Gases

On Monday we started talking about gases and gas laws including kinetic-molecular theory of gases, the "simple" gas laws, and finally the ideal gas law. We'll look at gases again on Wednesday and probably start reviewing for the exam next Monday.

There's a new MC, due Sunday.

I got a question in email about the Redox assignment in MC. It's a little terminology issue that can cause some confusion so let me try and handle it here. If a substance is oxidized it loses electrons. (That's the "OIL" part of "OIL RIG" or the "LEO" part of "LEO GER".) Because oxidation and reduction cannot take place independently (if you have one, then you must have the other), you could say that if substance A loses electrons and is oxidized, then it will cause something else, let's say substance B, to be reduced. So if A is oxidized, then it is acting as a reducing agent toward B. Stated simply:

If something is oxidized, then it is a reducing agent or reductant.

If something is reduced, then it is an oxidizing agent or an oxidant.

These definitions are all about the cause-and-effect relationship between oxidation and reduction.

If you have any specific questions/topics you'd like to review for the exam, let me know.