
Outline โ Chemistry 101
1) Philosophy of science; Chemistry as science
a) Science (L. scientia) knowledge
i) โScience is the organization of thought.โ โ Alfred North Whitehead
b) Deductive testing of falsifiable theories โ Karl Popper
i) Problem of induction (reasoning from specific to general)
ii) Falsifiability versus verifiability
c) Scientific methods โ
i) Natural Law - summary/generalization of observations
ii) Theory - mechanistic explanation of systems
d) Objectives of Chemistry
i) Recognize patterns in the behavior of different substances.
ii) Develop a model to explain the observed patterns (quantitative if possible).
iii) Develop models that allow the prediction of the behavior of other substances.
2) Physical and chemical properties โ mass, volume, density; Conservation laws
a) Measurement โ accuracy, precision; Metric and SI Units
i) Unit conversions โ English/Metric, prefixes; Applications โ density, dosages
b) Significant figures โ indicating precision
c) Density โ mass per unit of volume
i) Density and specific gravity - floating and sinking
ii) Density calculations โ problem solving
3) Matter and Energy โ classification
a) Mass and Energy Conservation โ mass-energy conservation
b) Classification of matter โ pure and mixture; element and compound
c) Heat flow โ Exothermic, Endothermic
i) Heat flow โ heat does not rise; hot air rises
d) Physical transformations โ phase changes; heat flow
i) Melting/Freezing; Evaporation/Condensation; Sublimation/Deposition
ii) Phase Diagrams โ anomalous density of water; sublimation of dry ice
e) Chemical transformations โ chemical reactions; heat flow
i) Chemical equations โ notation
4) Atomic Theory and the Periodic Table
a) Development of modern model of atoms
i) History โ Dalton, Thompson, Rutherford, Bohr
ii) Modern quantum model of atom
b) Periodic table โ metals, nonmetals, semimetals (metalloids)
i) Atomic Number; Atomic Mass; Mass Number
ii) Ions; Isotopes
5) Chemical Nomenclature
a) Ionic Nomenclature โ simple ions, transition metal ions, polyatomic ions, hydrated salts
b) Covalent Nomenclature โ Inorganic compounds; organic compounds โ simple hydrocarbons, alcohols
6) Stoichiometry โ molar quantities; titration calculations; Limiting reagent determination
a) Molar mass
b) Empirical formula โ by mass ratios
c) Percent mass composition โ elemental analysis
d) Balancing chemical equations
e) General methods โ theoretical yield, percent yield
f) Yield of reactions โ problem solving
g) Titration of acids and bases โ problem solving
h) Limiting reagent determination โ problem solving
Version: 2008 Spring