AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The module provides to the students the foundatments of a basic chemical culture indispensable for describing the structure and the reactivity of materials and for interpretation of the transformations in nature, environmental and technological processes.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The training activities, proposed in the form of lectures, exercises and numerical applications, associated with individual study, will provide the chemical foundations for understanding the qualitative and quantitative aspects present in the technologies of transformation of matter and energy. At the end of the course, the student will therefore be able to:
determine the atomic structure and the electronic configuration according to Aufbau model;

know the formation mechanisms of the strong chemical bonds and the weak interactions through the MOLCAO method;

understand the structure of solids through the band theory and gas state equations using the kinetic theory;

determine the chemical potentials starting from the fundamentals of classical thermodynamics;

calculate the composition of a chemical system using equilibrium constants;

determine the kinetics involved in the transformation of the matter according to the collision theory and the Arrhenius law;

understand the relationships between the structure and the electrical, magnetic and mechanical properties of materials applying a scale-up from microscopic to macroscopic;

discuss all the proposed activities applying the scientific method and using an appropriate language.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures and exercises in the classroom. The assessment of learning and operational skills during the course will take place through the monitoring carried out during the numerical exercises.

The transversal skills in terms of independence of judgment will be acquired through the classroom performance of the exercises to be carried out in a group.

Students with valid certifications for Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs), disabilities or other educational needs are invited to contact the teacher and the School's disability liaison at the beginning of teaching to agree on possible teaching arrangements that, while respecting the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning patterns.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Structure of matter: composition of the atom and its stability; matter-energy interactions; quantization of energy and wave nature of the matter; Schrodinger equation and Aufbau principle; periodicity of chemical properties; MOLCAO method, covalent bond; intermolecular force; band structure theory in the solids; solid structures; amorphous and crystalline state; properties of liquids; ideal and real gases; relationship between structure and mechanical, magnetic and electrical properties. Nomenclature of chemical compounds.

Fundamentals of the chemical reactivity: first law of thermodynamics and enthalpy; second law of thermodynamics and entropy; free energy and chemical equilibrium Gibbs function and chemical equilibrium; state diagrams; colligative properties and distillation; aqueous solutions, strong acids and bases, weak acids and bases, hydrolysis of the salts, buffer solutions; solubility of salts; chemical kinetics and kinetic equations; Arrhenius law, transition complex and catalysis.

Polymeric materials: introduction to organic chemistry; relations between property and structure of the synthetic polymers (fibers, plastics, elastomers, thermosetting polymers, Tm, Tg, crystallinity, mechanical properties, conductive polymers); liquid crystals and silicones; environmental impact of synthetic polymers.

Energy and environment: energy sources and sustainable development; hydrogen production; renewable sources.

Numerical applications: units; mole; formulas; atomic and molecular weight; chemical reactions; gas laws; concentrations; shift of the chemical equilibrium; pH.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The teaching material used during the lessons will be available in aulaweb, as well as the examples of final tests proposed in previous years with the related solutions. The notes taken during the lessons and the material in the aulaweb are enough for the preparation of the exam. Specific indications on reference bibliography will be provided by the professor at the beginning of the lectures.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ANTONIO BARBUCCI (President)

MARCO PANIZZA (President Substitute)

GIANGUIDO RAMIS (President Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/corsi/8738/studenti-orario.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam includes a written and an oral exam with open questions.

The written test must establish only the minimum level of necessary knowledge for the admission to the next oral exam. This test does not have a numerical evaluation and is based on the solution of 9 questions on the following topics discussed during the exercises and present in the appropriate section available to all the students in Aulaweb:

1) Inorganic nomenclature;

2) Balancing exchange ion reactions;

3) Stoichiometric calculations or numerical application of the perfect gas law;

4) Radiochemistry or representation of the electronic configurations of atoms and molecules or chemical bond;

5) pH calculation of strong acids and bases;

6) Description and exploitation of energy sources;

7) Calculation of the equilibrium constant or composition;

8) Description of polymeric material or description of the relationship between the structure and a property or kinetics and catalysts;

9) pH calculation of weak acids and bases or salt solubility or organic nomenclature.

The written test is considered passed with a number of correct answers greater or equal than to 5. 3 appeals will be available in the winter session and 3 in the summer session.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Details to prepare the exam and the level of depth of each topic will be given during the lessons.

The numerical problems and open questions of the written exam will allow to evaluate the ability to apply the acquired fundamental chemical knowledge to real situations in the processes of transformation of matter and energy. The student must be able to connect and integrate the qualitative knowledge with the quantitative knowledge learned during the lectures.

The oral exam focus mainly the topics covered during the lectures and evaluates not only whether the student has reached an adequate level of knowledge, but whether has been acquired ability to critically analyze the fundamental chemical problems inherent the state and transformation of matter. The student must also be able to justify the relationships between the structure and some of the mechanical, electrical and magnetic properties of materials.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Ask the professor for other information not included in the teaching schedule.