Chemistry For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Table of Contents

Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
What Not to Read
How This Book Is Organized
Part I: The Basic Concepts of Chemistry
Part II: A Cornucopia of Chemical Concepts
Part III: Blessed Be the Bonds That Tie
Part IV: Environmental Chemistry: Benefits and Problems
Part V: The Part of Tens
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: The Basic Concepts of Chemistry
Chapter 1: What Is Chemistry, and Why Do I Need to Know Some?
Understanding What Chemistry Is
Distinguishing between Science and Technology
Deciphering the Scientific Method
How the scientific method works
How you can use the scientific method
Looking at the Branches of Chemistry
Macroscopic versus microscopic viewpoints
Pure versus applied chemistry
Eyeing What You’ll Do in Your Chemistry Class
Chapter 2: Contemplating Chemical Calculations
Grasping the SI Measurement System
Eyeing the basic SI prefixes
Units of length
Units of mass
Units of volume
Units of temperature
Units of pressure
Units of energy
Handling Really Big or Really Small Numbers
Exploring exponential and scientific notation
Adding and subtracting
Multiplying and dividing
Raising a number to a power
Relying on a calculator
Deciphering the Difference between Accuracy and Precision
Using the Unit Conversion Method to Solve Problems
Knowing How to Handle Significant Figures
Comparing numbers: Exact and counted versus measured
Determining the number of significant figures in a measured number
Reporting the correct number of significant figures
Rounding off numbers
Chapter 3: Matter and Energy
Looking at the Facts of Matter
Solids
Liquids
Gases
Ice in Alaska, Water in Texas: Changing States of Matter
I’m melting away! Oh, what a world!
Boiling point
Freezing point
Sublimate this!
Classifying Pure Substances and Mixtures
Keeping it simple with pure substances
Throwing mixtures into the mix
Nice Properties You’ve Got There
Identifying substances by density
How dense are you? Measuring density
Keeping the World in Motion: Energy
Moving right along: Kinetic energy
Sitting pretty: Potential energy
Measuring Energy
Taking a look at temperature
Feeling the heat
Chapter 4: Something Smaller Than an Atom? Atomic Structure
Taking an Up-Close Look at the Atom: Subatomic Particles
Taking Center Stage: The Nucleus
Locating the Electrons in an Atom
The Bohr model — it’s really not boring
Quantum mechanical model
Configuring Electrons (Bed Check for Electrons)
Examining the energy-level diagram
Eyeing electron configurations
Living on the edge: Valence electrons
Examining Isotopes and Ions
Isolating the isotope
Keeping an eye on ions
Chapter 5: The Periodic Table (But No Chairs)
Repeating Patterns of Periodicity
Understanding How Elements Are Arranged in the Periodic Table
Classifying metals, nonmetals, and metalloids
Organizing by periods and families
Chapter 6: Balloons, Tires, and Scuba Tanks: The Wonderful World of Gases
Taking a Microscopic View of Gases: The Kinetic Molecular Theory
Staying Under Pressure — Atmospheric Pressure, That Is
Measuring atmospheric pressure: The barometer
Measuring confined gas pressure: The manometer
Grasping Different Gas Laws
Boyle’s law: Nothing to do with boiling
Charles’s law: Don’t call me Chuck
Gay-Lussac’s law
The combined gas law
Avogadro’s law
The ideal gas equation
The van der Waals equation
Applying Gas Laws to Stoichiometry
Tackling Dalton’s and Graham’s Laws
Dalton’s law
Graham’s law
Part II: A Cornucopia of Chemical Concepts
Chapter 7: Chemical Cooking: Chemical Reactions
Knowing What You Have and What You’ll Get: Reactants and Products
Understanding How Reactions Occur: The Collision Theory
Eyeing a one-step collision example
Considering an exothermic example
Looking at an endothermic example
Identifying Different Types of Reactions
Combination reactions
Decomposition reactions
Single-displacement reactions
Double-displacement reactions
Combustion reactions
Redox reactions
Balancing Chemical Reactions
Balancing ammonia production
Flicking the lighter
Chapter 8: The Mole: Can You Dig It?
Counting Particles by Massing
Using Moles to Count
Looking up Avogadro’s number: Not in the phone book
Putting moles to work
Calculating empirical formulas
Understanding the Role of Moles in Chemical Reactions
Making the calculations
Determining what you need and what you’ll get: Reaction stoichiometry
Figuring out the bang for your buck: Percent yield
Running out of something and leaving something behind: Limiting reactants
Chapter 9: Mixing Matter Up: Solutions
Getting Your Definitions Straight: Solutes, Solvents, and Solutions
Discussing solubility: How much solute will dissolve
Exploring saturation
Focusing on Solution Concentration Units
Percent composition: Three different ratios
Molarity: It’s number one!
Molality: Another use for the mole
Parts per million: The pollution unit
Comprehending Colligative Properties of Solutions
Reducing the pressure: Vapor-pressure lowering
Using antifreeze in summer: Boiling-point elevation
Making ice cream: Freezing-point depression
Keeping blood cells alive and well: Osmotic pressure
Clearing the Air on Colloids
Chapter 10: Thermochemistry: Hot Stuff
Looking at Reactions and Energy Changes
Systems and surroundings
Heat
Units of energy
Heat capacities
Calorimetry
Understanding Enthalpy Changes
Finding Heats of Reaction
Doing it yourself
Referring to tables
Relying on Hess’s law
Using standard heats of formation
Uncovering Enthalpies and Phase Transitions
Chapter 11: Sour and Bitter: Acids and Bases
Getting to Know the Properties of Acids and Bases: Macroscopic View
Recognizing Acids and Bases: Microscopic View
The Arrhenius theory: Must have water
The Bronsted-Lowry acid-base theory: Giving and accepting
Distinguishing between Strong and Weak Acids and Bases
Ionizing completely: Strong acids
Falling to pieces: Strong bases
Ionizing partway: Weak acids
Finding equilibrium with water: Weak bases
Competing for protons: Bronsted-Lowry acid-base reactions
Playing both parts: Amphoteric water
Identifying Acids and Bases with Indicators
Taking a quick dip with litmus paper
Titrating with phenolphthalein
Putting Coffee and Other Substances on the pH Scale
Controlling pH with Buffers
Part III: Blessed Be the Bonds That Tie
Chapter 12: Where Did I Put That Electron? Quantum Theory
Facing the Concepts of Matter and Light
Understanding the components
Spectroscopy
Grasping Bohr’s Atomic Model
De Broglie’s contribution
Heisenberg’s contribution
Understanding the Quantum Mechanical Model
Chapter 13: Opposites Do Attract: Ionic Bonding
Magically Bonding Ions: Sodium + Chlorine = Table Salt
Meeting the components
Understanding the reaction
Ending up with a bond
Identifying Positive and Negative Ions: Cations and Anions
Grasping Polyatomic Ions
Putting Ions Together: Ionic Compounds
Putting magnesium and bromine together
Applying the crisscross rule
Naming Ionic Compounds
Contrasting Electrolytes and Nonelectrolytes
Chapter 14: Sharing Nicely: Covalent Bonding
Eyeing Covalent Bond Basics
Considering a hydrogen example
Comparing covalent bonds with other bonds
Understanding multiple bonds
Naming Binary Covalent Compounds
Learning Many Formulas in a Little Time
Empirical formula: Just the elements
Molecular or true formula: Inside the numbers
Structural formula: Add the bonding pattern
Sharing Electron Pairs — Sometimes Equally and Sometimes Not
Attracting electrons: Electronegativities
Polar covalent bonding
Wondering about water: A really strange molecule
Chapter 15: What Do Molecules Really Look Like? Molecular Geometry and Hybridization
Seeing How Shape Matters
Getting charged with polarity
Predicting polarity
Delving Into Electron and Molecular Geometry (VSEPR)
Comprehending the Valence Bond Theory (Hybridization)
Breaking Down the Molecular Orbital (MO) Theory
Chapter 16: Tackling Periodic Trends
Checking Out the Importance of Size
Comprehending effective nuclear charge
Explaining changes in atomic radii
Tracing tendencies of ionic radii
Eyeing Trends in Ionization Energies
Noting an increase in sequential energy
Taking stability into consideration
Considering a few exceptions to the rule
Considering Trends in Electron Affinities
Chapter 17: Examining the Link between Intermolecular Forces and Condensed States
Understanding Types of Intermolecular Forces
Bringing ions and dipoles together
Mutually attracting dipoles
Drawing close to hydrogen
Uniting through the cloud
Bonding temporarily with London (dispersion) forces
Grasping the Properties of Liquids
Resisting an increase: Surface tension
Resisting to flow: Viscosity
Climbing the walls: Capillary action
Warming up: Heat capacity
Working with Solids
Deciphering Phase Diagrams
Part IV: Environmental Chemistry: Benefits and Problems
Chapter 18: Cough! Cough! Hack! Hack! Air Pollution
Seeing Where This Mess Began: Civilization’s Effect on the Atmosphere
Taking a Closer Look at the Earth’s Atmosphere
The troposphere: What humans affect the most
The stratosphere: Protecting humans with the ozone layer
Getting the Lowdown on the Ozone Layer
Explaining how the ozone reacts to gases
Seeing how CFCs hurt the ozone layer
Comprehending the Greenhouse Effect
Breathing Brown Air: Photochemical Smog
London smog
Photochemical smog
“I’m Meltingggggg!” — Acid Rain
Don’t drink the water: What’s in acid rain
Charge them up and drop them out: Electrostatic precipitators
Washing water: Scrubbers
Chapter 19: Examining the Ins and Outs of Water Pollution
Where Does Water Come from, and Where Is It Going?
Evaporate, condense, repeat
Following the water
Taking a Closer Look at Water: A Most Unusual Substance
Identifying Some Common Water Pollutants
We really didn’t get the lead out: Heavy metal contamination
Raining down acid
Getting sick off infectious agents
Leaking landfills and LUST
Seeping pollution from farms
Polluting with heat: Thermal pollution
Using up oxygen: BOD
Getting the Stink out of Wastewater
Primary sewage treatment
Secondary sewage treatment
Tertiary sewage treatment
Treating Drinking Water
Chapter 20: Nuclear Chemistry: It’ll Blow Your Mind
Understanding Basic Atomic Structure: It All Starts with the Atom
Defining Radioactivity and Man-Made Radioactive Decay
Radioactively Decaying the Natural Way
Alpha particle emission
Beta particle emission
Gamma radiation emission
Positron emission
Electron capture
Figuring Out When Radioactive Decay Happens: Half-Lives
Determining half-lives
Safe handling
Radioactive dating
Initiating Reactions: Nuclear Fission
Calculating chain reactions and critical mass
Controlling reactions: Nuclear power plants
Producing plutonium with breeder reactors
Harnessing Nuclear Fusion: The Hope for Tomorrow’s Energy
Overcoming the control issues
Imagining what the future holds
Identifying the Effects of Radiation
Part V: The Part of Tens
Chapter 21: Ten Serendipitous Discoveries in Chemistry
Taking the Measure of Volume
Keeping Rubber Solid
Right- and Left-Handed Molecules
Finding a Shortcut to Color: Artificial Dye
Dreaming Up the Ring Structure
Discovering Radioactivity
Finding Really Slick Stuff: Teflon
Stick ’Em Up! Sticky Notes
Growing Hair
Speaking of Sweet Somethings
Chapter 22: Ten (Or So) Great Chemistry Nerds
Amedeo Avogadro
Niels Bohr
Marie Curie
John Dalton
Michael Faraday
Antoine Lavoisier
Dmitri Mendeleev
Linus Pauling
Ernest Rutherford
Glenn Seaborg
That Third-Grade Girl Experimenting with Vinegar and Baking Soda
Chapter 23: Ten Terrific Tips for Passing Chem I
Have a Regular Study Schedule
Strive For Understanding — Don’t Just Memorize
Practice by Doing the Homework
Get Help from Additional Resources
Read the Material before Class
Take Good Notes
Recopy Your Lecture Notes
Ask Questions
Get a Good Night’s Sleep before Exams
Pay Particular Attention to Details
Chapter 24: The Top Ten Industrial Chemicals
Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4)
Nitrogen (N2)
Ethylene (C2H4)
Oxygen (O2)
Propylene (C3H6)
Chlorine (Cl2)
Ethylene Dichloride (C2H2Cl2)
Phosphoric Acid (H3PO4)
Ammonia (NH3)
Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)