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Physical Chemistry: This deals with the laws, principles, and theories
that describe the behavior of chemicals. Physical chemists study
things like reaction rates, reaction mechanisms, and thermodynamics.
Classification of Matter
Matter: anything that has volume and mass.
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Compound: substance that contains two or more elements combined
in a fixed proportion. Compounds can be written as a formula.
Common examples are water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and
sodium chloride (NaCl).
Solid: In a solid, the particles (atoms or molecules) are in contact with each
other and have a very limited ability to move. Characteristic
properties include definite volume and shape, slight expansion when
heated, and incompressible.
Liquid: Like solids, the particles are in contact with each other; however,
the
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particles can move around more freely. Characteristic properties
include definite volume, takes the shape of its container, slight
expansion when heated, incompressible, and has the ability to flow.
Gases: In gases, the particles are not in contact with each other.
Characteristic
properties include takes the shape and volume of its container, large
expansion when heated, compressible, and has the ability to flow.
As can be seen above, the main distinction between chemical and physical is
that there is a change in identity for chemical changes and properties. In a
chemical change, new substances (elements or compounds) are created by
breaking bonds and/or forming new bonds. There are five pieces of
evidence that can help you identify if a chemical reaction has taken place.
Separation Techniques
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Separation techniques are based upon differences in physical properties
Many techniques involve solubility or phase changes.
Evaporation
Used to recover a solid from solution
Solvent is often actually boiled off – not
evaporated
Watch glass reduces loss of solid from
spattering
Filtration
Used to separate an insoluble solid
from a liquid
The liquid that comes through is
called the filtrate
Distillation
Separates mixtures of liquids
having different boiling points
Lower boiling liquid condenses
in the condenser
Fractional Distillation
Used for mixtures that are hard to
separate
Typically used when there is more than
one volatile substance
Chromatography
Separates different substances
dissolved in a liquid based upon the
tendency to travel across the surface of
another material
Extraction
Separates different substances dissolved in a
liquid based upon solubility
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Significant Digits
Overview
All measurements have uncertainty. In science, it is important to indicate
the uncertainty when you are reporting numbers since this indicates the
reliability of the data and the quality of instruments being used. When a
scientist takes a measurement, she records all the digits she is certain of and
includes one digit that has some uncertainty. For instance, if a standard
metric ruler were used to find the length of a pen, the reading may fall
between 15.4 cm and 15.5 cm. The scientist may estimate that the length is
closer to the 15.5 mark and report the value as 15.47 cm. In this
measurement, only the 7 is uncertain and is probably off by 1 or 2 at the
most.
Sometimes the uncertainty will be reported using the ± symbol. For
example, 244 ± 3. When the ± symbol is not used, expect that the right-most
digit is uncertain and could be off by 2. For example, a value of 34.23 mL
means that the scientist is fairly certain the value is between 34.21 and 34.25
mL with the best guess being 34.23 mL.
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1st non-zero digit is the 5. There are 4
significant digits.
As you can see from the examples, some of the zeros get counted and
some don’t. On the other hand, all non-zeros are counted all of the
time.
Scientific Notation
Very large and very small numbers are not uncommon in chemistry. Using
scientific notation is the best way to work with such numbers. In scientific
notation, the number is expressed as the product of two factors. The first
factor is a number between 1 and 10 and the second factor is a power of 10.
As an example, 250000 is written as 2.5 x 105 using scientific notation.
When converting a number to scientific notation, the first step is to move the
decimal point so that there is one nonzero digit to the left of the decimal
point. Next, multiply by 10 raised to the power equal to the number of
places that the decimal was moved to the left. If the decimal was used to the
right, 10 will be raised to a negative exponent.
Ex. 1 Ex. 2
5,000,000 = 5 x 106 0.00000036 = 3.6 x 10–7
Ex. 1 Ex. 2
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2.3 x 104 = 23,000 5.12 x 10–3 = 0.00512
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Metric System
Metric prefixes
Prefix Abbre Exp. Meaning Example
v Factor
tera T 1012 1,000,000,000,000 1 Tm = 1x1012 m
giga G 109 1,000,000,000 1 Gm = 1x109 m
mega M 106 1,000,000 1 Mm = 1x106 m
kilo k 103 1,000 1 km = 1000 m
hecto h 102 100 1 hm = 100 m
deka da 101 10 1 dam = 10 m
100 1 1 meter
deci d 10–1 0.1 1 dm = 0.1 m
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centi c 10–2 0.01 1 cm = 0.01 m
milli m 10–3 0.001 1 mm = 0.001 m
micro µ 10–6 0.000 001 1 µm = 1x10–6 m
nano n 10–9 0.000 000 001 1 nm = 1x10–9 m
pico p 10–12 0.000 000 000 001 1 pm = 1x10–12 m
femto f 10–15 0.000 000 000 000 001 1 fm = 1x10–15 m
atto a 10–18 .000 000 000 000 000 1 am = 1x10–18 m
001
Metric Conversions
There are two methods commonly used to perform conversions within the
metric system. While the first method is certainly easier, the second method
introduces you to a method that is much more powerful and will be very
useful for solving difficult problems.
Ex. 1 Ex. 2
Convert 450 mL to L Convert 0.25 km to cm
Move to the left 3 places; .45 L Move to the right 5 places; 25000 cm
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Ex.
Convert 450 mL to L
Step 1: Write the given number, the multiplication symbol, a fraction bar,
and an equals sign.
450 mL x ––––––––––– =
Step 2: Write the units you are starting with in the denominator and the
units you are ending with in the numerator.
L
450 mL x ––––––––––– =
mL
Step 3: Put a “1” in front of the larger unit (in this case, L). Next, make
the numerator and denominator equivalent by writing in the
number of smaller units it takes to make up one of the larger units.
1L
450 mL x ––––––––––– =
1000 mL
Unit Conversions
The method of moving the decimal place cannot be used for conversions
within the U.S. customary system of measurements and between the U.S.
system and the metric system. For these conversions we will use the
conversion factor method. Step 3 from this method will be modified. You
have been given a list of conversions in the Reference Packet. Use these
values for the numbers that you put into the conversion factor.
Ex. 1
Convert from 175 lb to kg.
kg
Steps 1 & 2: 175 lb x ––––––––––––– =
lbs
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0.45359237 kg
Steps 3 & 4: 175 lb x ––––––––––––– = 79.4 kg
1 lb
Note: The answer has been rounded to the proper significant digits.
Ex. 2
mi km
Convert from 75 to .
hr hr
75 mi 1.609344 km
km
Steps 3 & 4: –––––– x –––––––––– = 120
hr
hr 1 mi
13.6 km 1 mi
mi
Change km to mi ––––––– x ––––––––––– = 8.45064821
L
L 1.609344 km
8.45064821 mi 3.785412 L
Change from L to gal –––––––––––– x –––––––––– = 32.0
mi
gal
L 1 gal
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13.6 km 1 mi 3.785412 L
mi
––––––– x ––––––––––– x –––––––––– = 32.0 gal
L 1.609344 km 1 gal
Density
If you had a block of aluminum and a block of lead of equal size, the lead
block would be heavier. This is because lead has a higher density. Density
is a measure of mass per unit volume. The formula is
mass m
Density, D = =
volume V
Ex. 1
A jeweler examines a 5.00 carat gemstone to determine if it is a diamond.
She fills a 10 mL graduated cylinder with 6.00 mL of water. When she adds
the stone, the volume reading increases to 6.18 mL. Is the gemstone likely
g
to be a diamond, which has a density of 3.51 ?
cm3
Ans. Since 1 carat = 0.2 grams, the mass of the diamond is
0.2 g
5.00 carat x = 1.00 g
1 carat
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m 1.00 g g
Density = D = = = 5.6
V 0.18 mL mL
g
Since 1 mL = 1 cm3, the density can be written as 5.6 . The stone
cm3
could be cubic zirconia, which has a density that ranges between 5.5
g
and 5.9 . We do know, however, that the stone is not diamond.
cm3
Ex. 2
A plastic rectangular block has a length of 24 cm, a width of 3.5 cm, and a
height of 3.5 cm. The block has a mass of 278.4 g. Would it float in water?
Ans. The volume is calculated as follows:
m 278.4 g g
Density = D = = 3 = 0.95 .
V 294 cm cm3
An object will float in water if its density is less than that of water.
Since
g
water has a density of 1.00 , the block will float.
mL
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Isolate: Rearrange the equation to isolate the quantity you want to find.
Write it down.
Solve: Substitute the numerical values for the quantities in the
equation, including units. Solve using a calculator.
Answer: Write down you answer including units. Round off to the
appropriate number of significant figures. Circle the answer.
Note: Do not round off until you get to the final answer.
Here’s an example:
g
What is the mass of 2.00 L of soda that has a density of 1.098 ?
mL
g
List: m=? V = 2.00 L D = 1.098
mL
m
Plan: D= Volume of soda is in L but density uses mL. The
V
volume units need to be the same before using the density
equation. 1000 mL = 1 L
1000 mL
Isolate: 2.00 L x = 2000 L m = VD
1L
g
Solve: m = 2000 L) x (1.092 ) = 2184 g
mL
Answer: 2180 g
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