Return to the UK Chemistry Home PageThe first exam will cover Chapters 1 and 2 in Smith. The following guidelines are not meant to be complete or comprehensive lists of the information you are expected to know.
Given a formula, you should be able to determine the total number of valence electrons in the compound.
Given a formula and some basic connectivity information, you should be able to draw the Lewis structure of a compound.
You should be able to compare two resonance structures and determine which is lower in energy. Given a Lewis structure, you should be able to draw its next-best resonance structure, using electron-flow arrows to show how you arrive at one resonance structure from another. You should be able to draw the resonance structure indicated by electron-flow arrows.
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.
Using size & electronegativity to compare different elements, and using CRHIS to compare the same elements, you should be able to determine which atom in a compound is most acidic or basic, and you should be able to determine which among a set of compounds is most acidic or basic.
You should be able to determine which side of an acid–base reaction is favored at equilibrium. Given the acids' pKa's, you should be able to compute the equilibrium constant for the reaction. You should be able to use electron-flow arrows to show how the electrons' location changes in an acid–base reaction.
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This page was last updated September 18, 2009.