Chemistry 1161: First Midterm A

February 3, 2025

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This exam consists of 20 multiple choice questions each worth
3.5 points, followed by 3 short answer questions worth 10
points each. Your answers for the multiple choice must be
recorded on the on the exam itself. Fill in your answers as you
go – you will NOT receive extra time to fill in the form, and
late forms will not be graded.
You will receive credit for work written on this exam for the
short answer portion. Feel free to use the back of a page for
scratch work, but that will not be graded unless you direct us
there from the front.
Good luck!
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question by filling in the bubble that
contains the letter.

1. Which of these could be the set of quantum numbers for an electron in 5f?
n = 5, l = 4, ml = 2, ms = -½ n = 5, l = 3, ml = -2, ms = +½
n = 5, l = 3, ml = -4, ms = +½ n = 5, l = 2, ml = 3, ms = -½
n = 5, l = 3, ml = 2, ms = 0

2. A strontium-90 atom that has lost 2 electrons has ________ protons, ________ neutrons, and
________ electrons.
90; 38; 88 38; 52; 40

38; 52; 36 38; 90; 40

38; 90; 36

3. J.J. Thomson's foundational experiment involved investigations of the beam in the cathode ray tube.
Which of the following discoveries did this produce? Select ALL that apply. Note: all these statements
are true; the question is which of these did we learn from Thomson's cathode ray experiment?
I. Metals contain particles smaller than an atom.
II. Electrons are negatively charged.
III. The charge on an electron is -1.6 x 10-19 coulombs.
IV. Atoms contain positive charges.
V. The mass of the atom is contained almost entirely in the nucleus.
II, III, and IV only I, II, and III only

I and II only I, II, and V only

I, II, and IV only

4. Fraunhofer and Wollaston studied sunlight by passing ambient sunlight through a prism and projecting
it onto the walls of their lab. From this, they were able to study which wavelengths of visible light
were present in sunlight. Which of the following discoveries did this produce? Note: all these
statements are true; the question is which did we learn from Fraunhofer and Wollaston’s
experiments?
Sunlight on Earth contains most wavelengths Sunlight on Earth does not contain all
of visible light. wavelengths of visible light.
Some of the wavelengths of light that leave Some atoms absorb and emit visible
the sun are absorbed in Earth’s atmosphere. wavelengths of light.
Atoms emit the same wavelengths of light
that they absorb.
 5. What is the wavelength ( ) of a radio station operating at a frequency of 99,600,000 Hz?
3m 3 mm

3 km 3 cm

3 nm

6. How many grams of fructose are there in 0.361 moles? Fructose is C6H12O6.
14.4 65.0

180.2 499.2

2.17 x 1023

7. Which of the following does NOT illustrate the law of multiple proportions?
The N-to-O mass ratio in NO is 0.875, whereas that in N2O is 1.75.

C2H2 has a 12:1 C-to-H mass ratio while C2H6 has a 4:1 C-to-H mass ratio.

The ratio of O:C by mass in CO2 is twice that of CO.

If a sample of H2O contains 16 grams of oxygen, a sample of H2O2 with the same number of
molecules would contain 32 grams of oxygen.
H2S and H2O contain the same mass of hydrogen.

8. The work function of sodium is = 2.90 x 10-19 J. What is the maximum wavelength that can cause
ejection of photoelectrons from a sodium surface?
685 nm 451 nm

222 nm 151 nm

45.1 nm

9. Which of the following is quantized?

your score in this class your age

the distance from a dorm room to the the temperature outside

classroom
pages on this exam

10. What is the ground state electron configuration of the +1 cation formed when an electron is removed
from an atom in the fourth row with 10 valence electrons?
[Ar]4s23d8 [Ar]4s13d8

[Kr]4s13d8 [Ar]4s23d7

[Kr]4s23d7
11. Which of the following bonds is most polar?

B-H O-H

P-H Al-H

C-H

12. Max Planck was able to resolve the ultraviolet catastrophe by making what assumption?
Light that is emitted from a blackbody must The intensity of light emitted by a blackbody
be treated as a wave instead of a particle radiator increases with increasing
temperature
Light that is emitted from a blackbody must The total energy emitted by a blackbody
be treated as a particle instead of a wave radiator goes to infinity at low wavelengths
The wavelength of the peak emission in the
light emitted by a blackbody radiator
increases with increasing temperature

13. De Broglie derived an equation to determine the effective wavelength of any moving particle. He was
able to use this to provide a reason for the quantization of Bohr's quantum number, n. What was that
reason?
n represents the number of electrons that n represents the number of de Broglie
can have a specific de Broglie wavelength. wavelengths that make up the circumference
of the orbit.
n represents the number of orbits which n represents the number of de Broglie
share a particular de Broglie wavelength. wavelengths that make up the energy
required to undergo a transition to a
particular orbit.
n represents the number of de Broglie
wavelengths that make up the distance of the
orbit from the nucleus.

14. Bospridium is a nonmetal from a galaxy far, far away with the chemical symbol of Bo. It regularly
forms covalent bonds to sulfur. What is the name of Bo2S4?
dibospridium tetrasulfate bospridium (IV) sulfide

dibospridium tetrasulfur dibospridium sulfide

dibospridium tetrasulfide

15. Terenthium is a transition metal from a galaxy far, far away with the chemical symbol of Tn. It can
exist as cations with more than one charge. What is the name of Tn2(ClO3)4?
diterenthium tetrachlorate terenthium tetrachlorate

terenthium (II) chlorite terenthium (III) chlorate

terenthium (II) chlorate

16. Which statement below regarding covalent bonds is FALSE?
Electrons in a single covalent bond are The average bond length is the distance
mutually attracted to two nuclei. between the nuclei when the energy is at a
minimum.
The energy of the interaction between two The covalently bonded atoms are at a lower
neutral atoms continuously decreases as energy than the separated atoms.
their separation decreases.
Electron-nucleus attractions must overcome
electron-electron and nucleus-nucleus
repulsions.

17. Why does 3s fill before 3d?

The most likely distance of an electron from The most likely distance of an electron from
the nucleus is smaller for 3s than for 3d the nucleus is larger for 3s than for 3d
The value of l for 3s is smaller than the value Electrons in n = 2 shield electrons in 3s from
of l for 3d the charge on the nucleus less than they
shield electrons in 3d
Electrons in n = 2 shield electrons in 3s from
the charge on the nucleus more than they
shield electrons in 3d

18. What is the longest wavelength of light emitted by an excited hydrogen atom when nfinal = 1?
91.16 nm 121.5 nm

273.5 nm 364.6 nm

656.2 nm

19. If the following arithmetic operations are carried out with the correct number of significant figures,
what is the correct answer?
130 + 0.56 + 0.01 + 3.33

133.90 133.9

134 130.

130
20. Which row 2 element probably has the following successive ionization energies, in kJ:

B N

O F

Ne

21. Two points extra credit: In the space below, write something interesting you learned
about Professor Dransfield from his answers to the introductory survey.
Short answer problem A1:

The Atlantic Ocean contains 310,410,900 km3 of water. A cubic kilometer is 2.60 x
1011 gallons. There are 768 teaspoons in a gallon.

a. How many teaspoons of water are there in the Atlantic Ocean?

b. A teaspoon of water weighs 5.0 g. How many molecules of water are in a

teaspoon?
Short answer problem A2:
Complete the Lewis structures for three different resonance forms of the molecule with
the connectivity shown below. For each resonance form, indicate any non-zero formal
charges. Circle the resonance form you think most contributes to the real geometry of
the molecule, and briefly explain why.
 Short answer problem A3:

Scientists have made contact with life on a distant planet in a galaxy far, far away. The
planet is composed of many of the same elements as are found on Earth. However,
the inhabitants of the planet have different names and symbols for the elements. The
subspace communication transmission gave data on the known chemical and physical
properties of the 13 nonmetals and metalloids in the first 3 rows. Match the alien
names of these elements with the symbols used to represent them here on Earth.

1. Three of these elements do not seem to form any molecules. They are wobble
(Wo), skeven (Sk), and prothium (Pr). Wobble is the lightest of these. Skeven has the
largest atomic radius.
2. The most reactive group of nonmetals are palpatine (Pa), tatooine (T), and satine
(Sa). Palpatine does not ever take a positive formal charge, while tatooine sometimes
does. Of the three, satine has by far the least negative electron affinity.
3. The metalloids are graxitium (G) and nutorium (Nt). Nutorium often does not
possess a full octet in covalent compounds.
4. Tudenium (Tu) and regvis (Rg) often form triple bonds, but regvis will form
hypervalent structures and tudenium will not.
5. Omipal (Om) has a bonding capacity of four.
6. Rethen (R) and bastelt (Bs) gain two electrons when they react, but rethen is a
diatomic gas and bastelt is a solid.

Alien Element Earth Element Symbol

wobble (Wo)
skeven (Sk)
prothium (Pr)
palpatine (Pa)
tatooine (T)
satine (Sa)
graxitium (G)
nutorium (Nt)
tudenium (Tu)
regvis (Rg)
omipal (Om)
rethen (R)
bastelt (Bs)