Scintillating Structural Chemistry Quiz

Answer: Orbital

A common misconception is that electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom, but this is not strictly true. Electrons are found in orbitals which are a region in space in which there is a high probability of finding the said electrons. The paths of the electrons are therefore not predictable. Electrons are an important part of structural chemistry and quantum mechanics, a fascinating field of modern physics. Quantum physicist, Werner Heisenberg stated that it is impossible to know both the position and momentum of a particle (such as an electron) at the same time.

Answer: 3p6

This form of electronic configuration is a more useful way to determine the properties of elements and is also used to predict how an atom would bond to other atoms. Electrons are arranged in atomic orbitals, three of which are: s-orbitals, p-orbitals and d-orbitals. S-orbitals can contain up to two electrons, p-orbitals up to six electrons and d-orbitals up to ten electrons.

The order of electron notation is as follows: 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d. As argon has 18 electrons, it is notated in the form: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6.

Answer: Dative Bond

A dative bond (also known as a co-ordinate bond) is formed between an atom containing a pair of non-bonded electrons (a lone pair) and a vacant orbital on another atom. A common example of this type of bond is the bonding involved in the formation of a molecule of ammonium (NH4+) from its constituents, ammonia (NH3) and a hydrogen ion (H+).

The hydrogen is an ion as it has no electrons compared to the one electron found in its orbitals as an atom.

Answer: Electronegative

Electronegativity is measured on a scale, devised by Linus Pauling, of range 0.7 to 4, with 4 being the most electronegative of elements and 0.7 being the most electropositive of elements. Electronegativity, as stated above, is the relative ability to attract electrons to itself. Conversely, electropositivity is the relative ability to donate electrons to other atoms. Electronegativity follows a periodic trend whereby electronegativity increases as you move from group 1 through group 7 and also increases as you ascend each group from period 7 to period 1.

The most electronegative element is fluorine followed by oxygen and the least electronegative element is francium.

Answer: Gas

The first ionisation energy is as the name suggests; it is the removal of the first electron from the outermost shell of an atom to make a positively charged ion. This can be repeated over and over until there are no electrons left to remove. However, in general, as you remove more electrons and get closer to the nucleus of an atom, the necessary energy levels increase sharply and rapidly.

This process must be undertaken when the atom is in a gaseous state.

Answer: Linear

Chemical geometry is a diverse area of study with many different aspects of the topic to embrace. There are many different permutations of bonding pairs and lone pairs which subsequently result in different shapes of molecules with different bond angles. The main molecular shapes include: linear, angular (bent), trigonal planar, tetrahedral, trigonal pyramid and octahedral.

Answer: Nitrogen

Hydrogen bonding isn't a well understood area of chemistry and the presence of such a bond is as enigmatic as a result. Hydrogen bonding is what accounts for the relatively high boiling point of water and is also fundamental for the formation of life. A molecule of DNA contains four nitrogenous bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine. Adenine complements thymine whilst cytosine undergoes complementary base pairing with guanine. Between the bases of adenine and thymine there are two hydrogen bonds and between the bases cytosine and guanine there are three hydrogen bonds

Hydrogen bonds usually only form between an atom of hydrogen with an atom of either oxygen, nitrogen or fluorine, and in the case of ammonia (NH3) it is nitrogen's lone pair of electrons that creates the environment for such bonds.

Answer: van der Waals

These forces were named after the Dutch Nobel prize winning (1910) physicist, Johannes Diderik van der Waals.
Avogadro was famous for his work on molarity and has an extremely important chemical number named after him. Avogadro's number is the number of usually atoms (or other things, such as ions) in one mole of a substance. The number of atoms in a mole is [6.0221415 × (10^23)] and the mole is a recognised SI (Système International) unit. Louis de Broglie is world-renowned for his work in quantum mechanics particularly on the topic of electrons behaving as waves.
Joseph Gay-Lussac was a French physicist and chemist who is remembered for his work on gasses and also as being one of the people involved in the lead-up to the discovery of the chemical element, boron. Boron was eventually established as an element in 1824.

Answer: Redox

Redox reactions are when reduction and oxidation reactions occur simultaneously. Put simply, oxidation is the loss of electrons from an atom (can be other things such as ions) and conversely, reduction is the gain of electrons by an atom or ion. In more complex terms, reduction and oxidation are dependent on changes in the oxidation states of various atoms involved in the reaction. So, oxidation is the increase in the oxidation number of an atom whilst reduction is a decrease.

The terms oxidation state and oxidation number can be used interchangeably.

Answer: Fractionating Column

Hydrocarbons are an interesting aspect of both structural and organic chemistry. Three types of hydrocarbons are known as alkanes, alkenes and alkynes. The simplest molecule in the alkane homologous series is methane (CH4) which contains only single bonds thus making it a saturated molecule. The simplest molecule in the alkene homologous series is ethene (C2H4) which contains a double carbon to carbon bond. It is therefore known as an unsaturated molecule. The third homologous series is the alkynes. The most simple molecule which belongs to this family is ethyne (C2H2) and is also known as acetylene. This contains a triple carbon to carbon bond.

The fractionating column is a piece of apparatus which allows the separation of hydrocarbons based on their varying levels of volatility. This allows them to be used for various purposes, especially for fuels.

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