

Chemistry and Our Universe: How It All Works
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Episodes
S1 E1 - Is Chemistry the Science of Everything?
September 22, 201631minChemistry is the study of all matter, but matter at a very particular scale - that of atoms and molecules. Professor Davis begins by outlining his approach to this enormous topic and then introduces the periodic table of elements, one of the most powerful conceptual tools ever devised.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E2 - Matter and Measurement
September 22, 201634minChemists have convenient units for dealing with matter at the atomic scale. Learn the origin and relative size of the angstrom to measure length, as well as the atomic mass unit, the mole for measuring quantity and the Kelvin scale for temperature.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E3 - Wave Nature of Light
September 22, 201630minLight interacts with matter in crucial ways. In the first of two segments on the nature of light, follow the debate over whether light is a wave or a particle, starting in antiquity. See how the wave theory appeared to triumph in the 19th century and led to the discovery of the electromagnetic spectrum.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E4 - Particle Nature of Light
September 22, 201629minAlthough light has wave-like properties, it also behaves like a particle that comes in discrete units of energy, termed quanta. Learn how physicists Max Planck, Albert Einstein, and others built a revolutionary picture of light that recognizes both its wave- and particle-like nature.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E5 - Basic Structure of the Atom
September 22, 201631minPeel back the layers of the atom to investigate what's inside. Observe how electrons, protons, and neutrons are distributed, how they give an atom its identity, and how they affect its electrical charge and atomic mass. Discover the meaning of terms such as isotope, anion, and cation.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E6 - Electronic Structure of the Atom
September 22, 201633minStarting with hydrogen, see how electrons organize themselves within the atom, depending on their energy state. Graduate from Niels Bohr's revolutionary model of the atom to Erwin Schrödinger's even more precise theory. Then, chart different electron configurations in heavier and heavier atoms.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E7 - Periodic Trends: Navigating the Table
September 22, 201630minReturn to the periodic table to practice predicting properties of elements based on their electronic structure. Then, witness what happens when three different alkali metals react with water. Theory forecasts a pronounced difference in the result. Is there?Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E8 - Compounds and Chemical Formulas
September 22, 201629minTurn to molecules, which are groups of atoms that make up compounds as well as some elements. Learn to calculate the empirical formula for a simple molecule and also its molecular formula, which gives the exact number of each type of atom.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E9 - Joining Atoms: The Chemical Bond
September 22, 201631minIn the first of a five-part look at chemical bonds, start to unravel the mystery of what joins atoms into molecules. Investigate how molecular bonds reflect the octet rule and fall into four classes: ionic, covalent, polar covalent, and metallic bonds.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E10 - Mapping Molecules: Lewis Structures
September 22, 201630minWorking at the turn of the 20th century, chemist Gilbert N. Lewis devised a simple method for depicting the essential blueprint of a molecule's structure. Learn how to draw Lewis structures, and use this technique to explore such concepts as formal charge and resonance.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E11 - VSEPR Theory and Molecular Geometry
September 22, 201628minTake the next step beyond Lewis structures to see how atoms in a molecule are arranged in three dimensions. VSEPR theory (valence-shell electron-pair repulsion theory) provides chemists with a quick way to predict the shapes of molecules based on a few basic assumptions.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E12 - Hybridization of Orbitals
September 22, 201629minMeet one of the fathers of modern physical chemistry, Linus Pauling. Hear about his theory of orbital hybridization, which solves some of the shortcomings of VSEPR theory by averaging the charge of electrons in different orbitals, accounting for the peculiar geometry of certain molecules.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E13 - Molecular Orbital Theory
September 22, 201626minDiscover an alternate model of chemical bonding: molecular orbital theory, developed by Friedrich Hund and Robert Mulliken. This idea explains such mysteries as why oxygen is paramagnetic. See a demonstration of oxygen's attraction to a magnet, then use molecular orbital theory to understand why this happens.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E14 - Communicating Chemical Reactions
September 22, 201631minBegin your study of chemical reactions by investigating how chemists write reactions using a highly systematized code. Next, Professor Davis introduces the "big four" types of chemical reactions: synthesis, decomposition, single displacement, and double displacement. He also shows how to translate between measurements in moles and grams.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E15 - Chemical Accounting: Stoichiometry
September 22, 201631minStoichiometry may sound highly technical, but it is simply the relative proportions in which chemicals react. Discover how to balance a reaction equation, and learn how to solve problems involving limiting reagents, theoretical yield, percent yield, and optimized reactions.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E16 - Enthalpy and Calorimetry
September 22, 201634minConsider how atoms and molecules can create, consume, and transport the most vital commodity in the universe: energy. Practice calculating energy changes in reactions, explore the concept of enthalpy (the total heat content of a system), and learn how chemists use a device called a calorimeter.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E17 - Hess's Law and Heats of Formation
September 22, 201629minIn 1840, chemist Germain Hess theorized that total heat change in a chemical reaction is equal to the sum of the heat changes of its individual steps. Study the implications of this principle, known as Hess's law. In the process, learn about heat of formation.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E18 - Entropy: The Role of Randomness
September 22, 201631minNow turn to entropy, which is a measure of disorder. According to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of closed systems always increases. See how this change can be calculated in chemical reactions by using the absolute entropy table.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E19 - Influence of Free Energy
September 22, 201629minEnthalpy and entropy are contrasting quantities. However, they are combined in the free energy equation, discovered by chemist J. Willard Gibbs, which predicts whether a reaction will take place spontaneously. Probe the difference between reactions that are endothermic (requiring heat) and exothermic (releasing heat).Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E20 - Intermolecular Forces
September 22, 201631minInvestigate the physical properties that define the most common phases of matter: solids, liquids, and gases. Then, focus on the intermolecular forces that control which of these phases a substance occupies. Analyze the role of London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, and hydrogen bonding.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E21 - Phase Changes in Matter
September 22, 201628minSurvey events at the molecular level when substances convert between solid, liquid, and gaseous phases. Pay particular attention to the role of temperature and pressure on these transitions. Become familiar with a powerful tool of prediction called the phase diagram.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E22 - Behavior of Gases: Gas Laws
September 22, 201627minIn this look at the properties of gases, review the basic equations that describe their behavior. Learn the history of Boyle's law, Gay-Lussac's law, Charles's law, and Avogadro's law. Then use these four expressions to derive the celebrated ideal gas law.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E23 - Kinetic Molecular Theory
September 22, 201630minApply the physics of moving bodies to the countless particles comprising a gas. Observe how Graham's law links the mass of gas particles to the rate at which they escape through a small aperture, a process known as effusion. See how this technique was used to enrich uranium for the first atomic weapons.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E24 - Liquids and Their Properties
September 22, 201629minNow turn to liquids, which have a more complicated behavior than gases. The same intermolecular forces apply to both, but at much closer range for liquids. Explore the resulting properties, including viscosity, volatility, incompressibility, and miscibility. Also consider applications of these qualities.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buyS1 E25 - Metals and Ionic Solids
September 22, 201631minSolids are characterized by a defined volume and shape, created by close packing of atoms, ions, or molecules. Focus on how packing is very regular in crystalline solids, which display lattice geometries. In particular, study the structure and properties of metals and alloys.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
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