WELCOME TO AP CHEMISTRY!!

Mrs. Jackson hjackson@nvusd.k12.ca.us

What is Chemistry?
Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes.
We will begin our study of chemistry by understanding: The difference in the macroscopic and microscopic levels. The scientific method.

How scientists characterize matter. The systems of measurements that are used in the laboratory. How to handle numerical results of chemical measurements and how to solve problems.

In Chemistry, it is important to understand the difference between the macroscopic and microscopic world.

The Macroscopic world the things we can see, touch and measure directly. The Microscopic world the particles and events that we cannot experience without modern technology and our imaginations.

All sciences use variations of The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method is used because it is a systematic approach to research

The 3 main levels for studying chemistry are a part of the research process of the scientific method.

6. Hypotheses that survive many experimental tests may evolve into a Theory a unifying principle that explains a body of facts and/or those laws that are based on them.

1. Choose a problem and state the problem as a question.

2. Observation perform experiments and record data about the system.

3. Interpretation 5. Summarize as a formulate a Hypothesis concise verbal a tentative explanation relationship between for a set of observations phenomena that is always based on the data. the same under the same conditions - Law. 4. Research further experiments are devised to Test the validity of the hypothesis using the three levels of chemistry. If enough valid data has been collected go to step 5 or 6, otherwise the process starts over.

Data obtained in a research study can be either qualitative, (consisting of general observations about the system), or quantitative, (comprising numbers obtained by various measurements of the system).
Lets take a look at how scientists at NASA used the scientific method to solve the problem of why the challenger space shuttle exploded in 1986.

Scientific Method

Observations: Starbucks coffee tastes better than Thelmas. (qualitative) Thelmas coffee is cheaper than Starbucks. (quantitative) College students prefer to drink Starbucks coffee over Thelmas coffee. (qualitative) More college students drink Thelmas coffee than Starbucks coffee. (quantitative)
Hypothesis: The cost of the coffee is more important than the quality of the coffee for most college students. Experiment to Test Hypothesis: Lower the price of coffee at Starbucks and see if the students come. Note: This experiment was successful. Thelmas is now out of business.

In the beginning, we defined Chemistry as the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. So then, what is Matter?
Matter is anything that occupies space and has a mass. This means that Matter is everything that we can touch (water, earth, trees) and those things that we can not touch (air). What does this mean? Everything in the universe has a Chemical connection.

Chemists classify Matter based on its composition and properties.

What are the main categories of Matter?
Substance A form of matter that has definite
(constant) composition and distinct properties. Examples: Water, Ammonia, Table sugar, gold, oxygen.

Mixture A combination of 2 or more substances in

which the substances retain their distinct identities. Examples: Air, Soft Drinks, Milk, Cement.

Matter

?
Mixture

Pure Substances

Heterogeneous Mixtures
An example of a Physical Separation Method

Matter

Separated by a

Mixture

Physical Method

Pure Substances

Homogeneous
Mixture

Heterogeneous
Mixture

What is the Difference Between an Element and a Compound? Element A substance that cannot be separated
into simpler substances by chemical means. Elements can be found on the Periodic Table of Elements (of course)! An example is Gold & Au Ag Silver.

Compound A substance that is

composed of atoms of 2 or more elements chemically united in fixed proportions. They can only be separated by chemical means into pure components. An example is Caffeine.

C8H10N4O2

What is the Difference Between these four things?

Element
A substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances by chemical means. Elements can be found on the Periodic Table of Elements (of course)!
An example is Nitrogen N

Atom
An atom is the smallest particle of an element that retains the properties of that element. It contains the subatomic particles: electrons, protons and neutrons. Each element has a specific amount of these electrons, protons and neutrons and therefore the element retains specific properties because of the amount of electrons, protons and neutrons within the atom..

Molecule
A molecule is the smallest entity that retains the properties of that compound or element. A molecule must be composed of at least 2 atoms from either the same element, or different elements. This depends on if it is a molecule of an element, Such as Nitrogen, N2 , or if it is a molecule of a compound, such as Caffeine: C8H10N4O2 For a compound, the molecule would be composed of atoms of 2 or more elements in fixed proportions but in the lowest ratio form. For an element, the molecule would be composed of more than one atom from the same element.

Compound
A substance that is composed of atoms of 2 or more elements chemically united in fixed proportions. They can only be separated by chemical means into pure components. An example is Caffeine: C8H10N4O2 The formula C8H10N4O2 is actually also a molecule of Caffeine. We use molecules in formulas because it is easier to recognize. A compound of Caffeine could also be: ( 2 x C8H10N4O2 ) = C16H20N8O4 Or it could also be:

( 3 x C8H10N4O2 ) = C24H30N12O6

Matter has Physical and Chemical Properties

Substances are identified based on their properties.
A Physical Property can be measured or observed without changing the composition or identity of the substance. Melting/Boiling points, density and color are
examples of physical properties.

A Chemical Property a chemical change with the substance must be carried out. After the chemical change has occurred, (and the chemical property is observed), the identity of the substance is changed. An example is that
we can observe that, Hydrogen gas burns in oxygen gas to form water. This is an example of a chemical property of Hydrogen. After the change occurs, we no longer have hydrogen gas, we have water.

H2

H2
O2

H 2O H2O

All of the measurable properties of matter fall into one of two additional categories:

Extensive Property A property that depends on how much matter is being considered. An example is Mass and Volume. (These properties are additive. If you add two different pieces
of matter together, you can Add the extensive properties of each matter together).

Intensive Property A property that does not depend on how much matter is being considered. An example is Density and Temperature. (These properties are not additive. If you add two
different pieces of matter together, you can not add the intensive properties of each matter together.)

Density
A Macro vs. Microscopic look at Density

Density is the ratio of mass to volume and the equation is written as: density = mass/volume (Memorize this equation) d = m/v Materials of lower densities will float on other materials of greater densities.
Corn oil = 0.925 g/mL Water = 1.00 g/mL Corn Syrup = 1.38 g/ml

Length

Measurement

The International System of Units The 7 SI Base Units (memorize these!):

1. meter (m) -- length 2. kilogram (kg) -- mass 3. second (s) -- time 4. ampere (A) -- amount of electric current 5. Kelvin (K) -- temperature 6. candela (cd) -- brightness (of light) 7. mole (mol) -- amount of (chemical) substance
For Volume, which is not SI units, but that you need to memorize: Liter (L) = 1 dm3 milliliter (mL) = 1 cm3 (also written as cc for cubic cm) 1000 mL = 1 L

Some Common Prefixes used in Chemistry with the SI Base Units:

(The ones with the * are the ones that you need to memorize!)

Prefix

Symbol

Meaning
1,000,000,000,000

Example
1 terameter (Tm) = 1 x 10 12 m 1 gigameter (Gm) = 1 x 109 m 1 megameter (Mm) = 1 x 106 m 1 kilometer (km) = 1 x 103 m

TeraGigaMegaKilo- *

T
G M k

or 1012 or 109 or 106 or 103

1,000,000,000 1,000,000 1,000 1/10 1/100 1/1000

Deci- *
Centi- * Milli- * MicroNano-

d
c m m n

or 10-1
or 10-2 or 10-3 or 10-6

1 decimeter (dm) = 1 x 10-1 m

1 centimeter (cm) = 1 x 10-2 m 1 millimeter (mm) = 1 x 10-3 m 1 micrometer (mm) = 1 x 10-6 m 1 nanometer (nm) = 1 x 10-9 m 1 picometer (pm) = 1 x 10-12 m

1/ 1,000,000 1/1,000,000,000

or 10-9

Pico-

1/1,000,000,000,000

or 10-12

Derived Units From the SI base units

Many units that you are familiar with are not a part of the SI base units, this is because they can be derived from the SI base units. Some examples follow: Speed = Length / Time Area = Length x Length Volume = Length x Area Density = Mass / Volume

Volume is derived from the SI base unit of the meter. Memorize these units of Volume:
1 Liter (L) = 1 dm3 1 milliliter (mL) = 1 cm3 (also written as cc for cubic cm) 1000 mL = 1 L

Density is the ratio of mass to volume and the equation is written as: density = mass/volume d = m/v (Memorize this equation)

Kelvin = 273.15 + Temp Celsius Temp Celsius = (Temp Fahrenheit 32) x 5/9
Temp Fahrenheit = (Temp Celsius x 9/5) +32

Memorize the Kelvin to Celsius Equation.

How to handle numerical results of chemical measurements.

Significant Figures: In chemistry, it is often impossible to obtain the exact value of the quantity under investigation. For this reason, it is important to indicate the margin of error in a measurement by clearly indicating the number of significant figures. When significant figures are used, the last digit is understood to be uncertain.
Example: You might measure the mass of an object on an analytical balance. The rule for writing down data is that you write all of the certain digits, plus one uncertain digit. If the balance is fluctuating between 4.5067 and 4.5069, then you would write down all of the certain digits, which would be 4.506, and you would also write down a number for the digit that keeps fluctuating. Therefore, the mass would be written as being equal to 4.5068 or 4.5069 or 4.5067 grams (any number can be written down for the last digit as long as it shows up on the scale). This is acceptable and fits the significant figures rules because it is understood that the last digit is uncertain.

Rules for: Using Significant Figures (Memorize!)

1. Any digit that is not zero is significant. 2. Zeros between nonzero digits are significant. 3. Zeros to the left of the first nonzero digit are not significant. Their purpose is to indicate the placement of the decimal point. For example, 0.08 L has only 1 significant figure. 0.0000349 has only 3 significant figures. 4. If a number is greater than 1, then all the zeros written to the right of the decimal point count as significant figures. For example, 2.0000 mg has 5 significant figures and 3.040 kg has 4 significant figures. 5. For numbers that do not contain decimal points, the trailing zeros (the zeros after the last nonzero digit) may or may not be significant. For example, 400 may have 1 sig fig (4) or it may have 2 sig figs (40) or it may have 3 sig figs (400). You cannot tell which is correct without further information. This is the reason that we use Scientific Notation. If we used Scientific Notation, then we would know for sure which numbers were significant. For example, 4 x 102 = 1 sig fig; 4.0 x 102 = 2 sig figs; 4.00 x 102 = 3 sig figs. For this reason, you must always put your final answer in Scientific Notation! 6. Exact numbers that are obtained from definitions or by counting numbers of objects can be considered to have an infinite number of significant figures. For example, if you defined that 1 L = 1000 ml, then 1 and 1000 both have an infinite number of significant figures because they come from definition. Another example is that if you have a mass of an object weighing 0.2786 grams and you have eight of those exact objects, then you can multiply: 0.2786 grams x 8 and the number 8 is considered to have an infinite number of significant figures because it is the number obtained from counting objects.

Rules for: How to Handle Significant Figures in Calculations (Memorize!)

1. In Addition and Subtraction: The answer can not have more digits to the right of the decimal point than either of the original numbers. Therefore, to do an Addition or Subtraction calculation, Line up the numbers. Add or Subtract first and then, Round the answer to make sure the answer has no more digits to the right of the decimal point than either of the original numbers. When you have your final answer, put it into Scientific Notation! Example: 2.097 - 0.12 1.977 Rounded to = 1.98 Using Scientific Notation = 1.98 89.332 + 1.1 90.432 Rounded to = 90.4 Using Scientific Notation = 9.04 x 101

2. In Multiplication and Division: The number of significant figures in the final product or quotient is determined by the original number that has the smallest number of significant figures. To do a multiplication or division calculation, multiply and divide first and then, once you have obtained a final answer, Round the answer to make sure it has the same amount of significant digits as the smallest original number used. When you have your final answer, put it into Scientific Notation! Example: 2.8 x 4.5039 = 12.61092 is then Rounded to = 13 Using Scientific Notation = 1.3 x 101

Using Dimensional Analysis to Solve Problems

Everyone knows that 1 dollar = 100 pennies. From this fact, we can say that their ratio has a value of 1: 1 Dollar

=1

100 Pennies
The ratio can also be looked at as a fraction. The fraction equals one because the top and the bottom are both equal and both describe the same amount of money. Because the top and bottom are equal, we are also free to write the reciprocal fraction:

100 Pennies = 1 1 Dollar

The reason why Dimensional Analysis is so helpful, is that it allows us to carry out conversions between different units that measure the same quantity. For example, how would we convert 2.46 dollars into pennies? Lets use Dimensional Analysis: 100 Pennies 2.46 Dollars x = 246 Pennies 1 Dollar

How To Solve Problems

Read the problem, and identify the Given information. Write down what is given. Identify and write down what the problem is asking you to Find. Write down any pertinent conversion factors which you think might be necessary. Write down any assumptions which you think are necessary. Write out a Road-Map for the problem. Set up your dimensional analysis WITH UNITS!!!! CANCEL UNITS!!!! Solve the problem. Reread the problem and verify that you answered the question correctly. Are the units in the answer the same units that the problem was asking for? If not, you have a problem, start over!