Inorganic Chemistry I
Structure, bonding and reactivity across the periodic table: the history and organization of the table, oxidation states and nomenclature, radial distribution functions, penetration, shielding and Slater's rules, trends and irregularities in radii, ionization energy, electron affinity and electronegativity, relativistic effects, Born–Haber cycles and lattice energies from the Born–Landé and Kapustinskii equations, Fajans' rules, Lewis structures, hypervalence and three-centre bonding, VSEPR, hybridization and Bent's rule, symmetry operations and point groups, character tables and the reduction formula for infrared and Raman activity, molecular orbital theory from H₂⁺ to s–p mixing, heteronuclear diatomics, Walsh diagrams and diborane, aqua ions, Pauling's rules, Lewis acids and the hard–soft acid–base principle, Latimer, Frost and Pourbaix diagrams, and a survey of hydrogen and the s- and p-block elements from the alkali metals to the noble-gas fluorides, ending in a capstone on close packing, unit cells, ionic structure types, Madelung constants, band theory and doped semiconductors.
CHEM-241 Year 2 3 credits 12 lessons · 4 h 47 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Chemistry
This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.
What you'll learn
- Describe the organization of the periodic table into blocks, explain its history from Mendeleev to Moseley, assign oxidation states and name inorganic compounds.
- Use radial distribution functions, penetration and Slater's rules to explain effective nuclear charge, and account for trends and irregularities in radii, ionization energies, electron affinities and electronegativities.
- Construct Born–Haber cycles, calculate lattice energies with the Born–Landé and Kapustinskii equations, and use lattice and hydration energies and Fajans' rules to explain stability, solubility and decomposition trends.
- Draw Lewis structures for main-group species, predict shapes and bond-angle distortions with VSEPR, describe hypervalent bonding without d orbitals, and relate hybridization to bond angles and Bent's rule.
- Identify symmetry elements and operations, assign molecules to point groups, use symmetry to decide polarity and chirality, and verify group properties with matrix representations.
- Use character tables and the reduction formula to find the symmetries of molecular vibrations, predict infrared and Raman activity, and construct symmetry-adapted linear combinations.
- Derive molecular orbitals by the LCAO method, explain s–p mixing and bond orders in diatomics, construct MO diagrams for heteronuclear and polyatomic molecules, and interpret Walsh diagrams and multicentre bonds.
- Explain the acidity of aqua ions and oxoacids with Pauling's rules, classify Lewis acids and bases, and apply the hard–soft acid–base principle to reactions, minerals and biological metal binding.
- Combine reduction potentials correctly, construct and interpret Latimer, Frost and Pourbaix diagrams, predict disproportionation and comproportionation, and relate redox thermodynamics to water stability and metal extraction.
- Describe the chemistry of hydrogen and the elements of groups 1, 2, 13 and 14, explaining hydrides, diagonal relationships, electron deficiency, the inert-pair effect and the allotropes and silicates of group 14.
- Describe the chemistry of the elements of groups 15 to 18, including nitrogen fixation, the oxides and oxoacids of nitrogen and sulfur, ozone, the halogens and the noble-gas compounds, using the principles of the course.
- Describe metallic and ionic crystal structures in terms of close packing and holes, calculate densities, packing fractions and Madelung constants, apply the radius ratio, and explain metals, insulators and doped semiconductors with band theory.
Course content
12 lessons · 4 h 47 min total · final exam
- 1 What inorganic chemistry is: the whole periodic table 25 min · quiz
- 2 Atomic structure: orbitals, shielding and periodic trends 25 min · quiz
- 3 Ionic bonding and lattice energy: the Born–Haber cycle 27 min · quiz
- 4 Covalent bonding I: Lewis structures, VSEPR and valence bond theory 23 min · quiz
- 5 Molecular symmetry and point groups 24 min · quiz
- 6 Character tables and applications of symmetry 23 min · quiz
- 7 Molecular orbital theory: diatomics and polyatomics 23 min · quiz
- 8 Acid–base models: Brønsted, Lewis and hard–soft acids and bases 22 min · quiz
- 9 Redox chemistry: reduction potentials, Latimer and Frost diagrams 22 min · quiz
- 10 Main-group chemistry I: hydrogen, the s-block and the boron and carbon groups 25 min · quiz
- 11 Main-group chemistry II: nitrogen, oxygen, halogen and noble gas groups 22 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: solid-state structures — close packing, unit cells, ionic lattices, band theory and semiconductors 26 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Structure, bonding and reactivity across the periodic table: the history and organization of the table, oxidation states and nomenclature, radial distribution functions, penetration, shielding and Slater's rules, trends and irregularities in radii, ionization energy, electron affinity and electronegativity, relativistic effects, Born–Haber cycles and lattice energies from the Born–Landé and Kapustinskii equations, Fajans' rules, Lewis structures, hypervalence and three-centre bonding, VSEPR, hybridization and Bent's rule, symmetry operations and point groups, character tables and the reduction formula for infrared and Raman activity, molecular orbital theory from H₂⁺ to s–p mixing, heteronuclear diatomics, Walsh diagrams and diborane, aqua ions, Pauling's rules, Lewis acids and the hard–soft acid–base principle, Latimer, Frost and Pourbaix diagrams, and a survey of hydrogen and the s- and p-block elements from the alkali metals to the noble-gas fluorides, ending in a capstone on close packing, unit cells, ionic structure types, Madelung constants, band theory and doped semiconductors.
Part of the Science stream, typically taken in year 2.