the labs. On Carmen I posted a revised schedule and the major changes are as follows:
Mon/Wed Labs: You will finish the electrochemistry lab tomorrow morning and on Monday you will take your quiz at 10:30 am. You will not perform any laboratory experiments on Monday, so enjoy being able to sleep in.
Tues/Thurs Labs: You will complete the first part of the electrochemistry lab on Thurs and finish it next Tues. The quiz will take place at the end of the lab period on Tues.
The Solar Cell labs will be pushed back a day and the Alt. Energy Sources Acticity will be cancelled.
If you still have chemical tests to do for any of the previous labs you will be able to do them in the make-up lab at the end of the quarter.
If you think the stock room may have incorrectly graded a sample, we can test it with teh X-ray fluorescence analyzer during the first day of the Solar Cell lab.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thermodynamics Report Question Quiz
After I almost destroyed my computer like this, the Thermo Report Questions are posted under the quiz tab in Carmen. You have 5 attempts available and the quiz will end at midnight on Thursday, February 18th. If you have any questions let me know. Thanks, Dr. Fus
Electrochemistry Homework Set
The Electrochemistry set is posted. You should be able to handle questions 1-11 at this point. If you have been keeping up with the material you should have already completed the Thermochemistry homework set.
Lecture #18, Friday, February 12th
Today we discussed the numerical results of the Thermodynamics lab. I gave a powerpoint presentation, which is posted on Carmen. Remember that chemistry is an experimental science and all the theories and equations were developed from experimental data. Today we discussed why the value we obtained for the entropy change for a process in which a slightly soluble salt dissolved was negative. We also analyzed why the same reaction had a negative enthalpy change.
I gave a brief introduction of galvanic cells and tried to prepare you for next weeks lab.
Class ended with a pop quiz.
I gave a brief introduction of galvanic cells and tried to prepare you for next weeks lab.
Class ended with a pop quiz.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
FREE Scarlet & Gray Financial Appointments
I have a friend who works over at the over at the Student Wellness Center and she asked me to pass on the following information about their financial planning services. The following flyer has information that could be useful in filling out your FAFSA, getting an apartment for next year, or even filing your taxes. Let me know if you have any questions.
Lecture #17, Wednesday, February 10th
So the weather held of and we were very fortunate to have class today :) I began class by discussing some issues we had in the lab in calculating Ksp. One main idea that I want to emphasize to everyone in this class is to "Think like a chemist." Don't simply go through the motions and calculate numbers in the lab. These numbers have meaning and I want you to see the underlying meaning behind them. Chemistry can be so frustrating because students rarely appreciate where the numbers and formulas come from. I want you to see how everything relates together. The solubility chapter overlaps so much with the Thermochem chapter and has many applications in the transition metal unit.
We finished the Thermochem unit by discussing the "Chelate Effect," which takes experimental values obtained in the synthesis of transition metal complexes and relates them to the overall entropy of a particular reaction. This effect is seen in cases where polydentate ligands replace monodentate ligands in transition metal complexes. The "A Closer Look" box on pages 1021-1022 describes this theory into more detail.
The next unit we will discuss is electrochemistry. Electrochemists study and try to manipulate the flow of electrons. This is seen in almost every practical material involving electricity. The main principle I want everyone to keep in the back of their minds is: How can a chemist manipulate the flow of electrons. Once we understand this concept we can then go on to bigger and better problems such as assembling a battery or electrochemical cell to power anything from an electronic device to an automobile.
Songs played before class:
Owl City - Fireflies
All Time Low - Weightless
We finished the Thermochem unit by discussing the "Chelate Effect," which takes experimental values obtained in the synthesis of transition metal complexes and relates them to the overall entropy of a particular reaction. This effect is seen in cases where polydentate ligands replace monodentate ligands in transition metal complexes. The "A Closer Look" box on pages 1021-1022 describes this theory into more detail.
The next unit we will discuss is electrochemistry. Electrochemists study and try to manipulate the flow of electrons. This is seen in almost every practical material involving electricity. The main principle I want everyone to keep in the back of their minds is: How can a chemist manipulate the flow of electrons. Once we understand this concept we can then go on to bigger and better problems such as assembling a battery or electrochemical cell to power anything from an electronic device to an automobile.
Songs played before class:
Owl City - Fireflies
All Time Low - Weightless
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Mastery of Thermodynamics Report Sheet
On Wed/Thurs your TA will have a copy of the REPORT SHEET for the Developing a Mastery of Thermodynamic Relationships lab.
You should have already completed the titration and Ksp calculations for the room temperature trials and you must complete the rest of the report form, with the calculations complete, before you take the quiz.
While you are taking the quiz, I will come in and make copies of your report sheets and put together a statistical analysis of the data collected this week in lab. This will allow us to assess what may have gone wrong in the data collection, and more importantly, why things went wrong.
I am also in the process of putting together a quiz on Carmen for the report questions and will send out an e-mail when I have finished. See you in class tomorrow.
You should have already completed the titration and Ksp calculations for the room temperature trials and you must complete the rest of the report form, with the calculations complete, before you take the quiz.
While you are taking the quiz, I will come in and make copies of your report sheets and put together a statistical analysis of the data collected this week in lab. This will allow us to assess what may have gone wrong in the data collection, and more importantly, why things went wrong.
I am also in the process of putting together a quiz on Carmen for the report questions and will send out an e-mail when I have finished. See you in class tomorrow.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Exam #1 Grades
The exam grades are currently posted up on Carmen. As always, everyone wants to know if the exam is "curved" or what the curve will be in the class. The grades are assigned by a distribution determined by the chemistry department and is out of 1,000 points at the end of the quarter. Up to this point, if we include Quiz #1, #2, and #3, the first exam, and lab #24, 25 I, II, III, and the TM lab there are currently 385.3 points out of 1,000.
In order to determine what your letter grade would be up to this point do the following:
Take your point values from Lab 24, 25 I, II, III, and the Transition Metal lab and add them together. This gives a max of 650. Take this value and divide it by 1350, then multiply it by 250. This gives your lab points up to this point (max. = 120.3)
Take the lab point value + exam #1 score + Quiz #1 score + Quiz #2 score + Quiz #3 score. This will give you your total points to this point. (The max should be 385.3)
Applying the grade distribution the general chemistry department uses gives the following:
354 points and up A
336 and up A-
318 and up B+
300 and up B
282 and up B-
263 and up C+
245 and up C
228 and up C-
210 and up D+
193 and up D
less than 193 will not earn a passing grade.
If you have any questions about this please let me know. Keep in mind that the final exam is worth 250 points and is the most vital component in determining your final letter grade.
In order to determine what your letter grade would be up to this point do the following:
Take your point values from Lab 24, 25 I, II, III, and the Transition Metal lab and add them together. This gives a max of 650. Take this value and divide it by 1350, then multiply it by 250. This gives your lab points up to this point (max. = 120.3)
Take the lab point value + exam #1 score + Quiz #1 score + Quiz #2 score + Quiz #3 score. This will give you your total points to this point. (The max should be 385.3)
Applying the grade distribution the general chemistry department uses gives the following:
354 points and up A
336 and up A-
318 and up B+
300 and up B
282 and up B-
263 and up C+
245 and up C
228 and up C-
210 and up D+
193 and up D
less than 193 will not earn a passing grade.
If you have any questions about this please let me know. Keep in mind that the final exam is worth 250 points and is the most vital component in determining your final letter grade.
Quiz IV Study Guide
To prepare your self for Quiz #4 know the content from the Thermochemistry lab as well as all the questions from the THermochemistry homework set.
Lecture #16, Monday, February 8th
Today's lecture focused mainly on Gibbs Free Energy, which is sections 19.5, 19.6, and 19.7 of the textbook. I would read all three of these sections of the text, and after reading those sections, you should have no problem in completing all of the Thermodynamics homework set.
We will continue with thermodynamics, more specifically the main concepts from the lab on Wed and might be able to start the discussion on electrochemistry on Firday, or at the latest Mon of next week.
We will continue with thermodynamics, more specifically the main concepts from the lab on Wed and might be able to start the discussion on electrochemistry on Firday, or at the latest Mon of next week.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Thermodynamics Lab and Homework Set
The Thermochem lab and homework set are posted on Carmen. I just finished putting the lab together and some of the questions might slightly change, but the general concepts will be the same. I will look it over tomorrow and run off copies for everyone. Try to look it over before lab and your TA will have a hard copy waiting for you to start at the beginning of lab this week. I will see you in class on Monday. Have a great rest of the weekend!
Super Bowl Prediction:
Saints 31
Colts 38
MVP: Peyton Manning
Super Bowl Prediction:
Saints 31
Colts 38
MVP: Peyton Manning
BuckeyeThon Fundraiser Wed. Feb. 10th
On Saturday, February 20th, from noon until 2:00 am BuckeyeThon will be held at the RPAC. BuckeyeThon is a student philanthropy at The Ohio State University. Money raised supports Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Children's Miracle Network. BuckeyeThon's largest fundraiser is a 14 hour dance marathon. During the event, enthusiastic morale captains host activities, games, and challenges for the dancers.
On Wednesday, February 10th from 5:00 pm until 9:00 pm Noodles and Co. will donate 20% of what you spend to BuckeyeThon. Come out for a night of delicious Noodles to support Alpha Xi Delta and Alpha Tau Omegas Buckeyethon group. Just tell them that you are there for AXID, ATO, or BuckeyeThon and a portion of your check will be given to Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Children's Miracle Network.
Lecture #15, Friday, February 5
I started lecture with a demo inspired by the hit TV show mythbusters, in which methane is bubbled through soapy water and is then ignited. A main theme for the duration of the quarter is going to be energy. In the thermodynamics unit we will discuss how to energy relates to the extent of a reaction.
After a brief introduction of thermodynamics on Wed., I discussed what thermodynamics can and can't tell us about a reaction mechanism, and then introduced entropy. We discussed the second law of thermodynamics and I gave some guidelines for the entropy of the universe. We can also associate numerical values with entropy and the third law of thermodynamics allows us to do so by defining the entropy of a pure crystal at 0 K. I also performed an example very similar to what we saw in chapter 5, where we had to calculate the standard entropy of a reaction, which is the exact same method used to calculate the standard enthalpy of a reaction.
In the last 5 minutes I put the Gibbs Free Energy equation on the board because you will need it in lab this week. We will begin our lecture discussion on Monday with free energy.
After a brief introduction of thermodynamics on Wed., I discussed what thermodynamics can and can't tell us about a reaction mechanism, and then introduced entropy. We discussed the second law of thermodynamics and I gave some guidelines for the entropy of the universe. We can also associate numerical values with entropy and the third law of thermodynamics allows us to do so by defining the entropy of a pure crystal at 0 K. I also performed an example very similar to what we saw in chapter 5, where we had to calculate the standard entropy of a reaction, which is the exact same method used to calculate the standard enthalpy of a reaction.
In the last 5 minutes I put the Gibbs Free Energy equation on the board because you will need it in lab this week. We will begin our lecture discussion on Monday with free energy.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Excellent Tutorial Web-Site
I found an excellent tutorial site the other day, which can be found here and it should send you to the link on entropy. It is a great guide and gives useful summaries on topics you may have forgotten from earlier chapters. If you ever find any on-line material useful please let me know as I can take a look at it and if it is useful I can share it with the rest of the class.
Lecture #14, Wednesday, February 3rd
Today I finished the transition metal unit by covering high spin/low spin complexes and we also analyzed the orbital interactions and molecular orbital energies of tetrahedral and square planar molecules (In addition to the octahedral complexes we discussed at length before today). This will allow you to complete all of the old exam questions dealing with the # of unpaired electrons in transition metal complexes and they will be fair game for the second exam.
We are now going to switch gears and move on the the next unit, which is Thermochemistry. I talked about the first Law of Thermodynamics and spontaneous processes today and will continue to discuss thermochem by talking about Entropy in class on Friday.
I hope the exam went well today :) The exam key is now posted on Carmen.
song played before class:
Brad Paisley - Welcome To The Future
We are now going to switch gears and move on the the next unit, which is Thermochemistry. I talked about the first Law of Thermodynamics and spontaneous processes today and will continue to discuss thermochem by talking about Entropy in class on Friday.
I hope the exam went well today :) The exam key is now posted on Carmen.
song played before class:
Brad Paisley - Welcome To The Future
Monday, February 1, 2010
Exam #1 Helpful Hints and Tidbits
The first exam is 25 questions. 15 questions come from the solubility unit and 10 come from the transition metal unit. Each question (regardless of difficulty) is worth 7 points each. So be sure to do the questions you know how to answer first followed by the more challenging ones.
A pdf of the supplemental information can be found here.
Here is what I would focus on for the exam...
Go and redo all of the solubility homework set (or do them again for the first time if you have not completed these problems yet). Then go and start performing the old exam problems based on the solubility problems.
Then go through the quizzes that are posted on-line. There are 3 versions of each quiz and this means that 2 of them you did not have to complete. Go though those questions.
Print off the transition metal lab posted on carmen and redo it from scratch without looking at the sheet you filled out in the lab. Can you reproduce the same answers on your own without looking at your answers. Then look over the transition metal homework set and on to the old exam problems involving transition metal complexes.
*Disclaimer* When we teach 123 there is some flexibility on the topics that are covered in the class. For example, in the transition metal unit if there are old exam questions based on inorganic pigments as part of the transition metal lab unit, then I would not focus on them as much, as they were more applicable for a previous class and not this one.
The same thing goes for memorizing the flow charts for the qualitative analysis scheme. I don't know if I can be any more clearer than this... DO NOT MEMORIZE THE FLOW CHARTS!!! Memorizing them will serve absolutely no purpose for my exam. I want you to know the reasoning behind the reagents used in this lab and not what we use, but why we use it. Similar to the quiz question on which reagent could be used if we ran out of HCl.
Lastly, as I look over the exam my reaction is that it is fair, but tough. If you have completed all the homework problems, done all the practice exams, attended all the labs and completed the lab work, and paid attention in lecture, you will think the exam is definitely fair, but it is challenging. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to complete the example problems over and over and over again. If you have been keeping up with the material then you will be in good shape, but if you have been falling behind, this will be a tough exam.
Let me know if you need anything else and I will see everyone at the review tonight :)
A pdf of the supplemental information can be found here.
Here is what I would focus on for the exam...
Go and redo all of the solubility homework set (or do them again for the first time if you have not completed these problems yet). Then go and start performing the old exam problems based on the solubility problems.
Then go through the quizzes that are posted on-line. There are 3 versions of each quiz and this means that 2 of them you did not have to complete. Go though those questions.
Print off the transition metal lab posted on carmen and redo it from scratch without looking at the sheet you filled out in the lab. Can you reproduce the same answers on your own without looking at your answers. Then look over the transition metal homework set and on to the old exam problems involving transition metal complexes.
*Disclaimer* When we teach 123 there is some flexibility on the topics that are covered in the class. For example, in the transition metal unit if there are old exam questions based on inorganic pigments as part of the transition metal lab unit, then I would not focus on them as much, as they were more applicable for a previous class and not this one.
The same thing goes for memorizing the flow charts for the qualitative analysis scheme. I don't know if I can be any more clearer than this... DO NOT MEMORIZE THE FLOW CHARTS!!! Memorizing them will serve absolutely no purpose for my exam. I want you to know the reasoning behind the reagents used in this lab and not what we use, but why we use it. Similar to the quiz question on which reagent could be used if we ran out of HCl.
Lastly, as I look over the exam my reaction is that it is fair, but tough. If you have completed all the homework problems, done all the practice exams, attended all the labs and completed the lab work, and paid attention in lecture, you will think the exam is definitely fair, but it is challenging. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to complete the example problems over and over and over again. If you have been keeping up with the material then you will be in good shape, but if you have been falling behind, this will be a tough exam.
Let me know if you need anything else and I will see everyone at the review tonight :)
Lectures #12 and #13, Friday, January 29th and Monday, February 1st
The topic of both of these lectures was molecular orbital theory, which is quite possibly the most difficult concept to grasp in general chemistry. I am introducing this topic now, and I will come back to it in our solar cell unit as we discuss various ways to utilize the sun's energy.
When I was lecturing on Friday, I kind of sensed a groan and a frustration in the class as everyone tried to copy down what I was saying and I do not think things were sinking in. So I put together a powerpoint of the key topics we are discussing and hopefully this can drive home the key points I want to emphasize.
Take a look at the powerpoint, which is posted on Carmen, and play around with the animations so you can visualize what is happening at the atomic level. A general theme that should come out as you look through this is that the greater the orbital overlap, the stronger the bonding interaction, and the lower in energy the bonding molecular orbitals (more stable in energy). We can analyze anti-bonding orbitals in the same way. The greater the orbital overlap, the stronger the anit-bonding interaction, the higher in energy the resulting molecular orbitals (less stable in energy).
For the exam on Wed. I will not test you on the nitty gritty details of MO theory, but I do expect you to have a solid foundation on how orbital overlap will allow you to arrange various orbital interactions in order of increasing energy (put orbitals in order from lowest to highest energy).
When I was lecturing on Friday, I kind of sensed a groan and a frustration in the class as everyone tried to copy down what I was saying and I do not think things were sinking in. So I put together a powerpoint of the key topics we are discussing and hopefully this can drive home the key points I want to emphasize.
Take a look at the powerpoint, which is posted on Carmen, and play around with the animations so you can visualize what is happening at the atomic level. A general theme that should come out as you look through this is that the greater the orbital overlap, the stronger the bonding interaction, and the lower in energy the bonding molecular orbitals (more stable in energy). We can analyze anti-bonding orbitals in the same way. The greater the orbital overlap, the stronger the anit-bonding interaction, the higher in energy the resulting molecular orbitals (less stable in energy).
For the exam on Wed. I will not test you on the nitty gritty details of MO theory, but I do expect you to have a solid foundation on how orbital overlap will allow you to arrange various orbital interactions in order of increasing energy (put orbitals in order from lowest to highest energy).
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