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CHEM2077: CHEMISTRY OF THE ELEMENTS

Please ensure you check the module availability box for each module outline, as not all modules will run in each academic year. Each module description relates to the year indicated in the module availability box, and this may change from year to year, due to, for example: changing staff expertise, disciplinary developments, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback. Current modules are subject to change in light of the ongoing disruption caused by Covid-19.

Type Open
Level 2
Credits 10
Availability Available in 2023/24
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Chemistry

Prerequisites

  • Core Chemistry 1 (CHEM1078).

Corequisites

  • Core Chemistry 2 (CHEM2012) AND Practical Chemistry 2 - Inorganic (CHEM2107).

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • To develop and consolidate principles of bonding and transition metal chemistry, and to study selected areas in more detail.

Content

  • Chemistry of the s and p block: covalent compounds, structure, bonding and stability.
  • Magnetic and spectral properties of transition-metal compounds, electronic spectra;
  • Clusters of main group elements, Wade's rules.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • describe and rationalize the detailed chemistry of the s and p-block elements and give a description of the bonding in compounds featuring these elements.
  • interpret (and predict) spectral and magnetic properties of transition metal complexes, use of Orgel diagrams, appreciate the modifications made for orbital overlap, and use orbital contributions to magnetic moments and colour to deduce information about a complex's stereochemistry;
  • rationalise the bonding and structures of electron-precise and electron-deficient clusters of main group and transition metal elements

Subject-specific Skills:

Key Skills:

  • Written communication, advanced through the use of essay type questions in lecture-support worksheets;
  • Problem-solving, developed through workshop classes.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Lectures are used to convey concepts and are examined by written papers. This is the best method to assess the knowledge of the students.
  • Workshops are given to ensure that the students have grasped the key concepts given in the lectures and to practice examples of problems. The work is formatively assessed.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures201 per week1 Hour20 
Workshops33 in Term 31.5 hours4.5Yes
Preparation and Reading76.5 
Total100 

Summative Assessment

Component: ExaminationComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Written examination2 hours100Two hour written examination

Formative Assessment

Set work in preparation for workshops.

More information

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