Chemistry II For Dummies

John T. Moore

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781118164907
• eBook ISBN: 9781118239469
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Chemistry
• Index: Chemistry

The tools you need to ace your Chemisty II course

College success for virtually all science, computing, engineering, and premedical majors depends in part on passing chemistry. The skills learned in chemistry courses are applicable to a number of fields, and chemistry courses are essential to students who are studying to become nurses, doctors, pharmacists, clinical technicians, engineers, and many more among the fastest-growing professions. But if you're like a lot of students who are confused by chemistry, it can seem like a daunting task to tackle the subject. That's where Chemistry II For Dummies can help!

Here, you'll get plain-English, easy-to-understand explanations of everything you'll encounter in your Chemistry II class. Whether chemistry is your chosen area of study, a degree requirement, or an elective, you'll get the skills and confidence to score high and enhance your understanding of this often-intimidating subject. So what are you waiting for?

• Presents straightforward information on complex concepts
• Tracks to a typical Chemistry II course
• Serves as an excellent supplement to classroom learning
• Helps you understand difficult subject matter with confidence and ease

Packed with approachable information and plenty of practice opportunities, Chemistry II For Dummies is just what you need to make the grade.

Part I

A Basic Review of Chemistry I

In this part . . .

In this part, I give you a basic review of those topics commonly found in a Chem I course that I feel are critical to your progression through the Chem II concepts. I review the really basic concepts of science and chemistry in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, I give you a quick review of chemical calculations. I show you how to use the factor label method of calculations, along with an introduction to the SI (metric) system.

In Chapter 3, I give a review of atomic structure, the periodic table, and the different types of bonding. I don’t cover topics in great depth here, but just enough to jog your memory about energy level configurations, periodicity, and bonding. In Chapter 4, I provide you a good review of reaction stoichiometry because you’ll really need these mole-related concepts in Chem II.

In Chapter 5, I review solutions and solution concentration units. I also touch on the different types of intermolecular forces and the properties of liquids. In the last review chapter, I review the properties of gases including the gas laws (Boyle’s law, Charles’s law, Gay-Lussac’s law, the combined gas law, the ideal gas law, Avogadro’s law, and more). That’s it — six chapters of review of a course it took you full year if you’re in high school or a full semester if you’re in college to complete.

Chapter 1

I Passed Chem I, But What About Chem II?

In This Chapter

Comprehending chemistry

Discovering science and technology

Examining the general areas of chemistry

You already know what chemistry is. You passed your first year of high school or your first semester of college chemistry. Now you’re ready to take on your second year or second semester, and you want a resource to help you explain concepts in plain English. This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book by showing you what the differences are between Chem I and Chem II so that you can relate better to this new material. It also relates some of the major areas of chemistry to the topics you’ll be studying in Chemistry II. If you’re already in the midst of a Chem II college or high school course, you may want to skim over this chapter for a quick review of some basic concepts and then go right to the subject area in the book that is troubling you.

If you bought this book just to have fun discovering something new and aren’t taking a chemistry course, you may need a little refresher on the really fundamental chemical topics. I suggest buying a copy of the first book in this series, Chemistry For Dummies. That book, now in its second edition, can give you the basics and make this book more meaningful.

Teaching chemistry is very enjoyable. For me, it’s more than just a collection of facts and a body of knowledge. Although I wasn’t a chemistry major when I entered college, I quickly became hooked when I took my first chemistry course. The subject seemed so interesting and so logical. Watching chemical changes take place, figuring out unknowns, using instruments, extending my senses, and making predictions to figure out why they were right and wrong all seems so fascinating. Your journey into Chem II starts here.

Grasping the Nature of Chemistry II

Chem I, in most schools, is a mixture of a lot of different topics. You naturally find some carryover between topics; you finish the chapter on gases and only briefly cover those topics again, until you hit the final exam. Your Chemistry II class is more consistent in these topics. Chem II is also much more mathematical than Chem I, which was great for me because I always enjoyed the quantitative aspects of chemistry more than the descriptive part. That’s why I am an analytical chemist instead of an organic chemist. I enjoy working with numbers.

The following sections give you a quick reminder at the content in a typical Chem I course and then show you what to expect in a typical Chem II class that you are or might be taking.

Recapping general Chemistry I

In your first couple of weeks in your Chemistry II class, you probably will review the basics of what you covered in your Chemistry I class. I dedicate the chapters in Part I of Chemistry II For Dummies to these topics to help you review these important topics. Here are the topics you can find:

Problem solving: The metric or SI system is essential to studying chemistry at any level. You need to be able to use the factor-label method of problem solving, also called unit analysis. This method allows you to manipulate units to generate the set-up for a particular problem. About this same time you become proficient in determining the number of significant figures you should report in your final answer. Refer to Chapter 2 for more information.

Atomic structure: Having a firm understanding of subatomic particles (protons, electrons, and neutrons), the nucleus, and the electron clouds is important when taking a chemistry course. Chapter 3 give...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Introduction
• Part I: A Basic Review of Chemistry I
• Part II: Diving Into Kinetics and Equilibrium
• Part III: A Plethora of Chemistry II Concepts
• Part IV: Describing Descriptive Chemistry
• Part V: The Part of Tens