C113  STUDY  OBJECTIVES

Chemical Kinetics

 1.  Define the rate of reaction.
 2.  Express the rate of a given reaction in terms of the change in concentration with time of a reactant or a product.
 3.  Calculate the average rate of reaction from given concentration vs. time data.
 4.  Describe all the terms in "the rate equation" and define the order of reaction.
 5.  Apply the isolation method to determine the rate law for a reaction.
 6.  Determine for first-order the concentration of a reactant at any time after the reaction has started, or the time required for a given fraction of the sample to react.
 7.  Determine the half-life of a first-order reaction.
 8.  Describe several ways to distinguish between first-order and second-order reactions.
 9.  Describe three fundamental postulates of the collision theory.
10. Describe the concept of activation energy and show how it explains the variation of reaction rate with temperature.
11. Describe a reaction energy profile, including the activation energy and energy change of reaction.
12. Calculate the activation energy for a reaction when given rate constants at several different temperatures.  Determine the slope of an Arrhenius plot.
13. Describe what is meant by a reaction mechanism and distinguish between an elementary step and a balanced chemical equation.
14. Derive the rate law for a reaction from its proposed mechanism.
15. Describe in general how a catalyst increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed.
 
 

Chemical Equilibrium

1. Describe why chemical equilibrium is referred to as a dynamic equilibrium.
2. Write the equilibrium constant expressions for homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical reactions, given balanced chemical equations.
3. Given Keq for a reaction, calculate the value of Keq for the reverse reaction.
4. Determine an equilibrium constant value, given equilibrium concentrations.
5. Given initial concentrations and the equilibrium concentration of at least one component determine the equilibrium constant.
6. Determine whether a reaction is at equilibrium or not, and if it is not, predict the direction in which a net reaction will occur.
7. Predict the relative extents of several reactions given values of their equilibrium constants.
8. Given Keq and the initial concentrations, calculate the equilibrium concentrations of all components.
9. Use LeChatelier's principle to predict how the equilibrium concentrations of reactants and products are shifted by changes in concentrations of reactants and products, by pressure changes, and by temperature changes.
 
 

Acids and Bases

1. Describe a conjugate acid-base pair according to the Bronsted acid-base theory.
2. Distinguish between a proton, a hydrated hydrogen ion, and a hydronium ion.
3. Write the ion product constant for the autoionization of water, and use it to relate [H+] and [OH-] in aqueous solutions.
4. Describe the pH scale, and calculate pH from a knowledge of [H+] or [OH-].
5. Carry out numerical calculations involving the relationships among [H+], [OH-], pH and pOH.
6. Define the terms strong and weak as they are applied to acids and bases.
7. Calculate the pH of given strong acid and strong base solutions.
8. Explain the relationship between the relative strength of an acid and the strength of its conjugate base.
9. Predict the direction of a given acid-base reaction.
10. Write the acid ionization constant for any weak acid and base ionization constant for any weak base.
11. Calculate the concentrations of H+, A-, and undissociated weak acid HA, given Ka.
12. For a weak base B in water, calculate the concentrations of OH-, H+, BH+, and B, given Kb.
13. Determine the percent ionization of a weak acid and weak base.
14. Given Ka of a weak acid determine Kb of its conjugate base, and vice versa.
15. Calculate the pH of given weak acid and weak base solutions.
16. Write ionic equations for the various stages of ionization of diprotic and polyprotic acids, and predict the relative extent of each stage.
17. Predict the relative strengths of given binary acids and oxoacids.
18. Predict which ions of a given salt will hydrolyze, and predict whether a solution will be acidic, basic, or neutral.
19. Calculate the pH of a given salt solution.
20. Define acids and bases according to the Lewis system.
21. Identify Lewis acids and bases in given chemical equations.
 
 

Acid-Base and Solubility Equilibria

1. Describe the effect of common ions on the percent ionization of weak acids and bases.
2. Calculate the pH of a buffer solution, given the concentrations of weak acid or base and their salts.
3. Describe how to prepare a buffer solution with a specific pH.
4. Write chemical equations for the reactions that occur upon addition of small amounts of strong acid or base to a given buffer..
5. Describe the shape of titration curves for titrations involving a strong acid and a strong base, a weak acid and a strong base, and a strong acid and a weak base.
6. Calculate the pH of a mixture made from a strong acid and a strong base.
7. Write the solubility product expression for an insoluble salt.
8. Calculate the solubility product constant of a salt given its solubility.
9. Calculate the solubility of a salt given its Ksp.
10. Predict whether a precipitate will form when two solutions of salts are mixed.
11. Calculate the solubility of a salt in a solution containing an ion common to that salt.
12. Predict the effect of pH on the solubility of a salt.
13. Write the formation constant expression for a given complex ion.
14. Explain the effect of complex ion formation on the solubility of a salt whose metal ions form complex ions in solution.
15. Calculate the concentration of uncomplexed metal ion in a solution containing its complex ion.
 
 

Entropy, Free Energy and Equilibrium

1. Explain the meaning of the term spontaneous process.
2. Predict, for a given process, whether the entropy of the system increases or decreases.
3. State the second law of thermodynamics.
4. Calculate the standard entropy change for a given reaction using a table of standard absolute entropies.
5. Calculate free energy changes for chemical reactions given a table of standard free energies of formation.
6. Predict, using given DS° and DH° values, at what minimum temperature a reaction will be spontaneous under standard conditions.
7. Calculate DS for phase transitions.
8. Calculate an equilibrium constant from a knowledge of DG°, and vice versa.
 
 

Electrochemistry

1. Review the basic terminology of oxidation-reduction reactions.
2. Balance redox reactions using the ion-electron (half-rxn) method.
3. Diagram an electrochemical cell for given electrodes, labeling the anode, the cathode, the charges on the electrodes, and the directions of electron and ion flows.
4. Calculate the standard emf of a given electrochemical cell.
5. Arrange given redox reagents in order of increasing strength as oxidizing and reducing agents.
6. Predict whether a redox reaction will be spontaneous or nonspontaneous.
7. Calculate DG° and Kc for a redox reaction, given E°cell.
8. Calculate the emf of an electrochemical cell in which the reactants and products are present at nonstandard concentrations.
9. From a knowledge of E and E°, calculate the concentrations of a given ion in a half- cell.
10. Diagram an electrolysis cell, showing the reactions that occur at the anode and cathode.
11. Choose the most likely oxidation and reduction processes to be involved in the electrolysis of a given aqueous solution.
12. Calculate the amount of a substance produced by the flow a given electrical current for a given time, and vice-versa.
 
 

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