Fundamental chemistry in engineering

General objective:

This is an introductory class whose objective is to bring the student into contact with the basic concepts of Chemical Science, and provide him/her with the appropriate tools to face the content of the Industrial Chemistry Module. In addition, it will encourage interest in learning Chemistry, taking into account the role it plays in nature and in today's society.

Specific objectives:

- To understand the basic principles of thermodynamics.
- Understand the thermodynamics of chemical reaction.
- Understand the concept of chemical equilibrium and the factors affecting the state of equilibrium.
- Apply the concepts of chemical equilibrium to acid-base, redox and precipitation systems.
- Understand the basic concepts of electrochemistry of galvanic batteries.
- Understand the basic concepts of chemical kinetics, its methodology and its application in the study of simple reactions.


Con18: Knowledge in basic and technological subjects, which enable them to learn new methods and theories, giving them the versatility to adapt to new situations.

Skills or abilities

H/D02: Oral and written communication in their own and foreign languages.
H/D05: Ability to apply knowledge in practice.

Unit 1. Chemical bonding.
Lewis structures. Covalent bonding. Polar bonding. Ionic bonding. Valence-bonding theory. TRECV theory. Molecular orbitals.

Unit 2 Chemical reactions and stoichiometry.
Chemical equations Stoichiometry. Limiting reagent. Rate of progress of a reaction. Reactions in solution Global ionic equation.

Unit 3. Thermodynamics of chemical equilibrium.
1st law of thermodynamics. Enthalpy. Reaction heat. 2nd and 3rd laws of Thermodynamics. Entropy. Spontaneity criteria. Gibbs energy and chemical equilibrium. Equilibrium constant. Reaction quotient. Le Châtelier's principle.

Unit 4 Kinetics.
Rate of chemical reactions. Measurement of reaction rate. Rate equation. Order of reaction. Reactions of order 0, 1 and 2. Dependence of reaction rate on temperature.

Unit 5. Acid-base equilibrium.
Main acid-base theories. pH scale. Strength of acids and bases. Polyprotic acids. Hydrolysis. Common ion effect. Buffer solutions. Neutralisation, titration and indicators.

Unit 6. Precipitation and solubility.
The solubility product constant and molar solubility. Precipitation and fractional precipitation criteria. The common ion effect. Effect of pH. Complex ions and solubility.

Unit 7. Redox equilibrium.
Oxidation number. Oxidation and reduction half-reactions. Global ionic equation. Adjustment of a redox reaction.

Unit 8. Methods of volumetric analysis and instrumental analysis techniques.
Chemical analysis. Measurements: precision and accuracy. Measurement error. Calibration. Classification of instrumental analysis techniques. Volumetric calculations. Types of titrations.

Unit 9. Electrochemistry.
Electrochemical cells. The standard electrode potential. Nernst equation. Corrosion. Electrolysis.

Laboratory activities:

Practical 1. Acid-base equilibrium: Acid-base titration by volumetry and potentiometry.
Practical 2. Thermochemistry: Calorimetric determination of the heat of neutralisation.
Practical 3.Electrochemistry: Study of different redox systems.
Practical 4. Chemical Kinetics: Kinetic study of the oxidation reaction of the iodide ion by the persulphate ion.

Basic and complementary bibliography
Basic (reference manual):
- PETRUCCI, R. H. et al., 2023. General Chemistry : Principles and Modern Applications, 12th edition: Pearson. ISBN-13: 978-1292726137


Complementary:

General Chemistry:
- CHANG, Raymond, 2021. Chemistry, 14th edition. Mexico: McGraw Hill. ISBN-13 978-1260784473


Online resources:
- ROSENBERG, Jerome L, Lawrence M. EPSTEIN, Peter J. KREIGER, 2009. Chemistry (Schaum Series) [en liña] 9th Edition. Mexico: McGraw Hill. ISBN 9789701068885. Available at: https://issuu.com/wilsonmoscoso/docs/quimica_general_y_organica_schawn_9

Competences

Comp04: Ability to understand and apply the principles of basic knowledge of general chemistry,
organic and inorganic chemistry and their applications in engineering.

Comp08: Ability to solve problems with initiative, decision making, creativity, critical reasoning
and to communicate and transmit knowledge, skills and abilities in the field of Industrial Engineering.

Knowledge

Con18: Knowledge in basic and technological subjects, which enables them to learn new methods and theories, and provides them with methods and theories, and gives them the versatility to adapt to new situations.

Abilities or skills

H/D02: Oral and written communication in their own and a foreign language.
H/D05: Ability to apply knowledge in practice.

A) Large group lectures: Lecture given by the teacher which may have different formats (theory, problems and/or general examples, general guidelines of the subject...). The teacher may be supported by audiovisual and computer media but, in general, students do not need to handle them in class. These classes will usually follow the contents of the reference manual indicated in the bibliography and the students will have the material (slides, problem sheets, links of interest, etc.) in the Virtual Classroom. The aim is for these classes to be the starting point for students to develop their capacity for analysis and synthesis of the most relevant aspects of the subject and to serve as a guide for the development of their autonomous learning.

B) Seminars: Theoretical/practical class in which applications of theory, problems, exercises, etc. are proposed and solved. The student participates actively in these classes in different ways: handing in exercises to the teacher (some of those proposed in problem bulletins that the teacher gives to the students sufficiently in advance through the Virtual Classroom); solving exercises in the classroom, etc. The teacher may have the support of audiovisual and computer media but, in general, students will not use them in class. Evaluation tests, if any, are included. Attendance at these classes will be compulsory, as they may include unannounced tests and/or students will be asked to hand in work done in class. The activities to be developed in these classes are mainly focused on students working on problem-solving skills, teamwork and the development of interpersonal skills.

C) Practical laboratory classes: This includes classes that take place in a practical laboratory. In these classes, students acquire the skills typical of a chemistry laboratory and consolidate the knowledge acquired in theory classes.
For these practicals, the student will have a script of each of the practicals to be carried out sufficiently in advance in the Virtual Classroom of the course. The student must attend each practice session having carefully read these scripts as well as the basic operation manual of the practices (which includes key aspects of PRL). At the beginning of each practice session, students will answer 5 or 10 minutes of preliminary questions about the development of the practice to know if they are ready to start. After an explanation by the teacher, the student will carry out, individually or in pairs, the tasks and calculations necessary to achieve the objectives of the practical, recording the development of the practical and the calculations and results in the laboratory diary. The teacher may ask the student to show the laboratory diary at any time. The completion of the practicals will be compulsory as they represent a percentage of the total credits of the course and therefore also of the final grade. In addition, the practicals form the basis of the work that will be carried out in the group tutorials. The practical classes are a fundamental element for the student's learning as they help both to consolidate the theoretical concepts explained in class and to develop the student's ability to apply the theoretical concepts to a practical situation. In addition to autonomous learning, these classes are intended to help students develop their analytical and problem-solving skills, both individually and by encouraging teamwork and interpersonal skills.

D) Small group tutorials: 2 hours for each student. In these classes the students will have to present, discuss or comment on the activities previously presented by the teacher. The activities will be carried out individually or in groups as indicated by the teacher. Attendance to the tutorials will be compulsory and participation in them will be assessed. In the preparation of the activities presented, each student will have to work individually on the skills of analysis and synthesis, autonomous learning and problem solving.

Individualised tutorials: each teacher is assigned six hours a week to attend to students in the office through individualised tutorials, which can be face-to-face or online, using a computer tool for online tutorials.

During the development of the subject the Virtual Campus will be used. Through this tool, students will have all the information related to the subject: distribution of the syllabus of the subject, classes and delivery dates in a detailed timetable, support to find the class transparencies, bulletins, activities to be carried out, file exchange, specific announcements,... They will also be given the possibility to hand in the work of the programmed activities through this platform.

Competences:
Lectures: Comp4 Comp8
Seminars: Comp8
Titorials: Comp8
Laboratory practicals: Comp4

Distribution of qualification.
Exam(1): 45%.
Continuous assessment
Assignments/activities(2): 35%.
Tutorials(3): 15%.
Teacher's report (4): 5%.

The student's final qualification is distributed, as indicated in the table above, into four sub-sections.
(1) There will be an exam at the end of the four-month period in which the learning of the contents and the ability to solve problems individually will be assessed.

(2) The work carried out during the seminar sessions and in the laboratory practicals will be assessed on the ability to solve problems individually or in groups and the ability to carry out laboratory tasks.

(3) In the group tutorials, the ability to analyse and synthesise and the ability to learn in an autonomous way some specific question exposed by the lecturer will be assessed.

(4) The teacher will also evaluate the successive evolution of the student throughout the four-month period, their participation in classes, their ability to plan activities, their willingness to make decisions and their attitude during the four-month period.

In order to pass the subject, it will be essential to complete the laboratory practicals. It will also be necessary to obtain at least 5 out of 10 in the overall qualification. In order to obtain a final mark as a weighted average of the different sections, a minimum score of 3.5 out of 10 in the exam will be required. The marks for assignments, activities and tutorials will be communicated to the student before the exam.

Students who are not assessed in any of the sections will be recorded as "no-shows".

Attendance to interactive classes and group tutorials is also compulsory. Although attendance in itself will not be taken into account in the evaluation, the teacher may carry out tests and activities that will be evaluated as part of the continuous evaluation. Students who do not complete and/or hand in these tests or assignments will receive a zero for this activity.

Assessment by competences
The competences will be assessed in the different assignments and activities proposed in accordance with the following table
Competence code ..............Work.....Tutorials.......report.......Examination
Comp4...................................... X.......... X..............X.............X
Comp8.......................................X...........X...............X............X

The teacher will analyse with those students who do not successfully pass the evaluation process, and who wish to do so, the difficulties encountered in learning the contents of the subject.

Students who do not pass the subject in January will have a second opportunity to take the exam in July, and the qualifications obtained in the other sections during the course will be maintained. The evaluation will have the same distribution as in the first opportunity.

For cases of fraudulent performance of exercises or tests, the rules set out in the Regulations on the assessment of students' academic performance and the review of qualifications will apply.

Master classes:
Classroom hours = 28
Hours of student work = 35
ECTS = 2,5

Seminars:
Classroom hours = 10
Hours of student work = 14
ECTS = 0,8

Computer classroom:
Classroom hours = 0
Student work hours = 0
ECTS = 0

Laboratory practicals:
Classroom hours = 12
Student work hours = 8
ECTS = 0,8

Group tutorials:
Classroom hours = 1
Hours of student work = 8
ECTS = 0,4

Individualised tutorials:
Classroom hours = 1
Hours of student work = 8
ECTS = 0,4

Examination and revision
Classroom hours = 4
Student work hours = 22
ECTS = 1,1

Total:
Classroom hours = 55
Student work hours = 95
ECTS = 6

It is recommended that the student's education should have a scientific-technological profile. Within this profile, in addition to chemistry, it is advisable to study mathematics and physics. In addition, knowledge of English could be a very useful tool as it would allow students to access a greater number of resources: specific web pages for the contents or topics of interest related to the contents, books, scientific articles, etc.

- It is advisable to attend lectures.

- In order to establish a first contact with the contents of the subjects, it is recommended to read the manual proposed in the bibliography. In this way, students will be able to manage their study time better, since if they need to consult something on the Internet, they will be able to do a more specific search without having to stop at pages that are of little or no use.

- It is important to carry out the activities proposed by the teacher in interactive classes and group tutorials.

- Once you have finished reading a topic in the reference manual, it is useful to make a summary of the important points, identifying the basic equations to remember and making sure you know both their meaning and the conditions under which they can be applied.

- It is essential to prepare the practical exercises, individually or in groups, before entering the laboratory. First of all, the important theoretical concepts in each experiment should be reviewed and then the script of the practical should be read carefully, trying to understand the objectives and the development of the proposed experiment. Any doubts that may arise should be discussed with the teacher.

There will be one teaching group in Galician and another in English.

Those students who have difficulties in carrying out the different activities that make up the continuous assessment may request the help of the teacher, who will attend to them during the timetable assigned for individual tutorials, which will be indicated in the teaching guide.

Absences from classes that are compulsory must be duly justified.

The admission and permanence of students enrolled in the practical laboratory requires that they know and comply with the rules included in the Protocol of basic safety training for experimental spaces of the School of Engineering, available in the safety section of its new website, which you can access as follows:

1. Access your intranet.
2. Go to Documentation/Safety/Training.
3. Click on "Protocolo de formación básica en materia de seguridad para espacios experimentales".