Università Roma Tre

Introduction: chemistry in everyday life.
Matter and states of matter.
Brief chemistry history
Lavoisier and the law of mass conservation , the function of oxygen in combustion processes.
Experiment:
Demonstration of Lavoisier law: reaction of baking soda with vinegar.

From macro to micro
The atom: parallels between cosmos and atom laws (basics and analogies) (brief introduction)
Electrons, protons and neutrons. Examples to understand the relationships among the masses.
The atomic number, the mass number, the atomic weight and isotopes.
Quantifying the matter: definition of mole and Avogadro's number. Teaching examples.
The interactive periodic table: investigating the objects of common life. Orbitals and the
electronic configuration of the elements.
Groups, periods and valence electrons.
Properties of elements and their variations: atomic radius, ionization energy,
electronic affinity and electronegativity.

The chemical bond
From macro to micro: the macroscopic properties of matter (shape, size, hardness,
colour etc.), the nature of chemical bonds.
The binding energy, strong and weak interactions.
The covalent bond (covalent and dative), ionic, metallic, interactions of van der Waals bond and
hydrogen bonds. Common life examples to explain the properties of matter as a result of various types of chemical interactions: graphite, NaCl, water, macromolecules and DNA.

The chemistry of solutions
Definition of system and phase (homogeneous and heterogeneous).
Examples of pure substances and mixtures.
Solutions: solute and solvent, functions and interactions.
Colloids.
The phase transitions. The influence of temperature and pressure:
energy considerations on the mobility of molecules and atoms.
Water phase diagram.
How to quantify solutions: molarity, molality and volume fraction.
Polarity, examples and instructional videos.
Solubility and variation in relation to temperature and pressure.
The partial pressure.
The dispersed systems: suspensions, foams and emulsions. Examples of dispersed systems. Surfactants: classification and their role in detergents.
Experiment
Water, oil and the behaviour of a dye into a heterogeneous mixture.
Instructional video easily reproducible on surfactants
The effect of a detergent in a solution of milk and dyes: affinity and polarity of liquids.
(Https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/ adventures-in-chemistry / experiments / colors-move.html)

Education Board 1: Recycling of plastic
Easily reproducible instructional video on the construction of a plastic from milk proteins
(Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akhs3wcSDGA)

Colligative properties
Influence of the amount of solute on the properties of a generic solution: from macro to micro.
Lowering of Pressure Vapour (explanation of Raoult's Law)
Boiling Point Elevation and freezing point depression (Examples)
The Osmotic Pressure (Examples of solutions isotonic, hypertonic, hypotonic)
Instructional video easily reproducible on Osmotic Pressure: changes in weight and size
of an egg in dependence of the concentration of the solution in which is immersed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWwWcP4jfIY)

The Chemical Reactions
Reversible and irreversible chemical processes (Examples)
Chemical processes speed, kinetics (Examples): Theory of Collisions, the activation energy.
Influences on reaction rate: concentration, temperature and catalysts.
Examples of catalysis:
Enzymatic catalysis: the burning of sugar inside and outside the human body.
Instructional videos on burning sugar
(Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWwWcP4jfIY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0VUIE5zfYc)
The catalytic mechanisms in the catalytic converter
Spontaneous chemical processes, Thermodynamic Chemistry: Exergonic and endergonic reactions, exo and endo-thermal reactions (Examples: combustion reactions, photosynthesis). The thermodynamic quantities (enthalpy, entropy, free energy). Classification by examples of different types of chemical reactions: synthesis reactions, replacement simple and double, decomposition, redox.

Acid-Base Reactions
Exergonic reactions, endergonic, exothermic and endothermic.
A different way to describe the reaction: free energy, enthalpy and entropy.
ACID AND BASES
Arrhenius theory: examples and limits.
Bronsted-Lowry theory, examples. Concept of acid and conjugate base.
Lewis theory.
Educational videos on the reactivity in water of the metal elements of the first group (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55kgyApYrY), the action of the acid on the copper coins (http://www.videojug.com / film / how-to-clean-a-penny) and finally the reaction of aluminium in a
soda solution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CASWxyisT28).
The ionization reaction of water and the product definition ion.
The pH scale with examples of substances and the known solutions.

Reactions oxide -reduction
Introduction on the world of energy consumption
Advantages and disadvantages of the hydrogen economy: fuel cells
Operation fuel cell with hydrogen:
(Http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Motore-idrogeno_hydrogen_engine.gif)


From macro to micro: the variation of the oxidation number in the processes of oxidation and reduction.
A qualitative view of stack, the movement of the electrons and the conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy.
Examples of rechargeable batteries: lithium and graphite.
Instructional video on a pile crafts.
 The redox and alcohol test
Instructional video on how to make an 'invisible' ink.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be-_OgewR1M

Electrolytic cells: converting electrical energy into chemical energy.
Exercises on the balance of redox reactions.

Educational board 2. Surfactants: soap to carriers for drugs
Educational board 3: The chemical feeding and sport
Educational board 4: The chemistry in renewable energy

Introduzione alla Chimica, Nivaldo J. Tro, Pearson.
Per approfondimenti: Breve Storia della Chimica, introduzione alle idee della chimica, I. Asimov, Zanichelli