BASIC CHEMISTRY

UDBB1114

DR. CHOW Y.L.

DEPT. OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
COURSE CONTENT

I. ATOMIC STRUCTURE

II. CHEMICAL BONDS &

BONDING THEORIES

III. THERMOCHEMISTRY
ENERGY & PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES
Learning objectives:
Quantum mechanics: the theory that explains our current picture of
atomic structure

• Wave properties of energy; quantized or particulate, model of light

• Atomic spectrum – light emitted by excited hydrogen (H) atoms,

suggests an atom with distinct energy levels.

• Wave-particle duality – reveals two faces of matter and energy which

leads to the current model of the H atom and quantum numbers that
identify the regions of space an electron occupies in an atom

• Quantum-mechanical model of the atom – features of atomic orbitals.

Wave Nature of Light
The wave properties of electromagnetic radiation are described by
three variables and one constant:

• Frequency, v – the number of wave cycles it under goes per second,

1/second (s-1) or called as hertz, Hz.

• Wavelength, λ – the distance of a wave travel for one complete cycle,

unit expressed as meter; nm; pm; or angstrom.

• Amplitude, A – the height of a wave crest or depth of a trough.

Related to intensity of the radiation (i.e. visible light - brightness)
Amplitude (intensity) of a wave.
Wave Nature of Light
• Unlike water waves and sound waves, electromagnetic radiation
waves require no medium for their propagation (move through
vacuum with a speed of 3.00 x 108 m/s)

• Speed of light, c – constant for all types of electromagnetic radiation

in vacuum

• c = v x λ = 3.00 x 108 m/s

 The Wave Nature
of Light

Frequency and
Wavelength

c=ln

𝟏
n
l
 Electromagnetic spectrum

• All waves in the spectrum travel at the same speed through a vacuum but differ
in frequency and, therefore, wavelength.

• Visible light – light that can be seen by human eyes, make up only a tiny portion
of the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

• Visible radiation has wavelength between 400 nm (violet) to 750 nm (red). We

perceive different wavelength (or frequencies) of visible light as different colors.
Interconverting Wavelength and Frequency
o
QUESTION: A dental hygienist uses x-rays (l= 1.00A) to take a series of dental
radiographs while the patient listens to a radio station (l = 325 cm)
and looks out the window at the blue sky (l= 473 nm). What is the
frequency (in s-1) of the electromagnetic radiation from each source?
(Assume that the radiation travels at the speed of light, 3.00x108 m/s.)
Practice Questions:
1. Calculate the wavelength (nm) of the blue light emitted by a
LED that supplied a frequency of 6.30 x 1014 s-1.
 The classical wave model distinguished clearly between
waves and particles

Electromagnetic radiation (e.g. visible light) consists of

energy propagated by electric and magnetic fields that
increase and decrease in intensity as they move through
space.
 why rainbows form, why objects look distorted in water,
how magnifying glasses work, …
but it cannot explain observations on the atomic scale
because, energy behaves as though it consists of particles
Distinction between energy and matter

1. Refraction and Dispersion

• Light of a given wavelength travels at different speed through various

transparent media – vacuum, air, water, and quartz.

• Therefore, when light wave passes from one medium into another,
the speed of the wave changes.

• Refraction

• For the dispersion process, white light separates (disperses) into its
component colors when it passes through a prism

• In contrast to a wave light, a particle matter, like a pebble, does not

undergo refraction.
Distinction between energy and matter
2. Diffraction and interference

• When a wave strikes the edge of an object, it bends around both

edges of the slit and forms a semicircular wave on the side of the
opening.

• Diffraction

• In contrast, when you throw a collection of particles, like a handful of

sand at a small opening, some particles hit the edge, while others
pass through the opening without diffraction

• The diffraction of light through two adjacent slits, the two new circular
waves interact/interfere with each other, results in an interference
pattern.
 The diffraction pattern caused by light
passing through two adjacent slits

In contrast, particles continue in straight paths, some colliding with each

other and continue moving at different angles.
Particle nature of light
THREE phenomena cannot be explained by using a wave model of
light:

• Blackbody radiation

• Photoelectric effect

• Atomic spectra

Explaining these phenomena required a radically new picture of

energy.
Blackbody radiation
• A solid object emits visible light when it is heated to about 1,000 K
(e.g. red glow of smoldering coal).

• At about 1,500 K, the light is brighter and more orange (e.g. electric
heating element).

• At temp. > 2,000 K, the light is brighter and whiter, as you can see in
the filament of a light bulb.

• The color (and the intensity) of the light changes as the temperature
changes.

• Changes in intensity and wavelength of the emitted light  blackbody

radiation
 Blackbody radiation
• Max Planck (1858-1947) proposed that any object can emit or
absorb only certain quantities of energy.
• The energy must be emitted by the object’s atoms. This means that
each atom emits only certain quantities of energy. This also indicates
that each atom has only certain quantities of energy.
• The energy of an atom is quantized, it occurs in fixed amounts, rather
than being continuous.
• Each fixed quantity of energy (energy packet) is called a quantum.
(Plural quanta)
• An atom changes its energy state by emitting or absorbing one or
more quanta of energy.
E=nhn;
• ΔEatom = Eemitted(or absorbed) radiation = Δnhv
E – energy of radiation,
(Δn is an positive integer, e.g. 1,2,3 and so on) n – quantum number
• Planck’s constant, h = 6.626 x 10-34 J.s h – Planck’s constant
n – frequency
Photoelectric effect
 Flow of current when
monochromatic light of
sufficient energy shines
on a metal plate.
 Current arises – light
transfer energy that free
electrons from the metal
surface and travel to the
positive electrode.
 Photoelectric Effect and Photon Theory of Light
• According to wave theory:
1. The energy of light is associated by its amplitude,
not its frequency. Thus, an electron would break
free when it absorbed enough energy from light
of any color.
2. A dim light would cause a time lag before the
current flows because the electrons would have
to absorb enough energy

• The experimental results, however, did not support the wave theory
prediction.
 Presence of a threshold frequency: For current to flow, the light
shining on the metal must have a minimum, or threshold, frequency.
Light with below threshold frequency, no electrons are emitted from
the metal
 Absence of a time lag: It was found that high frequency, low
intensity light produces electrons without the predicted lag time
Photon theory
• Building on Planck’s ideas, Einstein proposed that light itself is
particulate, quantized into tiny “bundles”, called photons

• ΔEatom – energy changes when atom absorbs or emits one photon,

related to frequency, not its amplitude

• Ephoton = hv = ΔEatom

• E= hv = hc
λ
Explanation for the presence of threshold
frequency
• The intensity of light is related to the number of photons.

• Increasing the intensity of low-frequency light imply increases the

number of low-energy photons but does not produce a single photon
with sufficient energy.

• In contrast, increasing the frequency of light, increases the energy of

photon, even at low intensity (less number of photons)

• Therefore, a photon with the minimum frequency (threshold) must be

absorbed in order to emit an electron from metal surface
Explanation for the absence of time lag
• An electron breaks free immediately when it absorbs a photon with
minimum energy.

• It cannot break free by “saving up” energy from several photons, each
having less than minimum energy.

• The current is weak in dim light because fewer photons of enough

energy can free fewer electrons per unit time, but some current flows
as soon as light of sufficient energy (frequency) strikes the metal plate
Calculating the Energy of Radiation from Its Wavelength

QUESTION: A cook uses a microwave oven to heat a meal. The wavelength of

the radiation is 1.20 cm. What is the energy of one photon of this
microwave radiation?
Atomic spectra
• When light from electrically excited gaseous atoms passes through
a slit and is refracted by a prism, it does not create a continuous
spectrum, or rainbow, as sunlight does.

• Instead, it creates a line spectrum, a series of fine lines at specific

frequencies separated by colorless (black) spaces.

• The wavelengths of these spectral lines are characteristics of the

element producing them.
Line spectra of several elements
Three series of spectral lines of atomic hydrogen.

1 1 1
Rydberg equation = R -
l n12 n22

R is the Rydberg constant = 1.096776x107 m-1

The Rydberg equation predicts the position and wavelength of any
line in a given series of the hydrogen emission spectrum
n1 , n2 are positive integer, where n2 > n1
for the visible series, n1 = 2 and n2 = 3, 4, 5, ...
 Calculating wavelength of any line in the H atom spectrum
using Rydberg equation:

Question:
Use the Rydberg equation to calculate the wavelength of the photon
emitted when a H atom undergoes transition from n = 5 to n = 2. Give
your answer in nm.

1 1 1
Rydberg equation = R -
l n1 2 n22
 According to Rutherford’s nuclear model, the electrons
could not be stationary. Electron would have to be in
motion to overcome their attraction to positive nucleus.

 However, the laws of classical physics say that a

electron moving in a curved path must emit radiation
and thus lose energy.

 The orbiting electron would eventually spiral towards the

nucleus and thus create a continuous spectrum, not a
line spectrum.
Bohr’s model of the hydrogen atom
Niels Bohr (1885-1962), suggested a model for the H atom that
predicted the existence of line spectra.

Postulates of the Model:

1. The H atom has only certain energy levels, which Bohr called
stationary states. Each state is associated with a fixed circular orbit
of the electron around the nucleus. The higher the energy level, the
farther the orbit is from the nucleus.

2. The atom does not radiate energy while in one of its stationary
states. The atom does not change energy while the electron moves
around the orbit.

3. The atom changes to another stationary state (the electron moves

to another orbit) only by absorbing or emitting a photon. The energy
of the photon (hv) equals the difference in the energies of the two
states. Ephoton = Estate A – Estate B = hv
Features of Bohr’s Model
• Quantum numbers and electron orbit. The quantum number, n is a
positive integer (1,2,3,…) associated with the radius of an electron
orbit, directly related to the electrons energy. Smaller n value =
smaller radius of orbit = lower energy level.

• Ground state. Electron is in the first orbit (n=1), closest to the

nucleus, and H atom is in its lowest energy level.

• Excited state. Electron is in any orbit out from the nucleus, the atom
is in an excited state.

• Absorption. If an H atom absorbs a photon whose energy equals the

difference between lower and higher energy levels, the electron
moves to the outer (higher energy) orbit.

• Emission. If an H atom in a higher energy level returns to a lower

energy level, emits a photon whose energy equals the difference
between the two levels.
Quantum staircase

An electron can

• absorb a photon
and jump up to a
higher “step” or

• emit a photon
and jump down
to a lower one.

The electron does

not stay in between
two steps.
Bohr’s Model Explains the Line Spectra
• The emission occurs when the electron moves to an orbit closer to the
nucleus as the atom’s energy changes from a higher to a lower state.

• H atoms are excited, the atoms absorb different quantities of energy,

thus there are different atom with different energy level have electrons.
 Every hydrogen atom in which an electron makes the same
transition emits a photon of the same energy.
 All the photons of this energy produce one spectral line.
 Therefore, an atomic spectrum is not continuous because the
atom’s energy is not continuous, but has only certain energy
states.

• When electrons drop from outer orbits to the n = 3 orbit, the emitted
photons create the infrared series of lines.

• The visible series arises when electrons drop to n = 2 orbit and, the
ultraviolet series arises when electron drop to n = 1.
The Bohr explanation of 3 series of spectral lines
The Energy Level of the Hydrogen Atom
• Bohr’s work leads to an equation for calculating the energy levels of an
𝑍2
atom: E = -2.18 x 10-18 J( 2)
𝑛

• Z is the charge of the nucleus, H atom’s Z = 1

12 1
E = -2.18 x 10-18 J( 2) = -2.18 x 10 J( 2)
-18
𝑛 𝑛

• The energy of the ground state (n = 1) of H atom:

1
E = -2.18 x 10-18 J( 2) = -2.18 x 10-18 J
1

• -ve sign for the energy because we define the zero point of the atom’s
energy when the electron is completely removed from the nucleus.
 A tabletop analogy for the H atom’s energy.

Energy difference between any two levels

DE = Efinal – Einitial
1 1
= - 2.18 x 10-18 J -
n final n2initial
2

• Atom emits energy: electron moves closer to the nucleus, n decreases (nfinal
< ninitial), the atom becomes more stable (less energetic) and its final energy
becomes a larger negative number. ΔE is negative

• Atom absorbs energy: electron moves away from the nucleus, n increases
(nfinal > ninitial), the atom’s energy increases and becomes a smaller negative
number. ΔE is positive
Limitations of the Bohr’s model
 Bohr model successfully predict the spectral lines of the
hydrogen atom and for other one-electron species, such
as He+ , Li2+ and Be3+ .

 Bohr model failed to predict the spectrum of any other

atom with more than one electron.

 Electrons do not move about the nucleus in circular

orbits.
Summary of the major observations and theories leading from
classical theory to quantum theory.

CLASSICAL THEORY
Matter Energy
particulate, continuous,
massive wavelike

Since matter is discontinuous and particulate

perhaps energy is discontinuous and particulate.

Observation Theory

blackbody radiation Planck: Energy is quantized; only certain values

allowed
photoelectric effect Einstein: Light has particulate behavior (photons)
atomic line spectra Bohr: Energy of atoms is quantized; photon
emitted when electron changes orbit.