PCC-12303 General Chemistry 1

Course

Credits 3.00

Language of instruction:

Dutch

Contents:

Many disciplines in the fields of life sciences, environmental sciences and technology build on concepts from physics and chemistry. The courses General Chemistry I and II intend to make you familiar with these general concepts. Among the concepts are matter and energy, size and scale, quantization of energies, driving forces, change and equilibrium. The starting point for the exploration of the various concepts is observation of the world we live in. From there, a journey is undertaken in search of the physical and chemical laws that govern the world around us. Concepts are worked out both theoretically and experimentally in tutorials and practical classes within themes and contexts from various fields. In General Chemistry I the emphasis is on the concepts of size and scale, probability distributions, thermal motion, kinetic and potential energies, Boltzmann distribution law, driving forces behind processes, equilibrium and change, acids and bases, and reaction rates.

Learning outcomes:

At the end of the course the student is able to:
- identify physico-chemical forces governing the behaviour of particles in relation to size;
- describe the types of potential and kinetic energies that particles possess;
- do calculations on particle distributions using Boltzmann' s law;
- describe transport under the influence of concentration gradients or external forces and calculate transport rates;
- calculate equilibrium constants for chemical reactions and predict shifts in equilibrium as a result of changed conditions;
- calculate the pH and buffer capacity of acids, bases and mixtures of these;
- calculate reaction rates for zero-, first- and second-order reactions;
- calculate the energy of activation using Arrhenius' equation.

Activities:

Participation in lectures, tutorials and practical training, and independent study.

Examination:

Written exam with multiple-choice questions. The final mark can be assessed only after completing all practical classes.

Literature:

To be filled in later.