APChem+The+Basics

The weather is beautiful, China trips are coming soon, and you are bored. Here is a chance to review some basic chemistry so you can be a better student. The following assignments are taken from chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the Brown, Lemay, and Bursten textbook (the heavy, dark-blue one).


 * Assignment No. || Sections from the book || Concepts involved || Problems to try for credit ||
 * 1 || Chapter 1, especially sections 1.5 and 1.6 || This chapter contains very simple ideas from a beginner's course in chemistry. An interesting article about the chemical industry is on page 4. You should look closely at figures 1.9 (p.9), 1.13 (p. 12), 1.14 (p. 12), and 1.20 (p 17). These figures review the classification of matter and separation techniques. Section 5 of this chapter is a review of significant digits, and section 6 reviews conversions. || 1.19, 1.31, 1.33, 1.35, 1.39, 1.43 ||
 * 2 || Chapter 2, part 1 || This assignment reviews the concept of atoms. A good statement of atomic theory is on page 36. The stories about the discovery of the electron and the nucleus are interesting but not essential. These stories are found in section 2 of chapter 2. The most essential information about atoms is in Section 2.3. You should read this section and pay close attention to these vocabulary words: atomic mass unit (amu), atomic number, mass number, isotope, percent abundance, and atomic mass. || 2.3, 2.11, 2.19, 2.23, 2.27, 2.78 ||
 * 3 || Chapter 2, part 2 || This assignment lets you review all those naming rules from last year. You will also learn a few more rules. All of this review is very good for writing the correct formulas quickly on the exam. This assignment has the most number of problems, and it might be useful to try the problems first and then read the book as needed in order to get the right information. The sections to read are 2.8 and 2.9. || 2.39, 2.45, 2.49, 2.51, 2.53, 2.55, 2.57, 2.65 ||
 * 4 || Chapter 3 || In this assignment, you will review how chemical formulas are discovered. Scientists measure the mass of each element in a compound, convert that ratio to a mole ratio, and then simplify it. An experiment called combustion analysis is described in the book (p. 94). We can't carry out that experiment, but it is a good one to read about. To review chapter 3, focus on percent composition (p. 85), empirical and molecular formula determination (section 3.5) and one more idea called "theoretical yields (p. 102). || 3.17, 3.19, 3.39, 3.41, 3.43, 3.47, 3.49, 3.75, 3.77 ||
 * 5 || Chapter 4 || This chapter in the book is mostly concerned with chemical reactions, so we will cover the material during the course of the Unit 7. However, section 4.5 reviews solution concentration. The practice exercises will let you review the use of the formula C = n / V. There are two special situations that you should also practice. First, what happens to concentrations when you dilute chemicals. Second, what happens to concentrations of ions if you pore solutions together. These two special situations are reviewed in the section and you can practice them in the problems at the right. || 4.53, 4.55, 4.57, 4.59, 4.61, 4.86, 4.99 ||