Chemistry 111/121 Fall 2016 Practice Term Test #1

This test is approximately the same length as the exam you will write on Oct 13 or 14th, but the
format of the questions will likely be different. You will have a periodic table and a formula
sheet, both currently available on Connect.

1) Consider the reaction of 5.00 g each of lithium and nitrogen gas to form lithium nitride,
according to the following reaction: 6 Li(s) + N2(g) 2 Li3N(s).
(MW Li 6.941, N2 28.013, Li3N 34.830)
a) What is the overall atom efficiency of this reaction?
b) If 5.00 g of each reagent are reacted, which is the limiting reagent? Show all necessary
work.
c) If Li3N is isolated in 93% yield from the reaction in part a), how many grams of Li3N are
obtained?

2) Plastic explosive RDX (C3H6N6O6 MW = 222.12) decomposes in an idealized reaction to

form N2, CO, and H2O as the only products.
a) Write a balanced reaction equation for this process.
b) If 22.21 g of RDX is detonated in a 0.750 L test chamber, and the chamber after the
explosion has a temperature of 240C, what is the pressure in the chamber? Assume
100% yield and that all the products of the reaction are in the gas phase.

3) A hydrogen atom interacts with a photon, and moves from the ground state to the n = 7
excited state.
a) Is the photon emitted or absorbed?
b) Calculate the wavelength of the photon
c) To what region of the electromagnetic spectrum does this photon belong: ultraviolet,
visible, or infrared?

4) A balloon is filled with helium (He, MW = 4.0026) to a volume of 6.50 L at a pressure of

102.5 kPa and a temperature of 26.0C. The balloon is cooled to 5.0C at the same pressure.
a) What is the volume of the cold balloon?
b) What is the density of the gas in the cold balloon?
c) Explain, in terms of the kinetic molecular theory of gases, why the volume of the balloon
gets smaller when it is cooled.
d) Suppose the same experiment under the same conditions were performed with a balloon
of xenon (Xe, MW = 131.29). Would your answer for part a) be larger, the same, or
smaller? Explain, briefly.

5) Absorption of microwave photons results in a rotational excited state, in which the molecule
rotates more quickly. This energy is generally lost as heat to surrounding molecules.
Absorption of ultraviolet photons results can result in the cleavage of chemical bonds.
a) Explain, briefly, why UV photons but not microwave photons are capable of breaking
chemical bonds.
b) At equal intensities, UV radiation is generally considered to be far more dangerous to
living organisms than microwave radiation. Explain why this is the case.
c) Many people believe that the use of microwave ovens reduce the nutritional value of their
food because the microwaves alter the structure of the nutrient molecules. Given your
answers in parts a) and b), do believe that such concerns are valid? Why or why not?
6) Bromine exists as two naturally-occurring isotopes: 79Br, 78.918 u,
50.7% abundance; and 81Br, 80.916 u, 49.3% abundance.
a) How many neutrons are in an atom of 81Br?
b) The mass spectrum of a sample of individual Br atoms is shown at
right. Which of the four spectra shown below corresponds to the
mass spectrum of Br2 molecules?

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