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CH 475: INORGANIC CHEMISTRYStructure & BondingBlock 5, 2007-8Keith Kester & Ted Lindeman |
| Home Objectives Evaluation Laboratory Final Project Reflections Week 1 Week 2 Week 3+ M.O. Diagram |
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I. The Working Journal: You are asked to keep a journal in a 3-ring notebook on 3-ring paper during this course. The 3-ring notebook is available in the College Bookstore and can contain Chapter 6 from Douglas and two additional readings for the course. The journal is to serve 4 purposes: A) For keeping your statement of your objectives for (what you wish to gain from) this course. B) For keeping a record of your work and thinking on both the assigned and optional learning activities in the course. Certain learning activities (designated in the class schedule) will be turned in to Professor Kester on the 3-ring notebook paper at various points in the course so that he can give you on-going feedback on your work. C) For use as an authorized aid on the two written exams and the M.O. exercise. D) For keeping your work on the Integrative Project described below. At the end of the course you will turn in the working journal which will contain components (A, B, & D) including the completed Integrative Project. Given these many uses of the working journal you will need to provide a table of contents for it, and each page in the journal should be numbered and dated. |
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| II. Integrative Project on the Structure, Bonding, and Properties of Substances The Project for this course is the ongoing preparation of a portfolio that displays your growing knowledge of the structure, bonding and properties of both assigned and chosen substances. Components of it are to be turned in for review by the instructors at various points in the course, and the completed portfolio is to be turned in on the last Wednesday of the course. Your portfolio is to be kept in your working journal. There are 4 parts to the portfolio. The first two parts involve recording the development of your thinking about and knowledge of the structure, bonding and properties of two specific substances. The 4 parts: Part A: The substance in this part is the atmospheric pollutant nitrogen dioxide, NO2. You are to include your prior knowledge assessment of the structure and bonding of nitrogen dioxide done during the first Monday morning class session. From there on there will be specific assignments regarding the bonding, structure and reactivity of the molecule as elucidated by the reading and class discussion that are designed to structure the working journal record of the development of your thinking about and knowledge of the substance. These assignments are those to be initially turned in on Thursday of the first week, and Thursday of the second week, and Tuesday of the third week. Revisions of your work are expected, and no grade will be assigned until the project is turned in at the end of the course. Part B: The substance in this part is the mineral magnetite, Fe3O4. You are to include your prior knowledge assessment of the structure and bonding of magnetite done during the first Monday morning class session. You are again to keep a working journal record of the development of your thinking about and knowledge of the structure, bonding and properties of magnetite, and there will be one assignment regarding its structure (PTOT notation) and bonding (Lattice Energy calculations) to be turned in on the third Friday of the course. Part C: A detailed analysis of the structure and bonding of as many substances as are required to represent the following categories [Note: In some cases it should be possible to have one substance meet more than one category, i.e. finding a newly synthesized substance that is an inorganic polymer.] 1. An electron-deficient substance (not enough valence electrons for each atom to achieve a noble gas configuration). 2. An electron-rich substance in which all atoms at least achieve noble gas configurations and one or more exceed their noble gas configurations. 3. A metal 4. An inorganic polymer 5. An ionic compound with a calculated lattice energy 6. A metal cluster 7. A newly synthesized substance (within the last 5 years). 8. A bioinorganic compound containing a transition metal. Part D: Tell the adventures of an atom in one of your substances in a story inspired by Primo Levi's tale of a carbon atom. We will provide a copy of the tale "Carbon," from The Periodic Table by Primo Levi. (The book in which "Carbon" is the last chapter is on reserve in the library and we recommend it to you. We also commend to your attention the chapter titled “Vanadium,” and hope that you will respond to it in one of your course reflections entries.) Alternatively, you could research a topic (such as the role of a bioinorganic compound containing a transition metal in nitrogen fixation, or a classification scheme for ionic compounds), chosen in consultation with your instructors, and submit a summary of the results of your research. In either case, this is one that you can, and should get started on by the middle of the first week of the course. IMPORTANT! For each molecular species in the portfolio in the liquid or solid state or in solution, the bonding description must include both intramolecular and intermolecular bonding. For each molecular species among your substances except the polymer, you are to give the symmetry point group. For each substance you should seek to present the most appropriate bonding model and the most appropriate method of describing the structure. For one molecular species, all three models [valence bond (localized orbital including hybridized atomic orbitals), molecular orbital and Linnett] should be applied, in a manner that allows comparison of all three models. In order to prepare this portfolio you will need to consult both the course texts and the chemical literature. You are also encouraged to consult the instructors about your choices and approaches. |
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