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Chemistry 121
The University of British Columbia
Midterm Examination II
November 13, 2013 Put the first letter
of your family/last
Time: 60 minutes name in this box.

Family/Last Name (printed):______________________

Please check √ your lecture section:
First Name: ___________________________________ ___101 (MWF 1:00) Rodriguez-Nunez
___102 (MWF 2:00) Wolf
Signature:_____________________________________ ___103 (MWF 3:00) Wolf
___110 (MWF 10:00) Mehrkhodavandi
Student Number:_______________________________ ___111 (MWF 11:00) Mehrkhodavandi
___122 (T,Th 2:00) Lekhi
___133 (T,Th 3:30) Addison
___188 (T,Th 8:00) Berlinguette
___199 (T,Th 9:30) Lekhi
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Write all answers on this examination paper, and show full details of your solutions for Part 2.
2. Read each question carefully.
3. Check that this examination consists of 12 PAGES PRINTED ON BOTH SIDES. The last sheet
(pages 11 and 12), containing Supplementary Information and the Periodic Table, may be
detached for ease of use.
4. The only calculator allowed is the Sharp EL-510 model. All other calculators will be confiscated.
Cell phones or other electronic communication devices are not permitted on the examination desks
and must be powered off.
5. Unassembled molecular model kits may be used.

RULES GOVERNING FORMAL EXAMINATIONS

1. Each candidate must be prepared to produce, upon request, a UBC card for identification.
2. Candidates are not permitted to ask questions of the invigilators, except in cases of supposed
errors or ambiguities in examination questions.
3. No candidate shall be permitted to enter the examination room after the expiration of 15 minutes
from the scheduled starting time, or to leave during the first 15 minutes of the examination.
4. Candidates suspected of any of the following, or similar, dishonest practices shall be immediately
dismissed from the examination and shall be liable to disciplinary action:

having at the place of writing any books, papers or memoranda, calculators, computers,
sound or image players/recorders/transmitters (including telephones), or other memory
aid devices, other than those authorized by the examiners;

speaking or communicating with other candidates; and

purposely exposing written papers to the view of other candidates or imaging devices.
The plea of accident or forgetfulness shall not be received.
5. Candidates must not destroy or mutilate any examination material; must hand in all examination
papers; and must not take any examination material from the examination room without
permission of the invigilator.
6. Candidates must follow any additional examination rules or directions communicated by the
instructor or invigilator.
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Marks

Question Possible Marks Marks

Part
1 16

2 1 8

2 4

3 8

4 8

5 10

6 6

Total 60
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Part 1. Multiple Choice (16 marks total)
For each numbered statement, write the letter that corresponds to the best answer in the
box. There is only one correct answer per question. Each question is worth 2 marks.

1. Which of the following IS a valid set of quantum numbers for an electron in an

atom. Each set follows the order of n, l, ml, ms.
Answer:
(a) 6, 1, 0, +3/2
(b) 2, 2, 0, +1/2
(c) 1, 0, 0, -1/2
(d) 3, 2, -2, 0
(e) 3, 1, 2, +1/2

2. The energy (in Joules) to excite He+ from the ground state to the 3p orbital is:

(a) 7.75 ×10−18 J Answer:

(b) 8.61 ×10−18 J
(c) 8.48 ×10−18 J
(d) 1.94 ×10−18 J
(e) 9.69 ×10−19 J

3. What is the most plausible molecular structure of the product of the reaction of
antimony pentachloride with trimethylphosphine?
Cl CH3
Cl
Answer:
(a) (c) Cl Sb P CH3

Cl
Cl CH3

CH3 CH3
H3C

(b) (d) H3C Sb H P CH2Cl

Cl
Cl CH3

(e)
Cl Cl CH3

Cl Sb P CH

Cl Cl CH3

4. Some covalent bonds can be broken by irradiation with light. The minimum
energy required to break a C-Br bond is 288 kJmol−1. A chemist has access to a
laser with three output wavelengths: 1064, 800, and 266 nm. Which
wavelength(s) can be used to break a C-Br bond?

(a) Only 266 nm Answer:

(b) Only 800 nm
(c) Only 1064 nm
(d) All three outputs
(e) None of the outputs
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5. Which of the following statements best describes a consequence of the
Heisenberg uncertainty principle?

(a) The lowest atomic orbital energy is reached when the number of
Answer:
electrons with the same spin is maximized.
(b) The position of an electron in an atom cannot be described by a
precisely defined orbit.
(c) The slope of the line produced from the data collected during the
photoelectric effect experiment is equal to Planck’s constant.
(d) Electrons can be described as having particle and wave-like properties.
(e) The Chemistry teacher Walter White in the hit TV show Breaking Bad
uses an alias.

6. Arrange the following species in order of increasing melting point:

CH3OH Si CH3F CH4 Cs

(a) Si < CH4 < CH3OH < CH3F < Cs Answer:

(b) CH4 < Si < Cs < CH3F < CH3OH
(c) Si < Cs < CH4 < CH3F < CH3OH
(d) Si < CH4 < CH3F < CH3OH < Cs
(e) CH4 < CH3F < CH3OH < Cs < Si

7. The radial probability distribution for a particular orbital of the hydrogen atom is
shown. Which of the following orbitals is represented by this distribution?
(a) 3s Answer:
(b) 3px
(c) 3dyz
(d) 4s
(e) 4py

8. Chromium metal has a binding energy of 7.21 x 10−19 J. The metal is subjected to
a photon source of frequency 1.4 x 1015 s−1 (enough energy to eject electrons). If
the intensity of the photon source is increased, which of the following will occur?

(a) The number of ejected electrons will decrease

(b) The number of ejected electrons will increase Answer:
(c) The energy of the ejected electrons will decrease
(d) The energy of the ejected electrons will increase
(e) There will be no change
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Part 2. Short Answer Questions

8 marks 1. Write balanced equations to represent the chemical reactions involved in each of
the following statements. It is not necessary to specify the states of the reactants or
products.

(a) The reaction of aluminum with excess bromine.

(b) The production of Cr from Cr2O3 is generated by a reaction analogous to the

thermite reaction using Al as the reducing agent.

(c) The formation of phosphoric acid from white phosphorus. This process occurs
in two steps.
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4 marks 2. The boiling points of HF, HCl, HBr, and HI are shown in the figure below.

(a) Explain the trend in boiling point from HCl to HI.

(b) Explain the anomalously high boiling point of HF.

8 marks 3. (a) Sketch cross sections of the indicated atomic orbitals on the axes below. Label
the axes appropriately. Indicate the sign of the phases.

4dxy 2px
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(b) Sketch the cross section of an orbital with total nodes = 2, radial nodes = 0,
which has electron density along the z-axis. Label the axes appropriately. Indicate
the sign of the phases.

(c) Plot Ψ vs. φ for the 4dxy orbital from φ = 0 to 2π using the axes below when θ =
π/2 and r = positive constant. Note that Ψ(r,θ, φ) < 0 when (r,θ, φ) = (q,0,π/4).

8 marks 4. The emission spectrum below for a one electron species in the gas phase shows the
lines resulting from transitions to the first excited state from higher energy states.
Line A has a wavelength of 434 nm.

B A C

Increasing wavelength, λ →

(a) What are the principal quantum numbers corresponding to the lines labeled A
and B?
Line A Line B
n = __ n = __ n = __ n = __
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(b) Identify the one electron species that exhibits the spectrum.

Answer:

(c) Specify the orbitals involved in the transition(s) corresponding to line C

(e.g., 4p→1s).

10 marks 5. A proton is confined in a one-dimensional box with a length of 100 pm. (1 pm =

10−12 m)

(a) Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of the proton (in m) if it is moving with a
velocity of 4.6 × 105 m s−1.
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(b) Draw a labelled qualitative diagram showing the first three (lowest energy)
wavefunctions for the proton in the 1D box. Indicate the wavelength (in pm) of
the proton in each of these states.

n= n=
λ= λ=

n=
λ=

(c) What wavelength of electromagnetic radiation (in nm) in the 1D box would be
necessary to excite the proton from the n = 2 to the n = 3 energy level? Show
your work.

(d) How would the energy of electromagnetic radiation in the 1D box differ for the
same transition as in part (c) under the following conditions (circle the correct
answer)?

• Proton is replaced by an electron ( larger / smaller / exactly the same)

• The box is doubled in length ( larger / smaller / exactly the same)

• Transition from 3→4 instead of 2→3 ( larger / smaller / exactly the same)
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6. Reaction of 1 mol of SO2 with 1 mol of chlorine gas in the presence of a catalyst
6 marks such as activated carbon yields 1 mol of polar compound A. Compound A (1 mol)
can be reacted further with excess ammonia to yield compound B (1 mol) and gas
C (2 mol). Compound B is a colourless, crystalline material with melting point of
93°C. Dissolving C in water yields an acidic solution.

(a) Write a balanced reaction for the formation of A.

(b) Write a balanced reaction for the formation of B and C.

(c) Draw Lewis structures of A and B. Write any non-zero formal charges on the
appropriate atoms, show all lone pairs of electrons as pairs of dots and all bond
pairs as lines.

A B

End of Examination
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Supplementary Sheet

Potentially Useful Information

1 Hertz = 1 Hz = 1 s-1 = 10-6 MHz 1 J = 1 kg m2 s-2

1 m = 106 µm =109 nm = 1012 pm = 1010 Å

h = Planck's constant = 6.626 × 10-34 J s

NA = Avogadro's number = 6.022 × 1023 mol-1
c = speed of light = 3.00 × 108 m s-1
1 amu = 1 u = atomic mass unit = 1.66 × 10-27 kg
electron mass = 9.11 × 10-31 kg
proton mass = 1.67 × 10-27 kg
ao = Bohr radius = 0.53 Å
RH = Rydberg constant = 2.18 × 10-18 J
1eV = 1.60 × 10-19 J

For one-electron species: Particle in a one dimensional box:

– Z
2
h 2n 2
En = –2.18 × 10 18 2 J En = (n = 1, 2, 3, etc.)
n 8mL2

Cartesian and Spherical Polar Coordinates:

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