AAT Syllabus 2016: Physical Chemistry

Syllabi

 Chemistry

 Physical Chemistry

General topics: Concept of atoms and molecules; Dalton’s atomic theory; Mole concept; Chemical formulae; Balanced chemical equations; Calculations (based on mole concept) involving common oxidation-reduction, neutralisation, and displacement reactions; Concentration in terms of mole fraction, molarity, molality and normality.

Gaseous and liquid states: Absolute scale of temperature, ideal gas equation; Deviation from ideality, van der Waals equation; Kinetic theory of gases, average, root mean square and most probable velocities and their relation with temperature; Law of partial pressures; Vapour pressure; Diffusion of gases.

Atomic structure and chemical bonding:Bohr model, spectrum of hydrogen atom, quantum numbers; Wave-particle duality, de Broglie hypothesis; Uncertainty principle; Qualitative quantum mechanical picture of hydrogen atom, shapes of s, p and d orbitals; Electronic configurations of elements (up to atomic number 36); Aufbau principle; Pauli’s exclusion principle and Hund’s rule; Orbital overlap and covalent bond; Hybridisation involving s, p and d orbitals only; Orbital energy diagrams for homonuclear diatomic species; Hydrogen bond; Polarity in molecules, dipole moment (qualitative aspects only); VSEPR model and shapes of molecules (linear, angular, triangular, square planar, pyramidal, square pyramidal, trigonal bipyramidal, tetrahedral and octahedral).

Energetics: First law of thermodynamics; Internal energy, work and heat, pressure-volume work; Enthalpy, Hess’s law; Heat of reaction, fusion and vapourization; Second law of thermodynamics; Entropy; Free energy; Criterion of spontaneity.

Chemical equilibrium: Law of mass action; Equilibrium constant, Le Chatelier’s principle (effect of concentration, temperature and pressure); Significance of ΔG and ΔG0 in chemical equilibrium; Solubility product, common ion effect, pH and buffer solutions; Acids and bases (Bronsted and Lewis concepts); Hydrolysis of salts.

Electrochemistry: Electrochemical cells and cell reactions; Standard electrode potentials; Nernst equation and its relation to ΔG; Electrochemical series, emf of galvanic cells; Faraday’s laws of electrolysis; Electrolytic conductance, specific, equivalent and molar conductivity, Kohlrausch’s law; Concentration cells.

Chemical kinetics: Rates of chemical reactions; Order of reactions; Rate constant; First order reactions; Temperature dependence of rate constant (Arrhenius equation).

Solid state: Classification of solids, crystalline state, seven crystal systems (cell parameters a, b, c, α, β, γ), close packed structure of solids (cubic), packing in fcc, bcc and hcp lattices; Nearest neighbours, ionic radii, simple ionic compounds, point defects.

Solutions: Raoult’s law; Molecular weight determination from lowering of vapour pressure, elevation of boiling point and depression of freezing point.

Surface chemistry: Elementary concepts of adsorption (excluding adsorption isotherms); Colloids: types, methods of preparation and general properties; Elementary ideas of emulsions, surfactants and micelles (only definitions and examples).

Nuclear chemistry: Radioactivity: isotopes and isobars; Properties of α, βand γ rays; Kinetics of radioactive decay (decay series excluded), carbon dating; Stability of nuclei with respect to proton-neutron ratio; Brief discussion on fission and fusion reactions.