Return to the UK Chemistry Home PageThe first exam will cover Chapters 1 and 2 and sections 1 to 15 in Chapter 3 in Jones. The following guidelines are not meant to be complete or comprehensive lists of the information you are expected to know.
Given a formula and some basic connectivity information, you should be able to draw the Lewis structure of a compound.
Given a Lewis structure, you should be able to draw its lowest-energy resonance structure. You should be able to compare two resonance structures and determine which is lower in energy. You should be able to draw the resonance structure indicated by curved electron-flow arrows.
You should understand how atomic orbitals overlap to make molecular orbitals (both bonding and antibonding), and you should understand how the shapes and energies of the constituent orbitals affect the shapes and energies of the combined orbitals.
You should understand the concepts behind sp3-, sp2-, and sp-hybridization, and you should know the mutual orientations, bond angles, and energies of the orbitals in sp3-, sp2-, and sp-hybridized atoms.
You should be able to determine the hybridization of an atom from its bonding pattern.
Given the name of a simple cyclic or acyclic alkane, alkene, or alkyne, you should be able to draw the structure.
You should be able to draw the different conformational stereoisomers (conformers) of an alkane in their perspective, sawhorse, or Newman projections, and you should be able to evaluate which ones are lowest in energy.
You should be able to compare two given structures and indicate whether they are:
You should be able to determine which of two isomeric alkenes is lower in energy.
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This page was last updated September 1, 2005.