Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 3 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Recitations: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Textbooks
Atkins, Peter, and Loretta Jones. Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight. 4th ed. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 2007. ISBN: 9781429209656.
Krenos, John. Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight/Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual. 4th ed. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 2007. ISBN: 9781429200998. ( Bundled set. ISBN: 9781429212595.)
Lecture Notes
Lecture notes (with blanks) are provided for each lecture. Students are expected to follow along during the lecture in order to fill in the blanks in the notes.
Grading
Grades will be based on a total of 750 points.
| ACTIVITIES | POINTS |
|---|---|
| Three one-hour exams (3 x 100 points) | 300 |
| Three-hour final exam | 300 |
| Problem sets | 100 |
| Attendance and in-class “quizzes” | 50 |
Homework
There will be 10 problem sets assigned during the semester. Assignments will be graded, and will be worth a total of 100 points of your final grade. The problem sets are not included in these course materials.
Exams
There will be three hour-long exams during the semester and a three-hour-long final exam. All exams are closed-book and closed-notes. Most required equations and a periodic table will be provided.
Biology Topics
In an effort to illuminate connections between chemistry and biology and spark students’ excitement for chemistry, we incorporate frequent biology-related examples into the lectures. These in-class examples range from two to ten minutes, designed to succinctly introduce biological connections without sacrificing any chemistry content in the curriculum.
A list of the biology-, medicine-, and MIT research-related examples used in 5.111 is provided in Biology-Related Examples.
Significant Figures
Rules for scientific notation and significant figures are available in the back of the textbook in Appendix 1, pages A5-A6. You are also responsible for knowing the following SI prefixes: n (nano, 10-9), µ (micro, 10-6), m (milli, 10-3), c (centi, 10-2), and k (kilo, 103)
Clicker Questions
We will use classroom response devices during lectures to take attendance, enable feedback, and facilitate occasional in-class quizzes. We have outlined the following points to help clarify the class policies regarding clicker use.
Why are we using clickers?
- Clickers give us additional feedback on whether the class as a whole understands a given concept or when our explanations need to be expanded or clarified. This enables us to gauge the understanding of the entire class and adjust our lessons accordingly.
- Clickers also provide you as a student feedback on how well you understand the material and how fast you are able to solve problems. For example, if you are able to solve the homework problems but run out of time on in-class slicker questions, it is a good indication that you will be pinched for time on the exam and may need to work through more practice problems to increase your speed.
- We feel it is appropriate to reward the many students that consistently come to class and participate. In addition, because we take attendance we feel more comfortable posting lecture notes online.
Answering in-class clicker questions
- Apart from announced in-class quiz questions, you will not be graded on whether you answer clicker questions correctly.
- For routine clicker questions, you are encouraged to attempt the question on your own, but you are certainly allowed to quietly discuss the problem with your neighbor. For announced quiz questions, any talking or sharing answers in considered cheating.
Calendar
The calendar below provides information on the course’s lecture (L) and exam (E) sessions.
| SES # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | The importance of chemical principles | |
| L2 | Discovery of electron and nucleus, need for quantum mechanics | |
| L3 | Wave-particle duality of light | |
| L4 | Wave-particle duality of matter, Schrödinger equation | |
| L5 | Hydrogen atom energy levels | Problem set 1 due |
| L6 | Hydrogen atom wavefunctions (orbitals) | |
| L7 | p-orbitals | |
| L8 | Multielectron atoms and electron configurations | Problem set 2 due |
| L9 | Periodic trends | |
| L10 | Periodic trends continued; Covalent bonds | Problem set 3 due |
| L11 | Lewis structures | |
| E1 | Exam 1 covering lectures 1-9 | |
| L12 | Exceptions to Lewis structure rules; Ionic bonds | |
| L13 | Polar covalent bonds; VSEPR theory | |
| L14 | Molecular orbital theory | |
| L15 | Valence bond theory and hybridization | Problem set 4 due |
| L16 | Determining hybridization in complex molecules; Thermochemistry and bond energies/bond enthalpies | |
| L17 | Entropy and disorder | Problem set 5 due |
| L18 | Free energy and control of spontaneity | |
| E2 | Exam 2 covering lectures 10-16 | |
| L19 | Chemical equilibrium | |
| L20 | Le Chatelier’s principle and applications to blood-oxygen levels | |
| L21 | Acid-base equilibrium: Is MIT water safe to drink? | |
| L22 | Chemical and biological buffers | Problem set 6 due |
| L23 | Acid-base titrations | |
| L24 | Balancing oxidation/reduction equations | |
| L25 | Electrochemical cells | Problem set 7 due |
| L26 | Chemical and biological oxidation/reduction reactions | |
| L27 | Transition metals and the treatment of lead poisoning | Problem set 8 due |
| L28 | Crystal field theory | |
| E3 | Exam 3 covering lectures 17-26 | |
| L29 | Metals in biology | |
| L30 | Magnetism and spectrochemical theory | |
| L31 | Rate laws | Problem set 9 due |
| L32 | Nuclear chemistry and elementary reactions | |
| L33 | Reaction mechanism | |
| L34 | Temperature and kinetics | Problem set 10 due |
| L35 | Enzyme catalysis | |
| L36 | Biochemistry | |
| E4 | Final exam covering lecture 1-36 |
