Chemical reactivity lists

10/22/16

“How can we determine the reactivity of an element?”

We all know elements can react with one another. However, how can we quantify the level of an element? Well, let’s think about it. We are aware of the fact that we can use a tool called Empiricism to organize external information. And we know that external information can include overseeing Chemical reactions. So what if we were to observe which elements reacted with which ion, and then wrote down the result? This is the root behind Chemical reactivity lists. What makes these lists so interested is that they can be organized linearly, Meaning that if you can make a vertical list of all of the elements, than they would be able to react with everything below their position, and be unable to react with everything above it, therefore allowing for future predictions.

Chemical hybridization

10/20/16

“How can covalent bonds occur if the elements are in different orbitals?”
There seems to be a problem when it comes to covalent bonding. Bonding theory states that bonds occur because of an overlap of of atomic orbitals.Much of the time, the central element will have  different orbitals than the surrounding ones. So how can chemical bonding occur? Well, nature can be very clever. What happens is that the subshells will hybridize to become one big subshell. Each electron will try to fit into it’s own shell in the subshell. If there is overlap, then there will be a lone pair of electrons.To illustrate, an element with orbitals of s2 p2 will become sp3, as the second electron from s2 will have extra room. With hybridization, chemical bonding can occur.

Lewis structures

10/19/16

“How can we geometrically represent chemical bonds?”
Chemical bonds are one of the most fundamental aspects of Chemistry. But when a student of science is first introduced to them, they are simply shown them in a purely conceptual form. But how can we make a more accurate representation of what these structures actually look like? Well, let’s think about it. We know that some elements can covalently bond with one another by sharing orbital electrons. So what if we just drew structures that represented these orbital bonds? This is the fundamental principle behind a tool that called Lewis structures. There are several steps to forming a Lewis structure. The first is to identify the element in the bond with the least amount of electronegativity (With the exception of hydrogen). Then one has to place the rest of the elements around the aforementioned low-electronegativity element. Then, one must place the associated valence electrons around each of the element. Since all non-noble gas elements will have some of their electron orbitals free, there will be a need for some of the valence elements to form covalent pairs with others to obtain the necessary filled valence shell. Afterwards, if there are still more electrons that need to be filled, then double and triple bonds can be formed to increase the amount of valence electrons. If all valence electrons on the outer elements are filled up and the inner element still needs or has more valence electrons, then the surplus electrons will form lone pairs on the central element.

Phenolphthalein

10/17/16

“How do we can we find out if an acidic or basic reaction is occurring?”

When doing Chemistry, we will have to perform a lot of chemical reactions. However, sometimes these reactions can be invisible to our eye. Therefore, finding a way to know if a chemical reaction is going on would be quite a necessity to our interests. Since there are many types of chemical reactions, let’s start with one kind, acid-base reactions. So how can we know if acid-base reactions are going on? Well, let’s think about it for a moment. We know that when a base reacts with an acidic solution, hydronium ions[HO3] are released. And we know that weak acids not only can react with these hydronium ions but are also dissolved but not dissociated in solutions. This means that hydronium atoms can exist within a solution without altering the chemical properties much. Now all we have to figure what type of weak acid would be pertinent to our interest. Well, luckily for us, Chemists have discovered an element known as Phenolphthalein which actually changes it’s color depending on the pH of the surrounding substance! Specifically, Phenolphthalein will become clear in the case of a net acidic reaction, and pink in the case of a basic reaction. Phenolphthalein is used for chemichal purposes all over, whether it is for tritration or simple reactions.