Outline

Overview

There are over 144 million chemical substances so far identified, a diversity that makes possible the rich fabric of the material and biological worlds. Underpinning this huge diversity are a few fundamental rules of electronic arrangements in atoms and molecules that determine what molecules will be stable and when they will undergo transformation by chemical reaction. This unit will describe these fundamental rules and investigate how electronic rearrangements stabilise molecules by forming covalent bonds. You will investigate the quantum theory of bonding and apply these concepts to establish the rules that govern bond geometries, aromaticity, substitution and elimination reactions. You will investigate the bonding of metal complexes and the relation between magnetism and structure in these compounds. You will learn the fundamentals of electronic and vibrational spectroscopies and how these techniques are used to measure molecular properties. Molecular Stability and Reactivity (SSP) differs from CHEM2921 in that it includes an additional seminar series on three research-led topics in chemistry. By doing this unit you will develop the fundamental understanding of chemical stability and reactivity essential for further work in all chemically related fields and have established a solid foundation for further study in chemistry.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Chemistry Academic Operations
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	A mark of 75 or above in (CHEM1111 or CHEM1911 or CHEM1991 or CHEM1011 or CHEM1901 or CHEM1903 or CHEM1011 or CHEM1001) and a mark of 75 or above in (CHEM1112 or CHEM1912 or CHEM1992 or CHEM1012 or CHEM1902 or CHEM1904 or CHEM1002)
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	CHEM2921 or CHEM2521 or CHEM2401 or CHEM2911 or CHEM2915
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Peter Harrowell, peter.harrowell@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam	Final exam Written examination	52.5%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Laboratory presentation 2 presentations over a 9 week period	7%	Multiple weeks	2 x ~10 min presentation
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Laboratory report See Canvas for more details	18%	Multiple weeks	4 x ~4 page reports
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	In‐Semester Test 1 Online quiz	3.75%	Week 05	60 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	SSP assignment 1 Written assignment	7.5%	Week 06	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	In‐Semester Test 2 Online quiz	3.75%	Week 11	60 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	SSP assignment 2 Written assignment	7.5%	Week 12	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	At HD level, a student demonstrates a flair for the subject as well as a detailed and comprehensive understanding of achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates the ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding to produce original solutions for novel or highly complex problems and/or comprehensive critical discussions of theoretical concepts.
Distinction	75 - 84	At DI level, a student demonstrates an aptitude for the subject and a well-developed understanding of the unit material. A ‘Distinction’ reflects excellent achievement and is awarded to a student who demonstrates an ability to apply their subject knowledge and understanding of the subject to produce good solutions for challenging problems and/or a reasonably well-developed critical analysis of theoretical concepts.
Credit	65 - 74	At CR level, a student demonstrates a good command and knowledge of the unit material. A ‘Credit’ reflects solid achievement and is awarded to a student who has a broad general understanding of the unit material and can solve routine problems and/or identify and superficially discuss theoretical concepts.
Pass	50 - 64	At PS level, a student demonstrates proficiency in the unit material. A ‘Pass’ reflects satisfactory achievement and is awarded to a student who has threshold knowledge.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

For each day after the deadline, 5% is deducted. After 10 days, the assessment is set to 0%.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	1. Review - 1st year organic 2. Representing reactions - curly arrows 3. Curly arrows workshop	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 02	4. Nucleophilic substitution 5. Nucleophilic substitution 6. Nucleophilic substitution - Hammonds rule	Lecture (3 hr)
	Laboratory exericise	Practical (4 hr)
	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 03	7. Isomers 8. Elimination 9. Elimination	Lecture (3 hr)
	Laboratory exericise	Practical (4 hr)
	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 04	10. Radicals - introduction 11. radicals - reactions 12. The chemical bond - history	Lecture (3 hr)
	Laboratory exericise	Practical (4 hr)
	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 05	13. Bonding in polyatomic molecules 14. Electrons in conjugated molecules 15. Cyclic pi systems & aromaticity	Lecture (3 hr)
	Laboratory exericise	Practical (4 hr)
	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 06	16. Aromaticity, aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds 17. Electro- & nucleophilic aromatic substitution 10. Intro to Coordination chemistry	Lecture (3 hr)
	Laboratory exericise	Practical (4 hr)
	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 07	19. Crystal field theory for metal complexes 20. Other Geometries 21. Ligand field theory	Lecture (3 hr)
	Laboratory exericise	Practical (4 hr)
	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 08	22. Ligand field theory for metal complexes 23. Thermo aspects of metal complexes 24. Kinetics of ligand substitution reactions	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 08	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 09	25. Organometallic chemistry 26. Organometallic chemistry 27. Metal-metal bonding	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 09	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 10	28. Introduction to spectroscopy * the photon 29. Electronic spectroscopy of aromatics - absorption and fluorescence 30. Electronic spectroscopy of metal complexes	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 10	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 11	31. Raman spectroscopy 32. Vibrational spectroscopy 33. Vibronic spectroscopy	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 11	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 12	34. Photophysics 35. Photophysics 36. Photophysics	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 12	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)
Week 13	37. Case study - photocatalysis 38. Case study - photocatalysis 39. Review	Lecture (3 hr)
Week 13	Special topics	Seminar (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance requirements for this unit of study have been amended. Where online tutorials/workshops/virtual laboratories have been scheduled, students should make every effort to attend and participate at the scheduled time. Penalties will not be applied if technical issues, etc. prevent attendance at a specific online class. In that case, students should discuss the problem with the coordinator, and attend another session, if available.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. understand and apply knowledge of bonding and spectroscopy in the context of open-ended and research-led problems.
LO2. Work safely and competently in a chemical laboratory.
LO3. communicate scientiﬁc information and laboratory ﬁndings eﬀectively using a range of modes (written, oral, visual etc.) for a variety of audiences.
LO4. recognise the relevance of bonding and spectroscopy to applications beyond the discipline of chemistry
LO5. evaluate and interpret chemical data to resolve chemical questions and advance chemical inquiry in molecular stability and reactivity in discovery-led and research-led contexts.
LO6. work collaboratively and responsibly in data collection, analysis and communication.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This is the first time this unit has been offered.

Additional information

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

CHEM2991: Molecular Stability and Reactivity (SSP)

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect