Class

Content^a

Activity^b

Assessment

1

Presentation of the course

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2

Chemical thermodynamics. Spontaneous processes. Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. Gibbs’ free energy. Free energy and chemical equilibrium

Exposition

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3

Chemical kinetics. Rate of a reaction and stoichiometry. Reaction rate law, reaction order and its experimental obtention. The relation between reaction concentration and time: first-order reactions and its half-lives

The teacherintroduces the concept of the reaction rate with a pile of sheets and a stapler

General question/answer out loud

4

First-order reactions and its half-lives. Second-order reactions and its half-lives. Effects that influence a reaction-rate. Collision theory and transition state.

Effect of the concentration in collisions.

Experiment: “Effervescent tablet in the water”

One-minute paper

5

Activation energy. Arrhenius’ equation. Chemical mechanisms and molecularity. Catalysis

Experiment: decomposition of hydrogen peroxide

One-minute paper

6

Seminar 1. Lessons 2 to 5

Exercises

Students answer the exercises

7

Chemical Equilibria. The concept of equilibrium. The chemical equilibrium constant (K_C). The relation between K_C and K_P. Multiple equilibriums

Analogy: exchange of

students from one side of the classroom to the other one.

Students answer a poll