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THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA name in this box.
Department of Chemistry
Chemistry 121 Final Examination
Sample Final Time Limit: 2.5 hrs

SURNAME:________________________________ GIVEN NAME(S):_____________________________

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INSTRUCTIONS Check √ your lecture section:

1. Answer all questions on the examination paper. ___101 (MWF 1:00) Dr. Gates
2. Check that your examination contains pages
___102 (MWF 2:00) Dr. Krems
numbered 1 through 18. The last sheet (pages 17
and 18), containing “Potentially Useful ___103 (MWF 3:00) Dr. Dönnecke
Information” and the Periodic Table, may be ___110 (MWF 10:00) Dr. Herring
removed. ___111 (MWF 11:00) Dr. Wolf
3. The only calculator permitted is the Sharp EL- ___122 (T, Th 2:00) Dr. Mehrkhodavandi
510R. All other calculators will be confiscated ___133 (T, Th 3:30) Dr. Liu
by the examiners. ___188 (T,Th 8:00) Dr. Kennepohl
4. Unassembled models are allowed.
___199 (T,Th 9:30) Dr. Bertram
5. No electronic communication devices are
permitted.

REGULATIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS Marks

1. Each candidate must be prepared to produce, Part Maximum Obtained Initials
upon request, a Library/AMS card for I 30
identification.
2. No candidates shall be permitted to ask questions II 18
of the invigilators, except in the cases of
supposed errors or ambiguities in examination III 16
questions.
3. No candidates shall be permitted to enter the IV 16
examination room after the expiration of one-half
hour from the scheduled starting time, or to leave V 18
during the first half-hour of the examination.
4. Candidates suspected of any of the following, or VI 14
similar, dishonest practices shall be immediately
dismissed from the examination and shall be
VII 8
subject to disciplinary action Total 120
(a) Having at the place of writing any books,
papers or memoranda, calculators, audio or
visual cassette players or other memory aid
devices, other than those authorized by the
examiners.
(b) Speaking or communicating with other
candidates.
(c) Purposely exposing written papers to the
view of other candidates. The pleas 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.
 2

PART I. Multiple Choice (30 marks total)

For each numbered statement below, select the letter corresponding to the best answer. There is only
one correct answer per question. Each correct answer is worth 1 mark for Questions 1-10 and 2 marks
for Questions 11-20.

1. What are the products of the reaction of potassium metal with water?

(a) Pt2O and H2

(b) PtOH and H2
(c) PtH and PtOH
(d) H2 and KOH
(e) H2 and K2O

2. What is the molecular shape of NF3?

(a) tetrahedral
(b) square-planar
(c) seesaw
(d) trigonal pyramidal
(e) none of the above

3. Which of the following molecules is expected to exhibit the strongest hydrogen bonding?

(a) PH3
(b) H2CO
(c) CH3NH2
(d) CH4
(e) HI

4. Which of the following compounds results from treating aluminum oxide with excess aqueous
sulfuric acid?

(a) AlSO4
(b) [Al(H2O)6]2(SO4)3
(c) H[Al(OH)4]
(d) Al2S3
(e) Al(OH)3

5. Choose the INCORRECT statement about [NH2]–.

(a) There are no π bonds.

(b) There are two σ bonds.
(c) N is sp3 hybridized.
(d) The ion is bent.
(e) There is one lone pair on N.
 3
6. Which of the following elements does not react with oxygen (O2) under any circumstances?

(a) Hydrogen
(b) Helium
(c) Aluminum
(d) Sodium
(e) Magnesium

7. Complete the following sentence. If an electron is confined to a box,

(a) it may violate the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

(b) its kinetic energy is directly proportional to the length of the box.
(c) it can be found at any point inside the box with the same probability.
(d) it can never be at rest.
(e) it does not obey the de Broglie principle.

8. Cyanuric acid exists in two forms (A and B) (lone pairs are not shown).
OH O
H C H
C
N N N N

C C C C
N O N O
HO OH
H

A B
What is the maximum number of atoms that can lie in the same plane for form A?

(a) 6
(b) 8
(c) 9
(d) 10
(e) 12

9. What is the hybridization of each C and each N in form B of cyanuric acid (see question 8)?

(a) C = sp3, N = sp3

(b) C = sp, N = sp3
(c) C = sp3, N = sp2
(d) C = sp2, N = sp2
(e) none of the above

10. Why is diamond an electrical insulator?

(a) The conduction band is full and, consequently, the electrons are localized.
(b) There are no π bonds.
(c) The energy gap between the valence band and the conduction band is large.
(d) The bonds in diamond are too strong to allow atoms to move so no current flows.
(e) There are no electrons in the valence band.
 4
3
11. An sp d hybridized central atom can result in all of the following molecular shapes:

(a) trigonal planar, trigonal bipyramidal, linear

(b) T-shaped, linear, trigonal bipyramidal
(c) linear, square planar, T-shaped
(d) see-saw, T-shaped, bent
(e) none of the above

12. Which of the following sets contains no substances with ionic bonds?

(a) NaClO4, C4H10, NH3

(b) NaCl, CH4, S8
(c) CO2, HCN, O2
(d) CO2, NH4Cl, C2H6
(e) AgCl, ScF3, P4

13. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

(a) The radius of Cl– is greater than the radius of F–.

(b) The radius of S2– is greater than the radius of S.
(c) The radius of Rb is greater than the radius of K.
(d) The radius of Ca+ is greater than the radius of Br2+.
(e) The radius of F is greater than the radius of B.

14. Which of the following elements (X) forms an amphoteric oxide with the empirical formula X2O3?

(a) Aluminum
(b) Silicon
(c) Phosphorus
(d) Sulfur
(e) Chlorine

15. Choose the INCORRECT statement.

(a) Electromagnetic radiation consists of propagating electric and magnetic fields.

(b) The velocity of ultraviolet light is greater than the velocity of X-rays.
(c) The energy of electromagnetic radiation is directly proportional to its frequency.
(d) Infrared light has a longer wavelength than ultraviolet light.
(e) A photon with a wavelength of 5000 Å has one-half as much energy as a photon with a
wavelength of 2500 Å.

16. Consider a diatomic molecule with the x-axis as the bond axis. Which of the following atomic
orbitals on adjacent atoms can form a π bond?

(a) 3dxz and 3dxy

(b) 3dxz and 3s
(c) 2py and 3dx2–y2
(d) 3dx2–y2 and 3dx2–y2
(e) 3dxy and 2py
 5
17. The zinc blende structure can be described as a face-centered cubic array of sulfide anions in
which the zinc cations occupy half of the tetrahedral holes. What is the formula of zinc sulfide?

(a) ZnS
(b) ZnS2
(c) Zn2S
(d) Zn2S3
(e) Zn2S4

18. Choose the CORRECT statement.

(a) In the hydrogen atom, electronic transitions induced by light always have Δn = ± l.
(b) Absorption of electromagnetic radiation by a one-electron species can promote an electron from
an s-orbital to a d-orbital.
(c) The energy of the 1s electron in He+ is twice the energy of the 1s electron in hydrogen.
(d) The boron atom, with the electronic configuration 1s22s22p1, cannot emit radiation.
(e) The blue and red lines in the spectrum of hydrogen correspond to the same transition.

19. You are a chemist in charge of the hazardous material unit with the Province of British Columbia
and must decide which of the following situations is most serious and must be dealt with first.

(a) A railway car carrying 1,000 kg of P4S3 has gone off the rails spilling its contents.
(b) A railway tanker carrying 20,000 L of aqueous concentrated sodium chloride solution has gone
off the rails and is leaking into the ocean.
(c) A large leak in a 50 L xenon tank is discovered near a natural gas pipe in a residential area.
(d) A collision has occurred between two trucks; one carrying 200 L of household bleach and the
other transporting 400 L of liquid nitrogen.
(e) A truck carrying 34,000 L of a dilute solution of phosphoric acid in water has crashed on the
trans Canada highway next to a gas station.

20. The formation of Cl atoms in the stratosphere from CFC refrigerants (i.e. CFCl3) is a major cause of
the depletion of the ozone layer. The Cl atoms react with ozone to generate ClO and oxygen (O2).
Some of the depletion of the ozone layer is offset by reaction of ClO with NO2 to give chlorine
nitrate. Predict the most likely Lewis structure of chlorine nitrate (ClNO3).

N O O
O
Cl N O O Cl O Cl N O Cl O N O N Cl O
O O
O O O

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

 6
PART II. (18 marks total)

1. Complete the following sentences and phrases using proper chemical terminology (elemental
symbols may be used).
(a) A is a charge neutral substance made up of two or more
elements.

(b) The energy change in the reaction below is the of

bromine.

Br (g) + e" # Br " (g)

(c) The energy change in the reaction below is the .

! Br2 (g) " 2 Br (g)

(d) The elements of Group 13 all have the same number of electrons.
(e) Dioxygen (O2) and ozone
! (O3) are two of the element oxygen.

(f) In NOF3 (nitrogen is the central atom) the formal charge on N is whereas the
oxidation state of N is .

(g) The intermolecular forces in solid Xe are called .

2. Predict the product(s) and balance each of the following reactions. Assume that conditions
necessary to initiate a reaction are available (i.e. heating, burning, etc.).
(a) Al + Fe2O3 →

(b) Mg + CO2 →

(c) SO3 + H2O →

(d) Xe + PtF6 →

(e) (CH3)2SiCl2 + H2O →

 7
3. Draw one perspective diagram showing the VSEPR predicted shape for each of the following
species. The central atom is underlined. In each case, specify the name for the shape (i.e. the
molecular geometry) you have drawn.

(a) CH2Cl2 Shape:

(b) [SiF6]2-
Shape:

(c) [XeOF3]+ Shape:

 8
PART III. (16 marks total)

1. Draw ALL possible resonance structures for IO3F (I is central atom) that contain only single and/or
double bonds. 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. Circle the best Lewis structure.
 9
–
2. Draw ALL possible resonance structures for the [H2C2N5] anion – all structures must have formal
charges minimized. 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. The skeletal structure is:
-
H N
N
C N C
N
H N

3. A molecule with one lone pair of electrons has a pentagonal bipyramidal electron group geometry
(EGG). Does the lone pair of electrons occupy an equatorial or an axial position? Briefly justify
your answer.
 10
PART IV. (16 marks total)

1. In a chemical factory, calcium phosphate (or calcium orthophosphate) (10 mol) is heated with coke
(carbon) (80 mol) at 1200 °C to produce compound X (10 mol) and carbon monoxide (80 mol).
Compound X is then ground into a fine powder. Water (60 mol) is then carefully added to X (10
mol) to afford calcium hydroxide (30 mol) and a colourless gas Y (20 mol). Compound Y is
extremely poisonous and highly flammable. When Y (20 mol) is treated with Z (80 mol) and HCl
(20 mol) a single product, [P(CH2OH)4]Cl, is formed. Analysis of Z revealed that it does not contain
phosphorus. [P(CH2OH)4]Cl is the key ingredient used to permanently flame-proof cotton cloth.

[space to show work]

(a) Give the chemical formulae for X, Y and Z.

X Y Z
 11
(b) The overall yield of [P(CH2OH)4]Cl from calcium phosphate is 84 %. Calculate the mass of
[P(CH2OH)4]Cl that is isolated.

(c) What is the VSEPR predicted molecular shape at phosphorus in the [P(CH2OH)4]+ cation?

Shape:

2. Balance the following redox equation.

(CH3)PCl2 + SbF3 → (CH3)PF4 + SbCl3 + Sb

 12
PART V. (18 marks total)

1. Specify the number of radial and angular nodes for each of the following orbitals.

n = 2, ! = 0, m! = 0 angular______ radial______
n = 4, ! = 2, m! = 0 angular______ radial______
n = 5, ! = 2, m! = -2 angular______ radial______
! n = 10, ! = 7, m ! = -7 angular______ radial______
!
! !
! !
2. Which of the following sets of quantum numbers are allowed and which are forbidden for an
! !
atomic orbital. Circle the correct answer for each.

n = 3, ! = -2, m! = 2 allowed forbidden

n = 1, ! = 0, m! = 0 allowed forbidden
n = 56, ! = 2, m! = -2 allowed forbidden
! n =! 3, ! = 2, m! = -½ allowed forbidden
! !
3. !
Complete the! following table by providing the appropriate elemental symbol and the ground
!
state electronic
! configuration.

Species Element Electronic Configuration

The element with Z

= 7.

The fourth period

atom with the most
unpaired electrons.

4. Complete the following table by providing the appropriate elemental symbol and the orbital
diagram.

Species Element Orbital Diagram

An excited state of
sulfur that is
diamagnetic.

The third period

element that is a
component of ruby.
 13
5. (a) Draw cross-sections for the following orbitals of the hydrogen atom. Show phases as
(+) and (–) and label the axes.

2pz 4dxy

(b) Using your drawing of the 4dxy orbital from part (a), sketch the wave function versus the
spherical polar angle φ in the interval from 0 to 2π. Assume that r > 0.

" (4dxy)

(0,0) #
! 2!
 14
PART VI. (14 marks total)

1. The cyclooctatetraene dication [C8H8]2+ has a planar ring structure with delocalized π bonds.

(a) A π molecular orbital (π1) of the [C8H8]2+ dication (top view) is shown below. The phase
of the orbital is either shaded (+) or not shaded (–). On the diagram below draw lines to
indicate the nodal planes in π1.

!1

(b) What is the total number of π molecular orbitals in [C8H8]2+?

(c) Below are three additional π molecular orbitals in [C8H8]2+. For each molecular orbital
determine whether it is higher, lower or equal in energy to π1. Circle the correct answer.

!2 !3 !4

Higher Higher Higher

Lower Lower Lower

Equal Equal Equal

 15
2. You are cleaning out a laboratory and find a vial containing an orange powder in the back of a
cupboard (Unknown A). Unfortunately, the label on the vial has become unreadable except for
the word “cesium”. Magnetic measurements reveal that the diatomic anion in A has one
unpaired electron. Reaction of 16.49 g of unknown A with 7.99 g bromine yields two products:
21.28 g of a solid which contains 37.55% Br and one other element, and 3.20 g of a
paramagnetic gas with a molecular weight of 31.998 g mol-1.

[space to show work]

(a) Give the chemical formula for unknown A?

(b) Write a balanced equation for the reaction of A with bromine.

(c) On the scale below, draw an energy level diagram showing how the atomic orbitals
interact to form the molecular orbitals of the diatomic anion in A. Label the atomic and
molecular orbitals with the appropriate symbols and place the appropriate number of
electrons in each orbital. Determine the bond order for the diatomic anion in A.

Energy

Bond Order:
 16
PART VII. (8 marks total)

1. N6+ ions are generated in the 5p excited state. The excited state ions relax to the ground state by
undergoing transitions to lower energy states. All transitions must follow the selection rules.

(a) List all the possible transitions between specific orbitals that would be expected in the
atomic emission spectrum.

List of possible transitions:

(b) How many lines would be observed in the atomic emission spectrum?
Answer:

(c) The photons emitted from N6+ are allowed to strike a vanadium surface and one or more
electrons are ejected. Given that the binding energy (or work function) for vanadium is
8.20×10-17 J photon-1, calculate the kinetic energies and velocities of all electrons which
are ejected.

END OF EXAMINATION
 17

Potentially Useful Information

1 Hertz = 1 Hz = 1 s-1 1 J = 1 kg m2 s-2

1 m = 10 µm =10 nm = 1012 pm = 1010 Å
6 9

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
neutron mass = 1.67 × 10-27 kg

Z2
En = -2.18 × 10-18 J
n2
18