The order of topics for the course is below, as is instructions on how to carry out the assignments. Click on a link below to go to the assignment for that week.
- Week of April 27
- Week of April 20
- Week of April 13
- Week of April 6
- Week of March 30
- Week of March 23
- Week of March 16
- Week of March 2
- Week of Febraury 23
- Week of February 16
- Week of February 9
- Week of February 2
- Week of January 26
- Week of January 19
- Week of January 12
Lecture topics
Here is the schedule of chapters and pages in the texts and the corresponding assigned problems. We will cover the following six broad topics this semester.
- Chemical reactions: ACS Chemistry chapter 6 and the following pages of Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 106–108 of chapter 4 (Lewis structures, formal charge, VSEPR)
- pages 120–123 of chapter 4 (relative AO energies and electronegativity)
- pages 271–275 of chapter 11 (oxidation numbers, balancing redox equations)
- Chemical energetics: ACS Chemistry chapter 7 and the following pages of Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 221–226 of cahpter 9 (language of thermodynamics, heat and work, temperature leveling)
- pages 226–236 of chapter 9 (first law of thermodynamics, enthalpy, bond enthalpies, enthalpies of formation, Hess's law, enthalpies of reaction)
- pages 131–144 of chapter 5 (pressure, ideal gas law, partial pressure, vapor pressure, pressure-volume work)
- Entropy and molecular organization ACS Chemistry chapter 8 and the following pages of Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 237–252 of chapter 10 (energy dispersal, entropy)
- pages 255–258 of chapter 10 (free energy change, spontaneity, equilibrium)
- pages 266–270 of chapter 10 (colligative properties)
- Chemical equilibrium: ACS Chemistry chapter 9 and the following pages of Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 157–165 of chapter 6 (dynamic equilibrium, reaction quotient, equilibrium constant, direction of change)
- pages 166–169 of chapter 6 (approximations in equilibrium calculations)
- pages 182–193 of chapter 7 (pure strong and weak acids, buffers, hydrolysis)
- pages 171–176 of chapter 6 (response to disruption of equilibrium: Le Chatelier's principle)
- pages 259–265 of chapter 10 (equilibrium, Le Chatelier's principle)
- pages 207–213 of chapter 8 (solubility)
- pages 213–220 of chapter 8 (precipitation, effect of common ions and pH on solubility)
- Reduction-oxidation: electrochemistry: ACS Chemistry chapter 10 and the following pages of Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 276–290 of chapter 11 (harnessing electron flow, half-cell potentials, Nernst equation, concentration cells, effect of pH)
- Reaction pathways: ACS Chemistry chapter 11 and the following pages of Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 291–296 of chapter 12 (rate expressions, rate versus concentration)
- pages 297–308 of chapter 12 (concentration versus time, half-life)
- pages 308–310 of chapter 12 (mechanism and rate versus concentration)
- pages 310–317 of chapter 12 (rates and equilibrium, rates and temperature)
- pages 317–320 of chapter 12 (rates and thermodynamics)
How to carry out assignments
Each Monday-Wednesday-Friday class meeting will cover approximately two sections of the text; each Tuesday-Thursday class meeting will cover approximately three sections of the text. You should study carefully the textbook sections and do the problems pertaining to those sections, found at the end of the chapter, before the lecture meeting on those sections.
Read the last sentence again. If you do as it says, you will greatly enhance what you learn in lectures and so speed your progress toward mastery.
Suggested solutions to all problems will be provided below. You can also raise questions about any uncertainties in e-mail messages, in discussion sections, in lecture, at tutoring sessions, and at office hours.
Each week there will be a brief quiz in discussion on the readings and problems. Any problems contained in the assigned material are part of the assignment and should be done.
Week of January 12
Work through your initial ALEKS assessment.
Work through the first four sections of ACS chapter 6 and do all related problems and Web Companion exercises. Suggested solutions to ACS chapter 6 problems are here: 
380 KB / 39 pages.
Related material is Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 106–108 of chapter 4 (Lewis structures, formal charge, VSEPR)
Answers to some student questions about acid base strength are here: 15 KB / 2 pages.
Week of January 19
Complete your initial ALEKS assessment by Wednesday, January 21. Begin working with ALEKS in learning mode.
Work through the first six sections of ACS chapter 6 and do all related problems and Web Companion exercises. Related material is Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 120–123 of chapter 4 (relative AO energies and electronegativity)
Study and analyze in detail ACS Table 6.2 (p. 370), Relative strength of Lewis/Brønsted-Lowry bases and acids. In analyzing Table 6.2, it is helpful to use ACS Table 2.7 (p. 127), Some common oxyacids and their oxyanions.
Week of January 26
Work through the all of ACS chapter 6 and do all related problems and Web Companion exercises. Related material is Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 271–275 of chapter 11 (oxidation numbers, balancing redox equations)
The following tutorial, by Professor Alan Shusterman, Reed College,
http://academic.reed.edu/chemistry/roco/Arrows/curved.html
is an exceptionally clear, structured introduction to "electron pushing" that reinforces what we have been learning, and will further your foundation for future study of organic chemistry.
Week of February 2
Work through the first seven sections of ACS chapter 7 and do all related problems and Web Companion exercises. Suggested solutions to ACS chapter 7 problems are here: 448
KB / 36 pages.
Related material is Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 221–226 of cahpter 9 (language of thermodynamics, heat and work, temperature leveling)
- pages 226–236 of chapter 9 (first law of thermodynamics, enthalpy, bond enthalpies, enthalpies of formation, Hess's law, enthalpies of reaction)
Week of February 9
Work through section 10 ACS chapter 7 and do all related problems and Web Companion exercises.
Related material is Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 131–144 of chapter 5 (pressure, ideal gas law, partial pressure, vapor pressure, pressure-volume work)
- pages 230–232 of chapter 9 (relation between energy change and enthalpy change)
A color version on the figure on page 232 of Dill/3e, showing the relationship between energy change and enthalpy change is
http://quantum.bu.edu/notes/GeneralChemistry/dEVersusdH.pdf
Week of February 16
Complete ACS chapter 7 do all related problems and Web Companion exercises.
Be sure to work through the following problems in Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 137–138 of chapter 5 (recipe for and example ideal gas law problems)
Week of February 23
Work through the first four sections of ACS chapter 8 and do all related problems and Web Companion exercises. Suggested solutions to ACS chapter 8 problems of the text are here: 662
KB / 49 pages.
A crucial concept is that spontaneous change is always due to an increase in the number of arrangements of particles and of energy. To develop this approach, we need to learn how to enumerate these arrangments. How to do this is explained in the related material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 237–252 of chapter 10 (energy dispersal, entropy)
- pages 268–270 of chapter10 (statistical picture of osmotic pressure)
Please work through these pages.
Week of March 2
Work through the first eight sections of ACS chapter 8 and do all related problems and Web Companion exercises.
Related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e is
- pages 255–258 of chapter 10 (free energy change, spontaneity, equilibrium)
- pages 266–270 of chapter 10 (colligative properties)
Week of March 16
Work through the all sections of ACS chapter 8 and elated assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3, iand do all related problems and Web Companion exercises.
Work through the first three sections of ACS chapter 9, and related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e,
- pages 157–165 of chapter 6 (dynamic equilibrium, reaction quotient, equilibrium constant, direction of change)
- pages 166–169 of chapter 6 (approximations in equilibrium calculations)
Suggested solutions to Chapter 9 problems of the text are here: 565 KB / 57 pages.
Week of March 23
Work through the first nine sections of ACS chapter 9, and related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e,
- pages 182–193 of chapter 7 (pure strong and weak acids, buffers, hydrolysis)
- pages 171–176 of chapter 6 (response to disruption of equilibrium: Le Chatelier's principle)
- pages 259–265 of chapter 10 (equilibrium, Le Chatelier's principle)
- pages 207–213 of chapter 8 (solubility)
- pages 213–220 of chapter 8 (precipitation, effect of common ions and pH on solubility)
Week of March 30
Complete ACS chapter 9, and related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e.
Work through the first three sections of ACS chapter 10. For this chapter the related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e is
- pages 276–290 of chapter 11 (harnessing electron flow, half-cell potentials, Nernst equation, concentration cells, effect of pH)
Suggested solutions to Chapter 10 problems of the text are here: 431 KB / 47 pages.
Week of April 6
Continue chapter 10 of ACS Chemistry, and the related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e.
Week of April 13
Complete chapter 10 of ACS Chemistry, and the related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e.
Work through the first three sections of ACS chapter 11, and the following related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 291–296 of chapter 12 (rate expressions, rate versus concentration)
Suggested solutions to Chapter 11 problems of the text are here: 1,368 KB / 55 pages.
Week of April 20
Work through the first eight sections of ACS chapter 11, and the following related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 291–296 of chapter 12 (rate expressions, rate versus concentration)
- pages 297–308 of chapter 12 (concentration versus time, half-life)
- pages 308–310 of chapter 12 (mechanism and rate versus concentration)
Week of April 27
Complete chapter 11 of ACS Chemistry, and the folliwng related assigned material in Notes on General Chemistry/3e:
- pages 310–317 of chapter 12 (rates and equilibrium, rates and temperature)
- pages 317–320 of chapter 12 (rates and thermodynamics)