MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
View the complete course: https://ocw.mit.edu/5-111F14
Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Professor Cathy Drennan introduces this series of lectures about basic chemical principles. She describes her path to becoming a chemist and reveals her first impression of the discipline of chemistry. Goals for students of this material are presented as well as some examples about how real world problems can be solved through the applications of chemical principles. Teaching assistants for the course are introduced.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
The backscattering experiment of Rutherford is recreated in the classroom setting. Ping pong balls are used to represent alpha particles and Styrofoam balls connected to a series of strings represent nuclei in a piece of gold foil.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
The idea that light is both a wave and a particle is introduced. The properties of waves are described and the applications of diffraction are presented.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
The idea that matter (and thus an electron) has both particle-like and wave-like properties is introduced, and chemist Darcy Wanger Grinolds introduces us to quantum dot technology. We also start to consider the impact that the Schrödinger equation had on our understanding of the atom.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
In this lecture, we look at the visible spectrum produced by the hydrogen atom. A series of lines of different colors appear and we consider why the hydrogen atom produces this particular spectrum.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Where is that electron anyway? In this lecture, the probability of finding an electron at a particular distance from the nucleus is discussed. The concept of wavefunctions (orbitals) is introduced, and applications of electron spin are described. In particular, chemist Ben Ofori-Okai introduces us to the wonders of magnetic resonance imaging, also known as MRIs.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
After focusing on the hydrogen atom for several lectures, the course moves on to consider atoms with more than one electron. Now, the pull of the positively charged nucleus on the negatively charged electron is harder to predict as shielding comes into play. Also, we try our hand at electron configurations.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
The periodic table is to chemistry like the laws of motion are to physics. In this lecture, we discover the secrets of the periodic table and meet the elements.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
In this lecture, we complete the discussion of the periodic table and start to consider the types of bonds that are formed between elements. Chemist Kateryna Kozyrytska tells us about why the concept of electronegativity is important in the design of antibiotics.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Lewis structures are simplistic views of molecular structure. They are based on the idea that the key to covalent bonding is electron sharing and having each atom achieve a noble gas electron configuration. Lewis structures correctly predict electron configurations around atoms in molecules about 90% of the time. They are not perfect, but writing a Lewis structure is a lot easier than solving the Schrödinger equation, so we recommend that you watch this lecture.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Radicals, expanded octets, and more, in this lecture about Lewis structures.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Valence shell electron pair repulsion or VSEPR theory can be used to predict molecular geometry. The theory is based on Lewis structures and the simple idea that that the preferred geometry around a central atom is the one that minimizes electron repulsion. Chemist Stefanie Sydlik tells us how she uses VSEPR theory to design sensors that are capable of detecting landmines.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Why do some atoms readily form bonds with each other and other atoms don’t? Using molecular orbital theory, we can rationalize why molecular hydrogen is an abundant molecule whereas molecular helium is not. If you want to power your starship with dilithium crystals, you should watch this lecture.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Valence bond theory and hybridization can be used to explain and/or predict the geometry of any atom in a molecule. In particular, the concept of hybridization is important for understanding the geometry of organic molecules.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Thermodynamics is key to understanding the reactivity of molecules and compounds. In this first of three lectures on thermodynamics, viewers are introduced to ∆H, and asked to consider how much heat it will take to break one type of molecular bond versus another. Viewers are also asked whether a particular chemical reaction will release heat or absorb heat.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
If you mix two compounds together will they react spontaneously? How do you know? Find out the key to spontaneity in this lecture. Also, what does Robert Frost’s poetry have to do with entropy, and how can you prepare toothpaste for an elephant? Find out.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Chemistry is part of everyday life whether we realize it or not. In this lecture, we use thermodynamics to explain some basic observations made when cooking. Chemistry is also essential within living organisms, and we hear from researcher Lourdes Aleman about the importance of weak interactions known as hydrogen bonds.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Reactions reach chemical equilibrium when the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction. In this lecture, we discuss the nature of chemical equilibrium and of the chemical equilibrium constant. We start to consider how external factors can “push” the equilibrium in one direction or the other. Physicist and Chemist Nozomi Ando provides an example of why chemical equilibrium is important in living organisms.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
A system in equilibrium that is subjected to a stress tends to respond in a way that minimizes that stress. In this lecture, viewers will learn about chemical reactions but will also learn some important life lessons.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
If you have ever tried to get a stain out of a favorite garment or struggled to clean your bathtub after a long period of neglect, this lecture is for you. Understanding solubility is important whether you want to design a new cancer drug, want to save the planet by removing greenhouse gases from the environment like Chemist Hector Hernandez, or if you simply want to get your apartment ready for a visit from your parents.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
If the pH of water was 2, would you drink it? What about if the water had a pH of 11? The lecture introduces the concept of pH and we measure the pH of various common solutions.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
A buffer helps to maintain a constant pH. Our blood has a natural buffering system to ensure that the pH of our blood stays within a narrow window and that we stay health. In this lecture, we consider how to design a buffer. We also discuss how one can predict the pH of a salt solution. At dinner if you put table salt in your water glass, how would the pH of the water change? or would it change?
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
A common chemistry laboratory experiment involves titrating a strong base into a weak acid, drop by drop, until a color change of an indicator dye tells the student that the equivalence point has been reached. By determining the volume of strong based needed to reach the equivalence point, the molecular weight and/or pKa of the weak acid can be determined. In this lecture, we start to work through the calculations underlying acid-base titrations.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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We finish the topic of acid-base titrations and consider why pKa is so important. Chemist Samuel Thompson talks about a problem he encountered in his undergraduate research that had to do with the pKa of a molecular probe. Learn what the problem was and how he solved it.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Redox reactions are a major class of chemical reactions in which there is an exchange of electrons from one species to another. In this lecture, the basic principles of redox reactions are introduced. If you want to design the next greatest battery to power your favorite electronic device, you won’t want to miss this lecture.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Viewers are introduced to agents of oxidation and agents of reduction. Are oxidizing agents really that bad for you? Hear from Professor John Essigmann about the double-edged sword that is oxidation-reduction. Oxidizing agents can protect us from disease but can also damage our genetic material. Friend or foe, you decide.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
A fundamental property of d-block metals (aka transition metals) is that they are predisposed to form coordination complexes, which have a metal in the middle that is surrounded by ions or atoms (aka ligands). These coordination complexes have special properties, which are described in detail in lectures 28 and 29. We also hear from Chemist Sarah Bowman about the importance of the d-block metal nickel.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Crystal field theory was developed to explain the special features of transition metal complexes, including their beautiful colors and their magnetic properties. In part I of this topic, we consider d-block coordination complexes that have octahedral geometry, and see whether we can change the color of a paper flower dipped in an octahedral cobalt chloride complex just by adding water.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
This lecture starts with a challenge: can you correctly predict the color of a transition metal complex based on its ligands and its geometry? The theory is put to the test with a demo using nickel compounds. We also try to predict the geometry of an unknown nickel site on an enzyme based on its magnetic properties. See if you are up to the challenge.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Whether a reaction will go forward spontaneously depends on the thermodynamics. How fast a reaction goes depends on the kinetics. Decomposition of a molecule might be thermodynamically favorable (the molecule is unstable) but kinetically slow (the molecule is inert). In thinking about chemical reactions, rate matters. This lecture provides an introduction to kinetics and shows one of the coolest reactions known: the oscillating clock reaction. Watch as colors change quickly as different steps in the reaction become spontaneous.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Professor Drennan recites Mala Radhakrishnan’s poem “Days of Our Half-Lives” as she provides an introduction to nuclear chemistry. With nuclear chemistry as a great example of a first order process, the lecture also goes on to talk about second order reactions. Chemical equilibrium is also revisited as the class considers the relationship between equilibrium constants and rate constants.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Chemists experimentally determine rate laws and then use that experimental information to propose reaction mechanisms. In an overall reaction, some steps will be fast and others slow. One step can be so slow that it governs the overall rate of the reaction; it is the rate-determining step. Learn how to predict reaction mechanisms using the steady-state approximation as well as information about fast and slow steps.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
Using liquid nitrogen, we observe that lowering the temperature slows reaction rates. The concept of activation energy is introduced; there is always some energy needed when two molecules come together that allows them to react. Only molecules that have this critical energy, and can overcome this activation energy barrier, will react and go on to product. Lower temperature means that fewer molecules with have this critical amount of energy.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
A catalyst is a substrate that speeds up a reaction without being consumed. Catalysts lower the activation energy barrier for a reaction without changing the equilibrium constant. In this lecture, catalysts of different types are introduced, including Nature’s catalysts, enzymes. We also hear from Chemist Jingnan Lu about why knowledge of kinetics is important for the development of biofuels.
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MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2014
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Instructor: Catherine Drennan
In the final clicker competition of the semester, students are challenged to explain a biological process using the basic chemical principles that they have learned over the course of the semester. The process is the biological fixation of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by a micro-organism. Match your wits and knowledge and see how you score compared to the winning group of MIT students.
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Lecture 6: Vision 2 Instructor: John Gabrieli View the complete course: http://ocw.mit.edu/9-00SCS11 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
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