Topics and percentage

contents

Reactions 
(35-40%)

Reaction types

1. Acid-base reactions; concepts of Arrhenius, Brönsted-Lowry, and Lewis; coordination complexes; amphoterism
2. Precipitation reactions
3. Oxidation-reduction reactions
   a. Oxidation number
   b. The role of the electron in oxidation-reduction
   c. Electrochemistry: electrolytic and galvanic cells; Faraday's laws; standard half-cell potentials; Nernst equation; prediction of the direction of redox reactions

Stoichiometry

1. Ionic and molecular species present in chemical systems: net ionic equations
2. Balancing of equations including those for redox reactions
3. Mass and volume relations with emphasis on the mole concept, including empirical formulas andlimiting reactants

Equilibrium

1. Concept of dynamic equilibrium, physical and chemical; Le Chatelier's principle; equilibrium constants
2. Quantitative treatment
   a. Equilibrium constants for gaseous reactions: Kp, Kc
   b. Equilibrium constants for reactions in solution
   (1) Constants for acids and bases;pK; pH
   (2) Solubility product constantsand their application to precipitation and the dissolution of slightly soluble compounds
   (3) Common ion effect; buffers;hydrolysis

Kinetics

1. Concept of rate of reaction
2. Use of experimental data and graphical analysis to determinereactant order, rate constants, and reaction rate laws
3. Effect of temperature change on rates
4. Energy of activation; the role ofcatalysts
5. The relationship between the rate-determining step and a mechanism

Thermodynamics

1. State functions
2. First law: change in enthalpy;heat of formation; heat of reaction; Hess's law; heats of vaporization and fusion;calorimetry
3. Second law: entropy; free energy of formation; free energy of reaction; dependence of change in free energy on enthalpy and entropy changes
4. Relationship of change in free energy to equilibrium constants and electrode potentials

Topics and percentage

contents

Descriptive Chemistry (10-15%)

Chemical reactivity and products of chemical reactions

Relationships in the periodic table: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal with examples from alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens, and the first series of transition elements

Introduction to organic chemistry: hydrocarbons andfunctional groups (structure, nomenclature, chemical properties). Physical and chemical properties of simple organic compounds should also be included as exemplary material for the study of other areas such as bonding, equilibria involving weak acids, kinetics, colligative properties, and stoichiometric determinations of empirical and molecular formulas.

Topics and percentage

contents

Laboratory (5-10%)

making observations of chemical reactions and substances; recording data; calculating and interpreting results based on the quantitative data obtained; and communicating effectively the results of experimental work.