Chemistry Department,
Updated 2008
Intermolecular Forces
Be prepared to describe and identify the
intermolecular/interparticle forces present in matter and relate these forces
to the relative magnitude of physical properties such as vapor pressure,
boiling point, melting point, viscosity, surface tension, and solubility.
Equilibrium
Be prepared to develop an equilibrium constant expression
for a chemical reaction. Know the
significance of a large Keq versus a small Keq. Know how to apply Le
Châtelier’s Principle (Law of Mass Action) to perturbations of an
equilibrium system. Make sure you
could calculate a reaction quotient (Q), and determine the direction of “shift”
to reach equilibrium and determine the new equilibrium concentrations of all
species in a chemical reaction.
Gas Laws
Be prepared to work problems using the ideal gas law. Know how to rearrange this expression to solve for gas density or to find the molecular weight or mass of a gas. Know under what conditions one can utilize Boyle’s Law, Charles’ Law, Avogadro’s Law, or the Combined Gas Law and be able to solve problems related to these laws.
Know the key points of the Kinetic Molecular Theory for an
Ideal Gas and know under what conditions gases tend to behave non-ideally. Know, in general terms, what corrections
have to be made to the ideal gas law under non-ideal conditions.
Basic Quantitation
Be able to write and balance a chemical equation. Be able to perform basic stoichiometry
problems, including limiting reagent problems.
Know how to calculate enthalpy changes associated with
chemical reactions by utilizing the reaction stoichiometry. Know how to apply Hess’ Law.
Describe how one could make a specific volume of a desired
solution of known concentration or prepare a given volume of a dilute solution
(concentration given) from a more concentrated solution.
Atomic Structure and Periodic Properties
You should be able to describe the quantum mechanical view
of the atom and assign quantum numbers for electrons within an atom. You should be able to generate electron
configurations for atoms or ions.
You should be able to identify and describe the importance of
“valence” electrons.
You should know the origins of paramagnetic versus diamagnetic
behavior. You should know the
meaning of “effective nuclear charge” and be able to express how
the “n” value and the ENC give rise to the periodic trends of
atomic size and ionization energy.
Kinetics
You should be able to describe ways to “speed
up” a chemical reaction. You
should be able to draw and/or interpret a reaction energy diagram (i.e., be
able to identify: reactants, intermediates, transition states, activation
energies, rate-determining step, overall energy changes…). You should know the general form for a
rate law and be able to generate a rate law from experimental data. You should know the concept of
“order” with respect to an individual reactant and the overall
reaction. You should be able to
evaluate the plausibility of suggested reaction mechanisms by comparison to a
known rate law.
Nucleophilic Substitution
What characteristics of an alkyl halide are important in
determining whether nucleophilic displacement will proceed by an SN1
or an SN2 reaction, and why do these characteristics play a
part? What characteristics of the
attacking nucleophile leaving group and solvent play a part? How would one determine experimentally
(two ways) whether a reaction of this sort would be SN1 or SN2?
Electrophilic
Addition of Alkenes
Upon addition of unsymmetrical molecules across an
unsymmetrical carbon-carbon double bond, what factors govern the
regio-selectivity for the molecular fragments and the final structure of the
product? How can one control the
selectivity? Use mechanisms and
intermediate stability in your explanations.
Aromatic Substitution
Be able to discuss electrophilic aromatic substitution with
emphasis on how and why the inductive effects of ring substituents affect
structures of products and the rate of the reactions. Know the 5 reactions that fall in this
category and ways of modifying the groups already on the benzene ring.
Structural
Determination from Spectroscopy and Spectrometry
Be able to suggest a structure for a substance based on NMR,
FTIR, and mass spectrometry data.
Alternatively, be able to draw the above spectra if molecular structures
are given. Know the most important
absorption values for proton NMR and IR.
Grignard Reactions
Be able to discuss the Grignard reaction, identifying
starting materials, different products and when each product would be expected,
and the complexities of actually running Grignard reactions. Show the mechanisms by which the
products are formed.
Types of Reactions
Be able to identify reactions as addition, condensation,
hydrolysis, elimination, rearrangement, substitution, oxidation or reduction.
Membrane Structure, Transport, and Signaling
Be prepared to discuss the chemical nature of a cell
membrane and the types of transport processes involved in moving molecules or
ions across membranes. Be able to discuss how externally applied hormones can
generate intracellular responses via signal transduction mechanisms in cells.
You should be able to provide specific examples of molecules
that passively diffuse, or undergo facilitated diffusion, primary active
transport, or secondary active transport.
You should also know the key components of the signal transduction
cascade that utilizes cAMP as a second messenger.
Buffers
Be prepared to describe the components of a buffer and know
which factors determine “buffering capacity”. You should know the basic biologic
mechanisms for buffering the body’s fluids and the reasons behind the requirement
for buffering of the body’s fluids.
You should know how one would select and then prepare a buffer for use
in the lab. (Implicit in this is
that you must know the Henderson-Hasselbach equation and be able to work
problems utilizing this equation.)
You should be able to generate and/or interpret titration curves for
both monoprotic and polyprotic acids.
Energy Production:
Substrate Level Phosphorylation and Oxidative Phosphorylation
Be prepared to compare/contrast substrate level phosphorylation
and oxidative phosphorylation. You
should be able to talk in fairly general terms how food/cellular fuel (such as
glucose) ultimately provides energy in the form of ATP for the cells. Implicit
in this discussion will be the roles of key coenzymes (NADH and FADH2)
and the respiratory complexes and the F0F1ATPase of the mitochondrion.
Physical
Chemistry I
Be prepared to discuss various thermodynamic variables (ex.,
heat, work, temperature, internal energy, enthalpy, entropy, Gibbs free energy,
etc.) and how they relate to one another.
Know the steps in the Carnot Cycle and how to calculate efficiency. Be able to determine the sign (i.e.
positive, negative, or zero) for q, w, DT,
DU, DH,
DS and DG
for an isothermal or reversible adiabatic expansion or compression of a gas.
Be prepared to discuss what information is contained in a
wavefunction and how this information is obtained (energies, probability
densities). You should know the
general form of the Schrödinger equation and how it is used with
particular reference to a “particle in a box” and the Hydrogen
atom. Be able to discuss how
“particles in a box” may be used to model electronic spectra of
conjugated organic molecules.
Physical
Chemistry II
Reaction Equilibrium
Be able to write the equilibrium expression for an ideal gas
mixture (the KPº equation). Be prepared to discuss the relationship
between Gibbs free energy and the equilibrium constant. Be able to write the equilibrium
expression for a nonideal system (examples: saturated aqueous solution of a
salt, weak acid aqueous solution, autoprotolysis of water).
Kinetic Molecular Theory
Be prepared to discuss the Boltzmann distribution and the
various physical properties of an ideal gas. You should be able to calculate the
root-mean-square speed of a gas at room temperature. You should know the dependence of
collision frequency and mean-free-path upon the various physical properties.
Crystal
Field Stabilization Energy
Be prepared to explain what is meant by the term
“crystal field stabilization energy,” CFSE. Be able to calculate the CFSE for
octahedral and tetrahedral complexes.
Be able to predict whether particular coordination complexes are high or
low spin. Be able to relate the
CFSE to the color of coordination complexes.
Group
Theory
Be able to determine the symmetry point group for a given
compound. Be prepared to predict
the vibrational spectra (infrared and Raman) of compounds from character
tables. Be able to write a
representation (the characters) of parts of a molecule (orbitals, bonds,
angles, SALCs), given the point group, and to use the character tables to
identify the irrep that corresponds to this representation.
Atomic Properties
Be prepared to describe trends in ionization energy,
electronegativity, size, polarizability, metallicity, and electron
affinity. Be able to account for
exceptions to broad trends. Be
prepared to predict Hard/Soft acid base behavior and solubility based on these
trends.
Electrochemistry
Be prepared to identify the oxidation states of all elements in compounds and ions. Be able to balance Redox half reactions and complete reactions and to calculate reduction potentials given tables of standard reduction potentials and initial cell concentrations.
Chromatography
Be able to describe the instrumental set-up for both Gas and Liquid
Chromatography. That should include
the types of injectors, columns, and detectors. As part of the discussion you should be
able to delineate characteristic advantages and disadvantages of each
component. For LC, be able to
distinguish between normal phase and reversed phase separation. You should be able to tell what type of
instrument is best for different types of samples. An ability to discuss the
instrumentation and capabilities of the hyphenated techniques of GC-MS and
LC-MS is also important.
Atomic and Molecular
Spectroscopy
Be able to describe the instrumental set-up for the following types of
spectrometers: AA,
NMR, IR, and Mass Spec: Know numerical values for NMR and IR
spectra. Be able to go from spectra
to molecular structure and visa versa for proton NMR, carbon-13 NMR and IR.
Understand the role of decoupling and shift reagent experiments in elucidating
complex NMR spectra.
Laser Spectroscopy
and Fluorescence
Be able to discuss the parts of a laser and how a laser
works. Be able to discuss the
various processes a molecule may undergo following electronic excitation (including
fluorescence, phosphorescence, intersystem crossing, etc.) and how these
processes and their time scales relate to fluorescence spectra.