Introduction

The information on this page is for Advanced General Chemistry, Chm 118. This is an advanced course in introductory chemistry where we strive to gain an understanding of the ideas of chemistry. It is for students who have reasonable background in chemistry--for instance, AP or A levels, etc.--OR, and perhaps most importantly, EXPRESS A GREAT INTEREST in the course! If you want to take the course, you should. During the semester we will cover the advanced material in a normal one year introductory chemistry course, plus some. We will do this by solving lots of problems, often together, reading papers from the literature that cover information not found in the usual texts, spending more time on topics we don't understand than on those we do--see the syllabus section. It is always great fun! Students finishing this course are waived from both Chm111 and Chm224. To enroll in this course, talk to a member of the chemistry department or obtain permission from the instructor, Mr. Linck.

Messages

•   I have posted a handout giving VOIE for main group and some transition metal atoms. See the table below.1604 21/x/11
•   I have posted my answers to the exam. The points each problem was worth are in the left margin. See me with questions.1620 7/xi/11
•   I have posted a second problem set with many problems from past exams. See the Handouts table.1143 18/x/11

Robert Linck
Office, Ford Hall 311
Phone, X3836
Email, rlinck(at)smith.edu
Office Hours, Tu, 8-11; W, 1-3; Th 10-12; or by appointment.
Review Hours, F, 2-4.

Laboratory, Heather Shafer
Office, Ford Hall 216
Phone, X3363
Email, hshafer(at)smith.edu
Office Hours, M, 10-11; Tu 9:30-10:30

Purpose: Purpose and Style

Advanced General Chemistry is a course specifically designed to give students with a strong background in chemistry a chance to explore somewhat more challenging aspects of chemical science. This does not mean that it is impossibly difficult; we cover mostly topics that are in any general chemistry text, amplifying some of them somewhat. It does mean that we spend less time on topics such as determining the number of moles, stoichiometry, Lewis structures, and other topics that all reasonable chemistry courses cover. We use the time gained by covering topics such as these quite rapidly to spend time on more advanced (and interesting) concepts.

There are some unusual aspects to the style in which Chm 118 is taught. The first: in this course--which is smaller than other introductory chemistry courses at Smith--we spend most of the time discussing chemistry. You will not just sit there, listen, and copy words into your notebook. I won't just walk around and talk. Not that I won't say things, but I will also ask students in the class to prepare to discuss an aspect of the subject, to lead a discussion of it. I will ask lots of questions. We will try to apply reasoning to problems. Learning occurs when YOU do it. And real learning occurs by repetition. We will follow these dicta this semester.

The second: I believe in fundamental reasoning. I want students in this class to get used to figuring out something without simply using magical words: For instance,

Question: "Why is NaCl soluble in water?" Unsatisfactory answer: "Because the bonds are ionic."

Question: "Why is NaCl ionic?" Unsatisfactory answer: "Because the electronegativity of Na and Cl are very different."

Both of these answers simply replace one magic word with another, thereby, as Macbeth says, "It is a tale told by an idiot, ... signifying nothing." We will try to establish a set of guiding principles, based mostly on electrons being attracted to nuclei, but using that mysterious tool of quantum mechanics, that will allow us to figure out chemical phenomena. Our discussions will consume the majority of class meetings.

The third: Our starting point for any subject will be a problem. We will seek ways to apply our knowledge to solve the problem, or to learn where to look to get the knowledge we need to do so. We do not use a book in this course. I will pass out some of the surplus books I have early in the class for you to borrow for the semester to use as a reference source. Others of you can go to the library and check out some text or other. We will look at selected problems, talk about what we might need to know to approach them, then use knowledge you, a book, or I have, to learn what we need to know to understand them in detail. This approach will show you how chemists think and how they work out answers to questions about nature.

The fourth: This course is designed to encourage you to work with others. Not only is this the way that modern science is done, but by discussing and arguing about chemistry, you learn chemistry; and learn it well. I will employ several methods to achieve this goal. (1) You will have a problem or two due each day in class; you may (and should) work with others to do these. (2) Sometimes these will be collected. (3) A third way to achieve cooperation between members of the class is to give take-home quizzes which you can work with others in the class to answer. You are strongly urged to form groups which meet REGULARLY to discuss the daily problems and to work out the answers to these questions. You will be expected to write the answers to examinations on your own, without help from others. Previous classes have found this interaction between students one of the most valuable aspects of the course.

Learning. I have been to a number of workshops over the years that stress that learning is most effective when students are actively engaged. I believe this. I will ask lots of questions in class and I will expect everyone to contribute to the answers. To encourage you to actively participate, I will make a (subjective, admittedly) assessment of your participation. I will also ask each member of the class to present material to the class.

The laboratory: The laboratory portion of the course will accent quantitative laboratory skills, reasoning about observed phenomena, determination of unknown materials, and kinetics. A significant portion of the laboratory periods will be spend on special projects.

Meetings: The course is scheduled to meet three times a week, MWF, 1100-1210, in Bass Hall 210, for discussion, and once a week in laboratory (Mon and Tues) in Ford Hall, 226; students are required to attend all sessions of the course and laboratory. Participation in the class discussions and the laboratory is very important--see below.

The topics we shall cover in 2011 are symmetry reasoning in chemistry; reaction types and how to anticipate products; quantum mechanics and bonding, including atomic structure, ionic interactions, crystal field theory, molecular orbital theory; entropy and its associated concepts; equilibrium, kinetics, and (if we have time) electrochemistry.

Fall, 2011

Reading Topics	Link
On Lewis Structures	Get the pdf file
Symmetry Elements and Operations	Click under "Application" on this page
More on Symmetry	Click on Application at this site.
A Correlation of pKa with Properties	Click here
A Reading on Frost Diagrams	is found here
Frost Diagrams patterns are	here, here, and here
A visual representation of acid strengths is to	be found here
A Table of Electrode Potentials	can be obtained here
All you could ever want to know	about Kapustinskii's equation.
Ionic Radii	are found here.
A Paper on Structure and Ionic Character	is found here.
A list of VOIE	can be obtained here.
A Discussion of the Zero of Crystal Field Theory	is available here.
The Spectrochemical Series in Copper and Nickel Compounds	may be read here.
M.O. Diagrams and	s/p mixing.
Hoffmann's Prediction of Square Planar	Carbon
A Summary of our Discussion of the	18 Electron Rule
Nash on the	Most Probable Distribution
Do you really want to talk about	Disorder?
More on	Entropy
The right way to solve	Equilibrium Problems

Handouts, Answers to Selected Problems, Exam Answers, etc.

Problem Set 1

Problems 180-410.

Answers to Exam 1.

Answers to selected problems.

Answers to Second Exam

Grading in this course depends critically on participation by you, the student, in the classroom discussions. Grades are determined based on 1000 points, distributed among the various assessment methods as follows:

Distribution of Points Among Various Assessment Tools

Quizzes (2)	60 points
Exams(2)	240 points
Final Exam	200 points
Discussion and Problem Sets	300 points
Laboratory	200 points

An assessment will be made each day during class to determine the 'Discussion' points. The quizzes will be relatively simple exercises to help you keep up with the material. The importance of the discussion and laboratory portions of the course cannot be overstated: together they account for 50% of the grade.

Your letter grade in the course will depend on the number of points out of the thousand available that you obtain as follows

(Plus and minus attachments to these letters will occur near the respective limits of the ranges.)

The schedule of examinations and quizzes is given below. Please note the dates now so that you may plan ahead for those weeks of the semester when you have several different courses demanding work. Permission to postpone an examination or quiz will not be given except under exceptional circumstances.

Chemistry 118 is a Smith College course: the Honor Code applies. You may work with other students in the course as you discuss the material or on the take-home quizzes. In this course you may prepare for an examination by finding the answers to the distributed questions with the help of others in the class and you may use written source material, but you may not discuss the examination with students, faculty, tutors, or others not in the class. The actual writing of the examinations must be completely your own work. The Honor Code requires that you keep your eyes on your own paper and that you take reasonable precautions to keep others from reading your paper. If in the laboratory you do an experiment with someone else, your written report of that experiment must say with whom you did the experimental work, but the written work submitted for a grade must be your own unless the instructor indicates otherwise. Before you obtain data from someone else and use it in your own written report, you must ask for permission to do so from the instructor, and must state in the report from whom you obtained the data.