OVERVIEW

The course develops the major themes of Chemistry, with particular attention to applications and technological aspects. It is organized according to a learning path that starts from the model of the atom, to then describe chemical bonds, gases, liquids and solids, their reactions and properties. The main concepts of thermodynamics, equilibrium and kinetics will allow students to evaluate the transformations of matter and the bases of chemical processes and technologies.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is intended to provide a basic chemical culture, required to describe the structure and chemistry of the materials and to deal with the interpretation of the natural, environmental and technological processes.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the ability to understand and critically deal with chemical issues concerning structures and properties of materials and their technological applications, in relation to the atomic structure, types of bonding, thermal effects, reaction rate and spontaneity of chemical reactions, chemical and physical equilibria.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

describe and exemplify atomic, molecular and material structures;

describe examples of state diagrams;

analyze and solve quantitative problems on stoichiometry, essential thermodynamic, chemical kinetics, electrochemistry and equilibrium composition of reaction mixtures;

interpret the main properties of materials in technological applications and natural processes;

evaluate the behavior of solutes in aqueous solutions;

hypothesize the behavior of a chemical system upon chemical reactions in different conditions, by using the aquired skills.

TEACHING METHODS

lectures, exercises and problem analysis and solving during class hours

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Fundamentals: the nomenclature of inorganic compounds (oxides, anhydrides, hydroxides, acids, salts),  chemical reactions (double replacement and redox reactions), reaction stoichiometry, the mole concept, concentration of the solutions.

Atomic structure: atomic models, quantum numbers, orbitals, Heisenberg uncertainty principle, Pauli principle, electron configurations of atoms. Periodic table and properties. Fundamentals of nuclear chemistry. Chemical bonds: covalent, ionic, metallic bonds, intermolecular forces.

An introduction to organic chemistry: hybridization of atomic orbitals in Carbon atom, functional groups, polymers.

Gases: the gas laws, ideal and real gases, volume of gases in the chemical reactions.

Solids: structures of solids and their properties; metallic, ionic, molecular crystals, network solids.

Fundamentals of Thermodynamics:  laws of thermodynamics, Enthalpy, Entropy, Gibbs Free Energy and spontaneity of reaction. Chemical equilibria: reaction at equilibrium, the equilibrium constant, Gibbs Free Energy and equilibrium in homogeneous systems, changes in equilibrium. Physical equilibria: phase diagrams. Acids and Bases and aqueous equilibria: pH calculation (strong and weak acids and bases, salt solutions), buffers. Solubility. Colligative properties. Chemical kinetic: reaction rate, Arrhenius’s law. Electrochemistry: galvanic cells, electrolytic cells.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lecture notes. Course material and slides available in Aulaweb.

Bibliography: P.Zanello, R.Gobetto, R.Zanoni, Conoscere la chimica. Fondamenti di chimica generale e inorganica con elementi di chimica organica, CEA ed. (Italian); M.S.Silberberg, Chimica, McGraw Hill ed.(available in English); P.Atkins, L.Jones, Fondamenti di chimica generale, Zanichelli ed. (also availbale in English);  I.Bertini, C.Luchinat, F.Mani, Chimica, materia, tecnologia, ambiente, CEA ed.(Italian) ; R.H.Petrucci, W.S.Hartwood, F.G.Herring, Chimica generale, principi e moderne applicazioni, Piccin ed. (available in English)

M.  Panizza,  G. Cerisola, Esercizi di chimica per Ingegneria, Ed. ECIG (in Italian).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ELISABETTA FINOCCHIO (President)

MARIA PAOLA CARPANESE

GIACOMO CERISOLA

MARINA DELUCCHI

MARCO PANIZZA

GIANGUIDO RAMIS

LESSONS

LESSONS START

1st semester

Class schedule

CHEMISTRY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Written exam with optional oral exam. Student who have passed the written test with a grade higher than, or equal to, 18 may decide whether to accept the grade of the written test or hold an oral exam on the scheduled days. In the latter case the final grade will result from the grade average of written and oral exams.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

At the end of the course, the student must have acquired the basic knowledge necessary to understand and deal with issues concerning: chemical reactions and processes, structures and properties of materials, their technological applications.

The written exam will evaluate the student's ability to describe and exemplify fundamental concepts of chemistry reported in the course program (open questions), to understand and solve quantitative problems concerning stoichiometry, thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibrium reactions and chemical processes (numerical exercises and nomenclature), to interpret diagrams, to describe and compare structures and properties of atoms, compounds and materials proposed as esamples (open questions).

Evaluation parameters will be the correctness of the numerical results, the completeness and quality of the exposure, the appropriate use of the specialized lexicon.

Exam schedule