Chemistry 151

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Name______________________________

Chemical Thinking

Spring 2016
UNIT 2 Assessment
Lab Section # _________________

+ MC Score/80
There are considerable data to suggest that protection from solar ultraviolet (UV)
radiation will reduce the risk of acute and chronic skin damage in humans.
Sunscreens are topical products that absorb or reflect some of
the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation and thus helps protect against sunburn.
Depending on the mode of action, sunscreens can be classified into physical
sunscreens (i.e., those that reflect the sunlight) or chemical sunscreens (i.e., those
that absorb the UV light). (source: Wikipedia)
The central goal of this assessment is that you demonstrate that you can apply chemical thinking to identify
and make predictions about the structure, properties and behavior of sunscreens and the interactions of
sunscreens with EM radiation.
Relevant Information:

c = 3.00 x 108 m/s

h = 6.626 x 10-34 Js
NA= 6.022 x 1023

c =
h

1 m = 106 m = 109 nm

1A
1

2A

3B

4B

5B

6B

7B

1B

8B

2B

3A

4A

5A

6A

7A

He

1.008
2

8A

4.003

10

Li

Be

Ne

6.941 9.012

10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00 20.18

11

13

14

15

16

17

18

Na Mg

12

Al

Si

Cl

Ar

22.99 24.31

26.98 28.09 30.97 32.07 35.45 39.95

19

20

Ca Sc

21

22

23

24

Ti

Cr Mn Fe

25

26

27

28

Co Ni

29

30

31

32

33

Cu Zn Ga Ge As

34

35

36

Se

Br

Kr

39.10 40.08 44.96 47.88 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.93 58.69 63.55 65.39 69.72 72.61 74.92 78.96 79.90 83.80
37
5

38

Rb Sr

39

40

41

Zr

Nb Mo Tc

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In

50

51

52

53

54

Sn

Sb

Te

Xe

85.47 87.62 88.91 91.22 92.91 95.94 (98)

101.1 102.9 106.4 107.9 112.4 114.8 118.7 121.8 127.6 126.9 131.3

55

76

56

57*

72

Cs Ba La Hf

73

74

Ta W

75

77

78

79

Re Os Ir

Pt

Au Hg Tl

80

81

82

83

Pb Bi

84

85

86

Po

At

Rn

132.9 137.3 138.9 178.5 180.9 183.9 186.2 190.2 192.2 195.1 197.0 200.6 204.4 207.2 209.0 (209) (210) (222)

Many chemical sunscreens, like the one pictured to the right, have a molecular
structure featuring a phenyl ring that absorbs EM radiation. The phenyl ring of
Compound X has two groups attached (seen here circled in gray) that affect the
amount and type of EM radiation the sunscreen molecule can absorb.
1) What is the molecular formula for Compound X based on the structure given?
C10H13NO2
2) Identify the molecular geometry of the carbon of the carboxyl functional group in Compound X
trigonal planar
3) Identify the electron domain geometry of the nitrogen atom of the amine functional group in Compound X
tetrahedral
4) Identify the molecular geometry around the oxygen making 2 single bonds in Compound X.
bent
5) One of the atoms in Compound X has an electron configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p3. How many covalent bonds will
this atom most likely form with other atoms?
3
Compound X absorbs EM radiation strongly at 3 specific wavelengths ( = 199, 265, and 511 nm). The
absorptions correspond to transitions from the electronic ground state (n=1) to the first three excited states
(n=2, n=3, n=4) on the electronic energy level diagram for Compound X.
6) Based on the electromagnetic radiation absorption data provided, identify the electronic energy level diagram
for Compound X.

7) Select the photon energy listed below that corresponds to emission due to the electronic transition from the
n=3 n=2 state of Compound X.
3.61 x 10-19 J
8) Which of the electronic transitions for Compound X are induced by absorption of visible light?
n=2n=3
9) Based on the electronic energy level diagram for Compound X, incident (incoming) electromagnetic radiation
with a wavelength of 400 nm would induce:
no transition would be induced

Another substance with good sunscreen properties has a composition of C 61.31%, H 5.15%, N 10.21%, and
O 23.33%. The infrared (IR) and Mass spectra (MS) are included below. The IR spectrum shows this
molecule also contains the phenyl ring with the general structure :

10) Based on the composition information in the paragraph above, what is the molecular formula of this sunscreen?

C7H7NO2

11) Based on the spectra above, what is the correct structure for this sunscreen molecule?

12) What does the small signal at m/z 138 on the MS for this compound represent?

The signal seen at 138 is due to an additional neutron in one of the atoms of the molecule
isotope effect.

13) The strongest signal on the IR spectrum for the C=O peak occurs at 1675 cm-1. What incident (incoming)
photon energy, in kJ/mol, is necessary to produce this signal?
20.1

Ozone, O3, can be considered to be the earths sunscreen because it absorbs UV radiation with peak
absorption at 250 nm.

14) Which of the following represents one of the resonance structures for ozone?

15) For the Lewis structure of ozone, determine the number of bonding pairs (bp) and lone pairs (lp) of electrons
this molecule contains.
bp-3, lp-6
16) Which of the following statements is NOT true concerning resonance in an ozone molecule?
The electrons illustrated by the resonance structures switch back and forth between the two end
oxygen atoms and the central oxygen atom.

Some sunscreens act by physically blocking or scattering the EM energy in addition to absorbing energy
from EM energy. These types of sunscreen typically contain compounds composed of titanium (Ti) and zinc
(Zn) like titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO).
17) Which of the following is true regarding titanium and zinc atoms?
the atomic radius of Zn is less than Ti, and the first ionization energy of Zn is greater than Ti

18) ZnO contains zinc in the +2 ion form. The electron configuration of this ion can be expressed as:
[Ar] 3d10
19) An anion (a negatively charged ion) having a -2 charge with an electron configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6
causes the zinc oxide, usually an opaque white, to turn yellow. What neutral atom is responsible for this?
S
20) Ti exists in an ionized form in sunscreen. From the PES spectrum below, identify the ionic charge of Ti found
in sunscreen.
+4

FREE RESPONSE:
1(a) (4 points ) Construct a reasonable Lewis structure for a molecule given the molecular formula: C3H3Cl3.
Clearly identify which atoms have trigonal planar molelcular geometry and which have tetrahedral molecular
geometry. Indicate the bond angles around each carbon.

1(b) (3 points) In characterizing the molecule you proposed above in 1(a) using IR spectroscopy, what atom-atom
connections (i.e. bonds) would you expect to observe? List all bonds possible based on your structure.

C-Cl
C-C
C=C
C-H

(The alternate structure above would not have all of these except the C=C)

1(c) (3 points) Draw the Mass Spectrum for the molecule you proposed in 1(a) - showing where you would find the
molecular ion peak and one fragment from your molecule. Clearly label your drawing.

In your answer, you would need to draw the Mass Spectrum with labeled axes, and show a signal at 145 and
another at a reasonable mass to represent one of the fragments. Reasonable fragments could be:
15 for CH3
or 121 showing loss of one Cl
many others depending on how your
molecule was drawn.

2(a) (2 pts) Write the electron configuration for the Boron and Aluminum atoms in the full (spectroscopic)
notation.
B:

1s2 2s2 2p1

Al:

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p1

2(b) ( 4 pts) Which has the higher first ionization energy, Boron or Aluminum? Justify your prediction using a
shell model or Potential Energy diagram in your explanation.
Boron has the higher first ionization energy. The valence (outer shell) electron is closer to the nucleus (lower
potential energy) so requires more energy to remove it from the outer shell.

Boron

Aluminum

OR

Boron

Aluminum

2(c) (4 pts) Sketch the corresopnding photoelectron spectrum (PES) that would be obtained from the Boron atom.
Identify all features of the spectrum including the identity of all peaks.

2(d) (+1 bonus point this is a an opportunity for 1 bonus point you will not be penalized for incorrectly
answering or skipping this question) Utilize the photoemission spectrum you constructed in the previous question
and predict the lowest energy electronic transition that would occur for Boron by absorption of electromagnetic
radiation.
2s2p