CHM1011 Module description.pdf
| Staff | Prof. Graham Leggett |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Scientific method |
| Aims | To enable students to understand how scientific knowledge grows. |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of this component, students will be able to: |
| • Recognise what is meant by verification | |
| • Recognise what is meant by induction | |
| • Explain why scientific hypotheses cannot be verified | |
| • Explain how scientific knowledge can grow through deductive reasoning | |
| • Explain the difference between proof and corroboration | |
| • Understand the role played by falsification in the context of scientific knowledge | |
| • Recognise the limits of scientific enquiry | |
| • Reflect upon the extent to which scientific knowledge can inform ethical and societal decisions | |
| Topics | • What is science? |
| • Can we know that a theory is true? | |
| • Conjecture and Refutation | |
| • Corroboration: how a theory "shows its mettle" ● What can science tell us, and what can't it tell us? | |
| • Science in society | |
| Reference Material | Required material will be provided in the lectures. Additionally, five recordings covering the same material will be made available to students. |
| A useful resource: "Study and communication skills for the chemical sciences" by Overton (available in the library as a book and an e-book). | |
| Activities | • Two lectures |
| • A short essay | |
| Teaching synopses | Lecture 1 |
| The search for certainty; the problem of induction Falsification; conjecture and refutation. | |
| Lecture 2 | |
| How knowledge grows. | |
| The limits of science; science and moral choices. | |
| Science in society; the climate crisis. |
| Staff | Prof. Anthony J. H. M. Meijer |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Atomic structure and periodicity |
Session 1: Introduction
Introduction into course material, teaching software, and links with A-level content. Formation of the elements.
Session 2: Office hours/Self-study time
Session 3: Workshop
Classical Mechanics and its breakdown. Atomic Theory. Wave nature of electromagnetic radiation. Photons and quantisation. Spectroscopy.
Session 4: Workshop
Line spectra and Energy levels of the hydrogen atom. The Rydberg equation. Stellar Spectroscopy. The Bohr Atom. Wave properties of the electron. Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The |
| Aims | To equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to interpret atomic spectra and atomic structure in terms of orbitals |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of this component, students will be able to:
• Discuss and apply models of atomic electronic structure and atomic spectra, including their basis in the wave theory of the electron. |
| Topics | • The classical picture of the atom
• Electromagnetic radiation and quantisation
• Atomic spectra and the bohr atom
• The nature of the electron
• Wavefunctions and atomic orbitals
• Many-electron atoms
• Atomic properties and periodicity
• Radioactivity |
| Reference Material | .
Primary:
A. Burrows et al., Chemistry3, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021; chapter 3.
Auxiliary:
P. Atkins and J. de Paula, Physical Chemistry, 11th Edition |
| Activities | • Eight F2F sessions
• Tutorial problems (formatively assessed)
|
| Teaching synopses | ession 1: Introduction
Introduction into course material, teaching software, and links with A-level content. Formation of the elements.
Session 2: Office hours/Self-study time
Session 3: Workshop
Classical Mechanics and its breakdown. Atomic Theory. Wave nature of electromagnetic radiation. Photons and quantisation. Spectroscopy.
Session 4: Workshop
Line spectra and Energy levels of the hydrogen atom. The Rydberg equation. Stellar Spectroscopy. The Bohr Atom. Wave properties of the electron. Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The |
| Staff | Dr J. Grant Hill |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Diatomic molecules |
| Aims | To equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to interpret bonding in simple molecules. |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of this component, students will be able to: |
| ● Discuss and apply models of chemical bonds (such as the Lewis model, valence bond & molecular orbital theory) including their strengths and weaknesses for a range of diatomic molecules. | |
| Topics | • Features of diatomic molecules (bond lengths/dissociation energies) |
| • Non-covalent interactions | |
| • The Lewis model | |
| • Electronegativity and bond polarity | |
| • Valence bond theory | |
| • Molecular orbital theory | |
| • Homonuclear diatomics - combinations of p orbitals and s-p mixing | |
| • Heteronuclear diatomics | |
| Reference Material | Primary: |
| A. Burrows et al., Chemistry3, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021; chapter 4. | |
| Extra material: | |
| M.J. Winter, Chemical Bonding, Oxford Chemistry Primers, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2016. | |
| Activities | • Five lectures |
| • Short accompanying videos (on Blackboard) | |
| • Interactive workshop with accompanying video | |
| • Tutorial problems (formatively assessed) | |
| • Additional formative problems (on Blackboard) | |
| Teaching synopses | Lecture 1 |
| Features of diatomic molecules, contrast to non-covalent interactions. The Lewis model and the octet rule. | |
| Lecture 2 | |
| Electronegativity and bond polarity. Use of electronegativity to estimate dissociation energies. Valence bond theory for homonuclear diatomics, including hybridisation. | |
| Lecture 3 | |
| Valence bond theory for heteronuclear diatomics and resonance structures. An introduction to molecular orbital theory, with MOs represented as the linear combination of atomic orbitals. | |
| Lecture 4 | |
| MO energy level diagrams and bond order. Combining p orbitals. At the end of this lecture, students will be asked to watch a video (via Blackboard) on constructing MO energy level diagrams from elements with p electrons. | |
| Interactive workshop | |
| In this workshop, students will construct their own energy level diagrams for the MOs of homonuclear diatomics. There will be a question and answer session. | |
| Lecture 5 | |
| Adapting MO diagrams to explain the bonding in heteronuclear diatomics. Factors affecting orbital interactions. |
| Staff | Prof. Lee Brammer |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Acids and bases |
| Aims | To introduce, reinforce and apply fundamental concepts of acidity and basicity. |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of this component, students will be able to: |
| ● Discuss concepts of Brønsted-Lowry acids and bases, apply these concepts to interpreting acid-base titrations and buffer solutions, describe the behaviour of oxoacids (including polyacids), and use the Lewis model of acids and bases. | |
| Topics | TOPIC 1 |
| • Brønsted-Lowry acids and bases | |
| • The strengths of acids and bases (pH, pKa, pKb) TOPIC 2 | |
| • Buffer solutions TOPIC 3 | |
| • Acid-base titrations and indicators TOPIC 4 | |
| • Oxoacids, including polybasic acids | |
| • Acidic and basic oxides TOPIC 5 | |
| • Lewis acids and bases | |
| Reference Material | Primary: |
| A. Burrows et al., Chemistry3, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021; Ch. 7. | |
| Activities | • Four lectures |
| • Additional (formative) problems | |
| • Tutorial problems (formatively assessed) | |
| Teaching synopses | Lecture 1-2 |
| Brønsted-Lowry acids and bases. The strengths of acids and bases (pH, pKa, pKb). | |
| Lecture 2-3 | |
| Buffer solutions. Acid-base titrations and indicators. | |
| Lecture 4 | |
| Oxoacids, including polybasic acids. Acidic and basic oxides. Lewis acids and bases. | |
| Workshop | |
| Workshop on problem solving examples. |
| Staff | Dr J. Grant Hill |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Polyatomic molecules |
| Aims | To expand models of chemical structure and bonding to molecules consisting of more than two atoms, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of each model. |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of this component, students will be able to: |
| ● Discuss and apply models and theories of structure and bonding to polyatomic molecules. | |
| Topics | • Representations of molecule structures |
| • The Lewis model | |
| • Bond polarity | |
| • VSEPR | |
| • Valence bond theory for polyatomic molecules | |
| • Molecular orbital theory for polyatomic molecules | |
| Reference Material | Primary: |
| A. Burrows et al., Chemistry3, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021; chapter 5. | |
| Extra material: | |
| M.J. Winter, Chemical Bonding, Oxford Chemistry Primers, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2016. | |
| Activities | • Four lectures |
| • Short accompanying videos (on Blackboard) | |
| • Interactive workshop with accompanying video | |
| • Tutorial problems (formatively assessed) | |
| • Additional formative problems (on Blackboard) | |
| Teaching synopses | Lecture 3 |
| Resonance in polyatomic molecules. Hypervalent compounds. | |
| Molecular orbital (MO) approaches for bonding in polyatomic | |
| molecules. | |
| Lecture 4 | |
| Partial MO schemes. MOs for simple hydrocarbons and carbonyls. |
| Staff | Prof. Lee Brammer |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Introduction to the Solid State |
| Aims | To provide an introduction to structures of materials in the solid state and equip students with the skills to interpret these structures. |
| The lectures and problems will also lay the groundwork for courses in subsequent years in which important classes of solid-state materials are discussed along with their technologically important properties and the important role played by crystallography in the determination of molecular and crystal structures. | |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of this component, students will be able to: |
| ● Discuss and apply models to describe and interpret solid-state structures, including calculating geometric information and lattice energies | |
| Topics | TOPIC 1 |
| • Types of solid | |
| • Periodic structures, lattices and unit cells TOPIC 2 | |
| • Principles of close packing - relationship to lattices & unitcells | |
| • Molecular, covalent and ionic structures – relationship to close packing TOPIC 3 | |
| • Structures of common binary and ternary (ionic) solids. TOPIC 4 | |
| • Periodic trends in atomic size | |
| • Radius ratio rule - understanding structures of ionic solids | |
| • Lattice enthalpies, Born-Haber cycles, Born-Landé equation | |
| Reference Material | Primary: |
| A. Burrows et al., Chemistry3, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021; Ch. 6. | |
| Extra material: | |
| M. Weller et al., Inorganic Chemistry, 7th Ed., Oxford University Press, 2018; Ch. 4. | |
| A.F. Wells, Structural Inorganic Chemistry, 5th Ed., Oxford | |
| University Press, 1984. (Excellent reference book for inorganic structures). | |
| Activities | • Four lectures |
| • Additional (formative) problems | |
| • Tutorial problems (formatively assessed) | |
| Teaching synopses | Lecture 1 |
| Introduction to solid state. Periodicity, lattices and unit cells. | |
| Lecture 2 | |
| Principles of close packing | |
| Lecture 3 | |
| Structures of common binary and ternary (ionic) solids. | |
| Lecture 4 | |
| Lattice enthalpies, Born-Haber cycles, Born-Landé equation. | |
| Workshop | |
| Workshop on problem solving examples. |
| Staff | Prof. Nick Williams |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Introduction to Organic Chemistry: Structure and Mechanism |
| Aims | To introduce the language of organic chemistry so that representations of structures can be used and interpreted usefully, and to establish how to represent mechanisms using curly arrows and reactive intermediates. |
| To describe the principles of stereochemistry and isomerism in organic chemistry and to introduce the chemistry of carbonyl compounds. | |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of this component, students will be able to: |
| • Represent organic molecules accurately | |
| • Identify and categorise isomerism in organic compounds | |
| • Predict in principle the differences in chemical and physical properties between different types of isomers | |
| • Propose reaction mechanisms using curly arrows and reactive intermediates | |
| Topics | • The scope of organic chemistry |
| • Structural representation and interpretation | |
| • Nomenclature in organic chemistry | |
| • Types of isomerism | |
| • Reactive intermediates and the factors that influence stability of organic compounds | |
| • Drawing curly arrow mechanisms | |
| • Aromatic organic compounds and their substitution reactions | |
| • Introduction to carbonyl compounds, properties and reactivity. | |
| • Introduction to carboxylic acids and their derivatives | |
| • Interconversion of carboxylic acids and derivatives, their interconversion and reactivity. | |
| Reference Material | Primary: |
| A. Burrows et al., Chemistry3, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021; chapters 2, 18, 19, 22, 23 and 24. | |
| Secondary: | |
| J. Clayden et al., Organic Chemistry, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2012; chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, 16, 21 and 22. | |
| Activities | • Twelve lectures |
| • Two interactive workshops | |
| • Explanatory videos (on Blackboard) | |
| • Tutorial problems (formatively assessed) | |
| • Additional formative problems (on Blackboard) | |
| Teaching synopses | Lecture 1 |
| Why study organic chemistry? Nomenclature, drawing structures, and identifying functional groups. | |
| Lecture 2-3 | |
| Types of isomerism, particularly in organic compounds, and the related nomenclature for stereogenic centres. | |
| Lecture 3-4 | |
| Identifying the relationships between stereoisomers, and between diastereotopic and enantiotopic substituents. | |
| Workshop 1 | |
| Isomer workshop - putting the concepts into practise. | |
| Lecture 5 | |
| Bonding and stability in organic compounds, including recognising aromatic systems and interpreting their properties. | |
| Lecture 6 | |
| Anions, cations and radicals and the factors that influence their stability – induction, hyperconjugation and delocalisation. | |
| Lecture 7 | |
| The acidity and basicity of organic compounds.**Teaching synopses | |
| Lecture 8** | |
| Using curly arrows to describe reaction pathways, particularly involving nucleophiles and electrophiles in polar reactions: electrophilic aromatic substitution. | |
| Lecture 9 | |
| Introduction to carbonyl compounds. Oxidation levels of organic compounds. Nomenclature, physical/structural properties and syntheses of aldehydes and ketones. | |
| Lecture 10 | |
| Nucleophilic addition reactions of aldehydes and ketones. Molecular orbital and stereochemical consideration. Reactions of the carbonyl bond with negatively charged nucleophiles. | |
| Lecture 11 | |
| Nucleophilic addition reactions of carbonyl compounds with neutral nucleophiles. Introduction to acid and base catalysis in carbonyl chemistry. Formation of hydrates, hemiacetals and acetals. | |
| Lecture 12 | |
| Nomenclature of carboxylic acids and their derivatives. Synthesis of carboxylic acids. Nucleophilic substitution compared with nucleophilic addition. What makes a good leaving group? Relationship to pKa. | |
| Workshop 2Proposing plausible mechanisms. |
| Staff | Prof. Nick Turner and Dr Peter Portius |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Analytical chemistry, separations and spectroscopy |
| Aims | To equip students with the knowledge of essential principles and the physical basis of analytical chemistry and separation science and skills necessary to interpret data from basic modern spectroscopic and related techniques. |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of this component, students will be able to: |
| • explain the purpose of analytical chemistry and process of selecting and performing an analysis | |
| • explain the chemical basis of separation techniques and apply them to propose appropriate methods of separating mixtures | |
| • analyse and interpret chromatographic data to determine the concentration of an analyte | |
| • derive chemically relevant information from spectral and related data | |
| • identify unknown compounds from spectral data | |
| Topics | • introduction to analytical chemistry |
| • sampling, statistics and errors | |
| • solvent extraction | |
| • distillation | |
| • chromatography | |
| • analysis of chromatographic data | |
| • determination of composition and structure | |
| • microanalysis | |
| • infrared spectroscopy | |
| • nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, 1H and 13C nuclei | |
| • ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy | |
| • mass spectrometry | |
| Reference Material | Primary: |
| A. Burrows et al., Chemistry3, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021. Chapters 10-12. | |
| Extra material: | |
| S. Duckett et al., Foundations of Molecular Structure | |
| Determination, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2015. | |
| Activities | • 14 lectures |
| • 4 interactive workshops | |
| • tutorial problems (feedback by formative assessment) | |
| • additional problems and multiple-choice quizzes on Blackboard | |
| Revision workshop | |
| Teaching synopses | Lecture 1 |
| Component overview and introduction to analytical chemistry. What is analytical chemistry and why do we need it? Qualitative and quantitative analysis. The process of analysis. | |
| Lecture 2 | |
| Sampling. Sampling considerations. Accuracy and precision. Summary of key descriptive statistics principles in context to analytical chemistry. Example calculations. | |
| Lecture 3 | |
| Separation science. Why do we need to separate mixtures? Types of separation. Solvent extraction including partition coefficients, extraction efficiency, pH effects, and solvent choice. | |
| Lecture 4 | |
| Distillation. Standard and vacuum distillation. Clausis-Clapeyron equation. Raoult’s law and fractional distillation. | |
| Workshop 1 | |
| Exercises on statistics, determination of error in context to analytical chemistry; and applications of principles of solvent extraction and distillation. | |
| Lecture 5 | |
| Chromatography. Types of chromatography and stationary phases. Principles of partition chromatography. Thin layer chromatography. Retention factors. Van Deetmer Equation. Column chromatography. | |
| Lecture 6 | |
| Analytical chromatography. Retention times and relative retention. Gas chromatography (GC) and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Effect of stationary phase. Separation of diastereomers and enantiomers. | |
| Lecture 7 | |
| Quantification of chromatographic data. Response factor. Calibration curves. Internal standards. Determination of concentration by interpolation. | |
| Workshop 2 | |
| Exercises on separation of mixtures by chromatography including determination of analyte concentrations from chromatographic data. | |
| Lecture 8 | |
| Revision of CHN analyses, empirical formulae of molecules. Mass spectrometry is introduced. The consequences of the isotope is examined for molecules containing bromine or one/two chlorine atoms. | |
| Lecture 9 | |
| This lecture also introduces electronic spectroscopy and introduces the idea of quantization with respect to the various energy levels and describes the relationship between energy, wavelength and frequency (with respect to various spectroscopic | |
| techniques). | |
| Lecture 10 | |
| The concept of the frontier orbitals (HOMO, LUMO) is introduced. The relative energies of n-π* and π-π* transitions are examined and the dependence of absorption on the degree of conjugation is discussed. The Beer-Lambert law is used to explain how absorption coefficients can help differentiate between n-π* and π-π* transitions. | |
| Lecture 11 | |
| This lecture introduces infra-red spectroscopy. Molecular vibrations and force constants are discussed for diatomic, triatomic and, to a limited extent, tetraatomic molecules. The interpretation of spectra with respect to the key molecular motions within functional groups is explained. | |
| Workshop 3 | |
| Exercises on mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy and UV/vis spectroscopy. | |
| Lecture 12 | |
| The fifth lecture introduces NMR spectroscopy. The interaction of the nuclear spin with a magnetic field is described. The concepts of shielding, deshielding and chemical shift are introduced. | |
| Lecture 13 | |
| Factors influencing chemical shift are explored. These include electronegativity and delocalisation (aromatics). The application and importance of peak integration is also discussed. Coupling constants are examined and how the multiplicity of signals arises. Discussion is restricted to examples where one coupling constant is significant. | |
| Lecture 14 | |
| Coupling constants are used to determine structure (assignment of common groups such as ethyl and isopropyl). 13C NMR is explained in its relationship to 1H NMR. Subtle modifications to the 13C NMR technique are explained that simplify spectra and interpretation (nuclear decoupling, DEPT). | |
| Workshop 4 | |
| Exercises on NMR spectroscopy. |
| Staff | Dr Michael Hippler |
|---|---|
| Component Title | Rates of chemical reactions |
| Aims | To develop an understanding of the factors governing chemical reactions and their rates and how this information can be used to predict reaction mechanisms. |
| Learning Outcomes | On completion of the course students will be able to: |
| • State how rates of reactions are defined and can be measured | |
| • Describe how partial pressure can be used as a measure of concentration | |
| • State the effects of concentration and temperature on the rates of reaction | |
| • Develop rate equations from mechanisms | |
| • Identify the order of a reaction | |
| • Develop suitable mechanisms for simple reactions from the rate equation | |
| • State that most “real” chemical reactions are composed of several elementary steps, and state how to define reaction rate laws from such mechanisms. | |
| • Summarise some simple theories for chemical reactions | |
| • Describe how the Boltzmann distribution leads to Arrhenius behaviour. | |
| Topics | • Definitions, rates, rate constants, reaction orders |
| • Elementary reactions | |
| • Recombinations: Trimolecular or sequence of bimolecular steps? | |
| • Kinetic techniques | |
| • Complex reactions, reaction mechanisms, steady state approximation | |
| • Chain reactions | |
| • Effect of temperature on rate of reaction / Arrhenius equation | |
| • Introduction to some concepts of theories of reactions: Collision theory, transition state theory | |
| Reference Material | Primary: |
| A. Burrows et al., Chemistry3, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, 2021; chapter 9. | |
| Extra material: | |
| Atkins et al., Physical Chemistry, 11th edition, Oxford University | |
| Press, 2018; Focus 17 (Chemical Kinetics), Focus 18 (Reaction Dynamics) |
| Activities | |
|---|---|
| Teaching synopses |