Unit 4: Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure

Topics:

• empirical and molecular formulas
• why do atoms bond?
• general properties for ionic and covalent bonding
• energy and ionic bonding (formation of ions and formation of crystal): ionization energy, electron affinity, and lattice energy
• similarities and differences between ionic compounds (salts) and covalent compounds (molecules)
• energy and covalent bonding: bond length and bond energy
• Lewis symbols and structures
• octet rule (exceptions possible)
• bond order and its relationship to bond length, bond energy, and vibrational frequency
• vibrational frequency and infrared (IR) spectra
• resonance, resonance hybrid structures, and bond order of hybrids
• introductory organic nomenclature
• coordinate covalent bonds and coordination compounds
• electronegativity and dipoles
• VSEPR theory and predictions of molecular shape
• 3-D shapes and the determination of molecular polarity
• intermolecular forces
• valence bond theory (orbital overlap) and hybrid orbital theory
• multiple bonds and hybridization: sigma and pi bonds
• UV-VIS and IR spectroscopy
• the structure of the hereditary molecule DNA