CHEM 120 Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter - Fall 2013

Contact the course coordinator (C. Bissonnette; cbissonn@uwaterloo.ca; C2-274; 519-888-4567, ext. 32434) if you have
questions about the guidelines or policies of this course.
Course Description (from the Undergraduate Calendar): The stoichiometry of compounds and chemical reactions.
Properties of gases. Periodicity and chemical bonding. Energy changes in chemical systems. Electronic structure of atoms and
molecules; correlation with the chemical reactivity of common elements, inorganic and organic compounds.
Text: R.H. Petrucci, F.G. Herring, J.D. Madura and C. Bissonnette, General Chemistry (Principles and Modern Applications),
Prentice Hall, Tenth Edition, 2011. The text comes with a full Solutions Manual. The 9th edition of this book is also acceptable. We
cover up to the end of Chapter 11 in CHEM 120. Here is an approximate breakdown of the number of hours spent on each
topic/chapter. Notice that we cover eleven chapters (about 500 pages) in only 12 weeks!
Chapter
1-4
5

Topic(s)
# of hours
Review of stoichiometry ........................ 3
Reactions in aqueous solutions . 4
(including our method of balancing of redox reactions see page 13 of this booklet)

6
7
8
9

Gases (including the Van der Waals and virial equations of state) 4
Thermochemistry . 5
Electrons in atoms (including quantum theory of the H atom; ignore
the discussion of a particle-in-a-box) ...................................... 5
Periodic table and atomic properties 2
(including electron configurations of monatomic anions and cations; ignore quantitative
aspects concerning penetration and shielding, i.e. equations 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5)

10
11

Chemical bonding and molecular geometry 4

Quantum theory of chemical bonding . 6
(up to and including page 472 of the text)

Two term tests .

2
35 (total)

What We Expect You to Know Already

When you browse the list of topics given above, or the chapter titles in
your text, you might be tempted to think that you know most of the
material already. Dont be fooled! We guarantee you that we will
explore in more detail some topics youve seen before (e.g.
thermochemistry, electronic structures of atoms and molecules).
Dont take this to mean that we are dismissing what you learned in
high school. We will use your previous exposure to chemistry as a
catalyst to bring about a much deeper understanding of fundamental
concepts in chemistry.

Build a strong foundation! Together, the two courses

CHEM 120 and 123 comprise a full year course in
general chemistry. These courses lay the foundation
for more advanced chemistry courses including
organic chemistry (e.g. CHEM 264 or 266), inorganic
chemistry (e.g. CHEM 212), analytical chemistry (e.g.
CHEM 220), physical chemistry (e.g. CHEM 254) and
biochemistry (e.g. CHEM 233 or 237).

It is assumed that you have already taken the equivalent of two full courses of high school chemistry, but it may have been more
than one year since you took your last chemistry course. It is not unrealistic to assume that you have forgotten some of what you
learned. During the first week of term, your instructor will review some basic concepts but he/she will not undertake a
comprehensive review. It is expected that you will review carefully Chapters 1-3 of the text on your own!
We shall presume that:

you know basic concepts from physics (e.g. kinetic versus potential energy; force, work, velocity, acceleration). See
Appendix B of the text for a review of some basic physical concepts.

you know all of the SI base units and SI prefixes (from tera through to femto). See Tables 1.1 and 1.2 of the text.

you can determine the number of significant figures in a given quantity and can round off the result of a calculation to the
correct number of significant figures. See section 1-7 of the text.

you understand terms used to describe the physical properties of matter (e.g. temperature; density, homogeneous versus
heterogeneous mixtures). See Sections 1-2 through 1-5.

you know basic concepts and terminology associated with atoms and atomic structure (e.g. electron, proton, neutron, atomic
number, mass number, atomic mass unit, isotope, natural abundance, mole, molar mass) See sections 2-1 through 2-8 of the
text, as well as sections 3-1 through 3-3.

you have a working knowledge of the periodic table (e.g. atomic symbols and names, period versus group) and
the meaning of the numbers given for each element. (e.g. What information is conveyed by 14 and 28.0855
in the box for Si?) See sections 2-4 through 2-6 of the text.

14

Si

28.0855

you understand the meaning of terms such as empirical formula, molecular formula; structural formula; anion; cation;
oxidation state; limiting reagent; excess reagent; actual, theoretical and percent yields; molarity.

you are familiar with the names and formulas of simple inorganic compounds. Familiarize yourself with Tables 3.1, 3.2, and
3.3 in the text.

you can balance simple chemical equations by inspection (e.g. C3H8 + O2 CO2 + H2O). Some chemical equations
are impossible to balance by inspection (e.g. , redox reactions that occur in aqueous solution), and we must use special
methods to balance them. See sections 4-1 through 4-3 for a discussion of how to balance a chemical equation by inspection.

you are proficient in the use of exponential (i.e. scientific) notation; logarithms (e.g. logs and lns); exponentials ( ex ); the
quadratic formula. See Appendix A of the text for an overview of mathematical operations.
2m
0.5200 - m
-3
you can solve one linear equation in one unknown (e.g. If
+
= 9.0 10 , then what is m?). In some instances it

95.21

58.44

may be helpful if you can solve two linear equations in two unknowns (e.g. If 95.21x + 58.44y = 19.54 and 2x + y = 0.390,
then what are x and y? ) See Appendix A of the text.

you can use a table of (x,y)-data pairs to construct a plot. (See Appendix A.) For straight line plots, it is expected that you
can calculate the slope.

In addition to reviewing the chapters and appendices identified above, you should review the following problems from the text.
Representative Review Problems (from Petrucci 10th edition)
Chapter 1: 13, 23, 27, 28, 51, 59, 66, 87
Chapter 2: 8, 25, 37, 43, 44, 47, 57, 60, 63, 75, 82, 87, 88
Chapter 3: 6, 8, 11, 14, 16, 18, 23, 25, 26, 33, 37, 44-46, 51, 52, 55, 56

How to Study Chemistry Effectively

If you are typical of most first-year students, your biggest challenge is to develop mature study-habits: keeping up to date with the
material, reading ahead, and working on problems within and at the end of chapters. Ideally, you will work (and learn) from your
text book and stay ahead of your instructor throughout the term. This will help you get the most of lectures. By working ahead,
you can identify topics you find difficult before they come up in lectures. (If your instructors explanation does not help you
understand these difficult concepts, ask for clarification during lectures.)
It is our experience that many first-year students are
Interested in a study-skills package or an exam prep
reluctant to change (and improve!) their study methods.
workshop? Call Counselling Services (519-888-4567, ext. 32655) or
From now on, you are expected to learn a lot of
visit https://uwaterloo.ca/counselling-services/
material in a short period of time. In CHEM 120, we
cover 500 pages of the text in less than 35 hours of class time. You should not presume that the study methods youve
developed up to this point are as good as they can be.
Most of your time in this course should be spent solving problems, but dont view problem-solving as a matter of identifying all
possible types of problems and how to solve them. Your instructors will always find new ways of asking questions to test whether
you understand the underlying concepts! Focus on learning the basic principles and definitions so that you can apply them in
each new situation.
You will be able to work through this course at a reasonable pace if you follow the schedule well provide on the first day of
lectures. The schedule well provide encourages you to work ahead of your instructor and allows you to build your problemsolving skills gradually. For each week of term, there will be problems from your text and often some extra problems prepared
by the instructors. You will not be required to hand in solutions to these problems; the responsibility to do them is yours.

Getting the most from your textbook

Dont read your text passively as if it were a novel! It is not effective to read an entire
chapter once and then attempt to do the problems at the end of the chapter. Be an
Think about it! A question in
active reader and think about what you are reading. Before going on to the next
the margin prompts you to stop,
section, stop and ask yourself questions (e.g. What is the difference between a strong
think and answer. Highlighting
electrolyte and a weak electrolyte?) Write your questions in the margins of the text or
your text with a marker, or
on a separate piece of paper. If you cant answer the questions youve compiled, go back
copying sentences from the text,
and re-read that section of the text. The questions you write down can later be used to
emphasizes memorization over
help you review for a test or exam. Answering questions on exams will produce less
understanding.
anxiety if you have been asking and answering questions all along!
Make sure you try the worked examples from the text (and in your lecture notes) for
yourself. Dont just read through the solution. You will not know for sure that you can do the problem until you try. Dont wait
until a test or an exam to try! Cover up the solution given in the text (or your notes) and work through the problem yourself.
Compare your method and answer to those given. If you get stuck, look at the solution but then change the numbers and rework the problem yourself . Dont underestimate the importance of the examples done in class. (Your instructor selects
examples to illustrate certain concepts and sets questions on the exams to test whether you understand those concepts.)
Some general advice concerning the homework assignments
As the result of marking thousands of final exams in recent years, we believe that almost all students need help in improving their
problem-solving skills and with presenting their thoughts in a clear, concise, and understandable form. Problem-solving is not just
about doing a lot of problems or substituting numbers into a formula and getting an answer. You must always think about what you
are doing and why.
Ask yourself questions before going on to the next problem. This will force you to think about what you are doing and to
explain things in your own words.
e.g. Did I make any assumptions or approximations in solving this problem? Are the assumptions valid in this case? Is my answer
reasonable? Is there another way to do this problem? What variations of this problem can I think of ?
Use a neat and orderly approach when writing out your solutions. This will help immeasurably when you are reviewing for a
test or exam, and especially when someone is grading your work. A neat approach will keep a markers kindness quotient high.
Explain your steps. Dont assume its obvious!
Always include units. If the units work out properly, it is possible your answer is correct. If the units do not work out, you
know your answer is wrong.