Chemical Concept

Chemical Concepts (Unit 4)

Introduction:
This course allows one to have a rough idea on the implications of chemistry on the society through illustrating on the various interaction man has with chemistry. This better allow us to relate to chemistry in our daily life.

Explanation:

Lewis structures and shapes

  • Lewis structures,” which combine multiple atoms using electron dot diagrams, and show bonding electrons as well as lone pairs of electrons. It’s very important to know how to draw both electron dot symbols and diagrams, as well as Lewis structures, because you can get a lot of relevant information from these structures, including electron location, number and types of bonds, and geometric structure.

Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory

  • This theory assumes that each atom in a molecule will achieve a geometry that minimizes the repulsion between electrons in the valence shell of that atom.

IR Spectrum and interaction with molecule

  • Infrared Spectroscopy is the analysis of infrared light interacting with a molecule. This can be analyzed in three ways by measuring absorption, emission and reflection. The main use of this technique is in organic and inorganic chemistry. It is used by chemists to determine functional groups in molecules. IR Spectroscopy measures the vibrations of atoms, and based on this it is possible to determine the functional groups. Generally, stronger bonds and light atoms will vibrate at a high stretching frequency (wave number).

3 laws of thermodynamics

Uses of energy

  • We divide our energy use among four economic sectors: residential, commercial, transportation, and industrial. Heating and cooling our homes, lighting office buildings, driving cars and moving freight, and manufacturing the products we rely on in our daily lives are all functions that require energy. If projections are correct, we’re going to keep needing more. Global consumption is expected to increase by 44% over the next 2 decades.

References:

  1. Chemistry in society. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/highersciences/chemistry/chemistryinsociety/index.asp
  2. Mulleague, M., Rupawalla, M., Singh, H., Johl, R., & Reid, K. (n.d.). Infrared Spectroscopy. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Spectroscopy/Vibrational_Spectroscopy/Infrared_Spectroscopy
  3. Electron Dot Diagrams, Lewis Dot Symbols, and Lewis Structures. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.wyzant.com/resources/lessons/science/chemistry/lewis_structures_vsepr
  4. Boundless. “The Three Laws of Thermodynamics.” Boundless Chemistry. Boundless,(n.d.).  01 Dec. 2014. Retrieved 12 Mar. 2015 from https://www.boundless.com/chemistry/textbooks/boundless-chemistry-textbook/thermodynamics-17/the-laws-of-
  5. Valence-Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion Theory (VSEPR). (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch8/vsepr.html
  6. The National Academies. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-use/
Meeting's Log

Minutes log on video 1

Minutes

Team members: Xiao Yong, Yan Mei, Celine Ow, Xin Minn, Daryl  Tay, Candy

 Team: Group 3, Charlie                                                                     Date: 0/3/2015

 Location: NTU South Spine

 Duration: 60 Minutes

Topics discussed (briefly)

  • Highlight main concepts of energy and its implications in our society
  • Incorporate concepts into our video
  • Video discussion, organisation of roles and video planning

Tasks to be done before the next meeting and who has been assigned/agreed on doing them

  • Xiao Yong: Learn how to edit video via blackboard
  • Yan Mei: Update minutes of current meeting and prepare video props
  • Candy: Plan video(Plot, roles and setting)
  • Celine Ow: Plan video(Plot, roles and setting)
  • Xin Minn: Plan video(Plot, roles and setting)
  • Daryl Chan: Plan video(Plot, roles and setting)

Plan of action

  • Celine, candy, xin minn and daryl to plan the video before we shoot
  • Celine, candy, xin minn and daryl to update the team on their plans
  • To accomplished a complete video by the end of the session
  • Yan Mei to update the minutes
  • Xiao Yong to update the blog and to upload the video
About The Team

ABOUT THE TEAM

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We are a team of 5 aspiring undergraduates that major in different disciplinary. Chemistry has become increasingly relevant in our society and in whichever field of study. Our team is strongly intrigued by how chemistry is applied in our everyday life without one even knowing of it!

Team members:

Candy Tey Qing Yue: Economics

Chan Xin Minn: Chemistry

Chan Wei Gang: Aerospace Engineering

Chen Xiaoyong:  Mechanical engineering

Celine Ow: Economics

Tan Yan Mei: Economics

 

Feedback

Feedback about the lecture

1.The learning material content a lot of information and thus it is not enough to see how much you understand the material by giving out 10 MCQ questions.

suggestion:

it is better to give a summary of the important points about the material after the lecture. It is also better for us revise the topic by going through the summary.

Problem:

2.the slides given is full of examples and other information and hence students are not able to know which is important and which is not for exams

suggestion:

give a brief summary of the unit lecture notes and highlight the important parts while skipping through the less important part of the lecture notes or give a version of the lecture notes where examples and unimportant information is removed after the actual lecture slots.

 

Assignment

Team Question Session 3

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qns1:  Most of the heat is radiated off the earth as infrared radiation. As the molecules of air in the atmosphere absorbs infrared radiation the heat energy is retained in the atmosphere. As such the heat is not released into space and hence the earth is not cooling down rapidly. This effect whereby the atmosphere is retaining the heat that is radiated by the earth is called the greenhouse effect. The molecules in the air acts as the “windows” in the greenhouse and it traps the heat inside.

 

qns 2:No, it is not justified to say that the winter has lowered the concerns about global warming. Since the winter precipitation would be more intense because of global warming. There is a direct relationship between the surface warmth of the ocean and the amount of moisture in the air.  What that means is that this storm will be feeding off these warm seas, producing large amounts of snow as spiraling winds of the storm squeeze that moisture out of the air, cool, it, and deposit it as snow inland. Overall, it’s warming, but we still have cold winter weather. The seasons we experience are a result of the Earth’s tilted axis as it revolves around the sun. During winter, our hemisphere is tilted away from the sun and its light hits us at a different angle, making temperatures lower. While climate change won’t have any impact on Earth’s tilt. Therefore it is not justified to say that the winter has lowered the concerns about global warming.

 

qn3: Single H2O molecules have a sharp resonant frequency. To maintain this sharp resonance, water molecules should not be bound to other neighbouring water molecules. If this happens, it will increase the absorption-frequency band. Hence, liquid water will end up absorbing all the microwaves and this will disrupt the detection of the targeted objects which was the reason why the microwave radar was unsuccessful.

 

Qn4: We believe that air quality(unit 1) possesses the most serious problem in the short run while global warming(unit 3) possesses the most problem in the long run. Air pollution has immediate effects on the air quality. Air pollution is a significant risk factor for a number of health conditions including respiratory infections and heart disease. Global warming however is caused by an accumulation of greenhouse gases which causes Earth’s temperature to gradually increase over several decades. This increase in temperature can change the Earth’s natural climate in the long run which can cause extreme events to occur. Some examples include more frequent droughts and floods which adversely affects human lives.

 

Meeting's Log

minutes log 2

Minutes 2

Team members: Xiao Yong, Yan Mei, Celine Ow, Xin Minn, Daryl Chan, Candy Tay

 Team: Group 3, Charlie                                                   Date: 13/2/2015

 Location: NTU South Spine

 Duration: 60 Minutes

Topics discussed (briefly)

  • Energy in the atmosphere
  • Melting and boiling point with respect to impurities
  • Radiation
  • Water molecules
  • Global warming and how it affects our society

Tasks to be done before the next meeting and who has been assigned/agreed on doing them

  • Xiao Yong: Update blog
  • Yan Mei: Update minutes
  • Candy: To jot down important points during meeting and relevant discussion points from class discussions
  • Celine Ow: Q2
  • Xin Minn: Q4
  • Daryl Chan: Q1,3

Plan of action

  • The whole group to meet and discuss on the 4 questions, so as to provide a guideline for the relevant in-charge to conduct their research
  • Daryl,Celine and Xin Minn to research on a their respective topics
  • Daryl, Celine and Xin Minn to update the group on their research
  • The whole team to agree on the research pointers
  • Candy to take down the important discussion points, fill in the answers and pass the discussion pointers to Yan Mei after the meeting
  • Yan Mei to update the minutes
  • Xiao Yong to update the blog
Meeting's Log

Minutes Log 1

Minutes

Team members: Xiao Yong, Yan Mei, Celine Ow, Xin Minn, Daryl Chan, Candy Tay

 

Team: Group 3, Charlie                                                                     Date: 5/2/2015

 

Location: NTU South Spine

 

Duration: 45 Minutes

 


Topics discussed (briefly)

  • Thermodynamics
  • Fossil Fuel
  • Oil

Tasks to be done before the next meeting and who has been assigned/agreed on doing them

  • Xiao Yong: Update blog
  • Yan Mei: Update minutes
  • Candy: To jot down important points during meeting and relevant discussion points from class discussions
  • Celine Ow: Question researcher and update professor
  • Xin Minn: Question researcher
  • Daryl Chan: Topic researcher

 

Plan of action

  • Celine and Xin Minn to research on a few topics that would be viable for our video
  • Daryl to conduct in-depth analysis into our chosen topic
  • Daryl, Celine and Xin Minn to update the group on their research
  • The whole team to discuss and finalise on a topic
  • Candy to take down the important discussion points and pass it to Yan Mei after the meeting
  • Yan Mei to update the minutes
  • Celine to email the professor by Sat (7/2) on our finalized topic
  • Xiao Yong to update the blog