Learning objectives
Knowledge of the fundamentals of chemistry, with particular attention to the equilibria in aqueous solutions and to the chemistry of compounds of natural origin.
Course unit content
Structure of the atom. The periodic table of the elements. Molecules and chemical bonding. Ionic and covalent bonds, hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions. Molecular models: Lewis structures, valence bond, hybrid orbitals, resonance, sigma and pi bonds. Geometry of molecules and ions.
Gases: laws of ideal gases, partial pressure. Liquids: properties, changes of state, phase diagram of water. Solutions: concentration, molarity, colligative properties, Osmosis. Chemical reactions: Acid-base reactions, conjugated acids and bases, pH. Titrations. Stoichiometry. Dynamic equilibrium and equilibrium constant in solution. Dissociation constant for weak acids and bases. Buffer solutions. Hydrolysis. Redox reactions. Standard half-cell potentials, Nernst equation, prediction of the direction of a redox reaction. Thermodinamics: state functions, first and second principle, entropy, frre energy change of a reaction, relationship to equilibrium constant and to the difference in reduction potentials.
Rate of reaction, effect of the temperature.
Bibliography
Chang, Fundamentals of general chemistry
Teaching methods
class lectures and assisted problem solving
Assessment methods and criteria
written and oral examination