chem1 virtual textbook

a reference text for General Chemistry

Stephen Lower

Simon Fraser University

Why do some atoms join together to form molecules, but others do not? Why is the CO2 molecule linear whereas H2O is bent? How can we tell? How does hemoglobin carry oxygen through our bloodstream?

There is no topic more fundamental to Chemistry than the nature of the chemical bond, and the introduction you find here will provide you with an overview of the fundamentals and a basis for further study.

nicotine molecule [image source]

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> To access the desired page, click one of the ten lesson titles immediately below; you can also go directly to any sub-section within a lesson by clicking on a smaller heading.

1- Molecules: properties of bonded atoms

- What is a chemical bond?
- What is a molecule?
- How we depict chemical structures
- Observable properies of bonded atom pairs
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

2- Models of chemical bonding

- About models in science
- Classical models of bonding
- Quantum-mechanical models of bonding
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

3- The shared-electron covalent bond

- The Octet Rule
- Lewis electron-dot formulas
- How to draw electron-dot structures
- Resonance hybrids
- Some special cases
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

4- Polar covalence, ionic solids

- Electronegativity
- Dipole moments
- Formal charge
- Ionic compounds
- More on polar covalence
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

5- Molecular geometry

- Electron-pair repulsion
- AX2 and AX3 molecules
- Tetrahedral coordination
- AX5molecules
- Octahedral coordination
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

6- The hybrid orbital model: introduction

- Why atomic orbitals don't work for molecules
- What are hybrid orbitals?
- Hybrids derived from s- and p orbitals
- The role of lone-pair electrons
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

7- More on hybrid orbitals

- Hybrid types and multiple bonds
- Conjugated double bonds
- Hybrids involving d orbitals
- Are hybrid orbitals real?
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

8- Introduction to molecular orbitals

Some introductory courses may omit this section.

- About molecular orbitals
- Simple molecular orbital diagrams
- Sigma and pi orbitals
- Second-row diatomic molecules
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

9- Bonding in coordination complexes

Some courses will omit this section.

- What is a complex?
- Basics of coordination complexes; paramagnetism
- Crystal field theory
- Biochemical applications of coordination complexes
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do

10- Bonding in metals and semiconductors

Some courses will omit this section.

- The special properties of metals
- Molecular orbitals in metals
- Why metals are different: the origin of metallic properties
- Introduction to the band theory of metals
- Semiconductors, insulators, and LEDs
- Concept map
- What you should be able to do