Inorganic Chemistry Study Guide with
Correct Solutions
Ionization energy - ✅✅ energy required to remove the least tightly bound
electron from a neutral atom in the gas phase
Periodic trend of ionization energy - ✅✅ highest at top right-smaller
electron=harder to remove
Why is a half-filled subshell so stable? - ✅✅ it serves to maximize the
stabilizing interactions while minimizing the destabilizing interactions among
electrons
Exchange interaction - ✅✅ pie, stabilizing, result of electrons pairing in
degenerate orbitals with parallel spin
Pairing energy - ✅✅ destabilizing, coulomb interaction, pic, energy of electron-
electron repulsion in a filled orbital
Is it easier to ionize a high energy or low energy electrons - ✅✅ high energy
electron-already contains more energy so it requires less energy input
What happens when a 3d series metal is ionized? - ✅✅ the first electron to be
ionized will come from the 4s orbital, the other’s electron will enter the d orbital
(4s03dn+1)
,Lanthanide contraction - ✅✅ reduction in atomic radius following the lanthanide
series, contrary to the overall trend observed for the periodic table
Lanthanides - ✅✅ elements 57-71, first appearance of f orbitals, f orbitals are
poor at shielding so any electrons added will have a higher Zeff, shrinking the
radius
Slater's rules - ✅✅ tell us what the effective nuclear charge will be, Zeff=Z-
sigma, Z is the atomic number, sigma=sum of the number of electrons in a given
subtle multiplied by a weighting coefficient (page 1)
Shielding - ✅✅ the reduction in charge attraction between the nucleus and
electrons due to electrons between the nucleus and the electron in question, it is
considered the be between if it has a lower energy
Penetration - ✅✅ when an electron of a higher atomic orbital is found within the
shell of electrons of a lower atomic number, that is to say that an electron of higher
energy is found within an orbital of lower energy
Electron affinity - ✅✅ the difference in energy for a neutral gaseous atom, and
the gaseous anion. Used interchangeably with electron gain enthalpy. More
positive=more stable EA with the additional electron, more positive EGE=more
stable with extra electron
Combination of electron affinity and ionization energy - ✅✅ electronegativity,
overall measure of an atoms ability to attract electrons to itself when part of a
compound, fluorine has highest electronegativity
,Polarizability - ✅✅ an atoms ability to be distorted by an electric field, regions
of a molecule can take on partial positive or partial negative charge
Why do we use the hydrogen system approximation - ✅✅ systems involving
multiple electrons are much more complex, and they require the use of quantum
mechanics
What is the formula for the energy of a hydrogen orbital - ✅✅ E=-
13.6(ev)*(Z^2/n^2), h is plancks constant (background on pg 4)
Energy can be expressed in? - ✅✅ Joules, wavenumber, inverse centimeters
Quantum number N - ✅✅ principle quantum number, defines energy and size of
orbital
Quantum number L - ✅✅ orbital angular momentum quantum number, defines
the magnitude of the orbital angular momentum, as well as the angular shape of the
orbital, L can have values of 0 to n-1.
Quantum number Ml - ✅✅ magnetic quantum number, describes the orientation
of the angular momentum, ml can have values of 0 to +/-1
Quantum number Ms - ✅✅ spin magnetic quantum number, defines intrinsic
angular momentum of an electron, Ms can have values of either +1/2 or -1/2
Radial wavefunction - ✅✅ (R(r)), along with the angular wavefunction, gives us
the orbitals. With a wave function it is possible to completely characterize a
particle, goes to zero at infinity, produce characteristic shapes when graphed
, Radial distribution function - ✅✅ a plot of R^2(r)r^2, tells us probability of
finding an electron at a certain distance from the nucleus, every orbital has a
different radial distribution function and a node on the graph is a region of zero
probability
Bohr radius - ✅✅ the most probably distance to find the electron in a one proton,
one electron system (52.9 pico-meters)
What orbitals correspond to l=0 through l=4 - ✅✅ L=0=s, L=1=p, L=2=d,
L=3=f, L=4=g
Building up principle/Hund's rule - ✅✅ when degenerate orbitals are available
for occupation, electrons occupy separate orbitals with parallel spin
Pauli exclusion principle - ✅✅ no more than two electrons can occupy a single
orbital, and to do so, their spins must be paired
Describe VSEPR - ✅✅ purpose is to predict molecular geometries, basic
assumption is that regions of enhanced electron density take positions as far apart
as possible in order to minimize repulsive forces.
Relative repulsion strengths VSEPR - ✅✅ lone pair> multiple bonds> single
bonds
Valence bond theory - ✅✅ explains chemical bonding by considering the
overlap of tomic orbitals, wave patterns of atomic orbitals interfere constructively
to form a bond, sigma is formed when orbital overlap has cylindrical symmetry, pi
bond forms when they overlap side by side after the formation of a sigma bond
Correct Solutions
Ionization energy - ✅✅ energy required to remove the least tightly bound
electron from a neutral atom in the gas phase
Periodic trend of ionization energy - ✅✅ highest at top right-smaller
electron=harder to remove
Why is a half-filled subshell so stable? - ✅✅ it serves to maximize the
stabilizing interactions while minimizing the destabilizing interactions among
electrons
Exchange interaction - ✅✅ pie, stabilizing, result of electrons pairing in
degenerate orbitals with parallel spin
Pairing energy - ✅✅ destabilizing, coulomb interaction, pic, energy of electron-
electron repulsion in a filled orbital
Is it easier to ionize a high energy or low energy electrons - ✅✅ high energy
electron-already contains more energy so it requires less energy input
What happens when a 3d series metal is ionized? - ✅✅ the first electron to be
ionized will come from the 4s orbital, the other’s electron will enter the d orbital
(4s03dn+1)
,Lanthanide contraction - ✅✅ reduction in atomic radius following the lanthanide
series, contrary to the overall trend observed for the periodic table
Lanthanides - ✅✅ elements 57-71, first appearance of f orbitals, f orbitals are
poor at shielding so any electrons added will have a higher Zeff, shrinking the
radius
Slater's rules - ✅✅ tell us what the effective nuclear charge will be, Zeff=Z-
sigma, Z is the atomic number, sigma=sum of the number of electrons in a given
subtle multiplied by a weighting coefficient (page 1)
Shielding - ✅✅ the reduction in charge attraction between the nucleus and
electrons due to electrons between the nucleus and the electron in question, it is
considered the be between if it has a lower energy
Penetration - ✅✅ when an electron of a higher atomic orbital is found within the
shell of electrons of a lower atomic number, that is to say that an electron of higher
energy is found within an orbital of lower energy
Electron affinity - ✅✅ the difference in energy for a neutral gaseous atom, and
the gaseous anion. Used interchangeably with electron gain enthalpy. More
positive=more stable EA with the additional electron, more positive EGE=more
stable with extra electron
Combination of electron affinity and ionization energy - ✅✅ electronegativity,
overall measure of an atoms ability to attract electrons to itself when part of a
compound, fluorine has highest electronegativity
,Polarizability - ✅✅ an atoms ability to be distorted by an electric field, regions
of a molecule can take on partial positive or partial negative charge
Why do we use the hydrogen system approximation - ✅✅ systems involving
multiple electrons are much more complex, and they require the use of quantum
mechanics
What is the formula for the energy of a hydrogen orbital - ✅✅ E=-
13.6(ev)*(Z^2/n^2), h is plancks constant (background on pg 4)
Energy can be expressed in? - ✅✅ Joules, wavenumber, inverse centimeters
Quantum number N - ✅✅ principle quantum number, defines energy and size of
orbital
Quantum number L - ✅✅ orbital angular momentum quantum number, defines
the magnitude of the orbital angular momentum, as well as the angular shape of the
orbital, L can have values of 0 to n-1.
Quantum number Ml - ✅✅ magnetic quantum number, describes the orientation
of the angular momentum, ml can have values of 0 to +/-1
Quantum number Ms - ✅✅ spin magnetic quantum number, defines intrinsic
angular momentum of an electron, Ms can have values of either +1/2 or -1/2
Radial wavefunction - ✅✅ (R(r)), along with the angular wavefunction, gives us
the orbitals. With a wave function it is possible to completely characterize a
particle, goes to zero at infinity, produce characteristic shapes when graphed
, Radial distribution function - ✅✅ a plot of R^2(r)r^2, tells us probability of
finding an electron at a certain distance from the nucleus, every orbital has a
different radial distribution function and a node on the graph is a region of zero
probability
Bohr radius - ✅✅ the most probably distance to find the electron in a one proton,
one electron system (52.9 pico-meters)
What orbitals correspond to l=0 through l=4 - ✅✅ L=0=s, L=1=p, L=2=d,
L=3=f, L=4=g
Building up principle/Hund's rule - ✅✅ when degenerate orbitals are available
for occupation, electrons occupy separate orbitals with parallel spin
Pauli exclusion principle - ✅✅ no more than two electrons can occupy a single
orbital, and to do so, their spins must be paired
Describe VSEPR - ✅✅ purpose is to predict molecular geometries, basic
assumption is that regions of enhanced electron density take positions as far apart
as possible in order to minimize repulsive forces.
Relative repulsion strengths VSEPR - ✅✅ lone pair> multiple bonds> single
bonds
Valence bond theory - ✅✅ explains chemical bonding by considering the
overlap of tomic orbitals, wave patterns of atomic orbitals interfere constructively
to form a bond, sigma is formed when orbital overlap has cylindrical symmetry, pi
bond forms when they overlap side by side after the formation of a sigma bond
