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General information

Subject type: Basic

Coordinator: Joan Triadó Aymerich

Trimester: First term

Credits: 6

Teaching staff: 

Andreu Comajuncosas Fortuño

Academic year: 2025

Teaching course: 1

Languages ​​of instruction

  • Catalan

This subject has been successfully enrolled by a number of foreign students, most of them from Italy. Classes are taught in Catalan and students are expected to have a basic understanding of spoken Catalan. However, exams and practical reports can be written in Italian or in other languages. Public questions in the classroom and private questions to the teacher can also be asked in Italian or other languages.

Competencies / Learning Outcomes

Specific skills

  • S4. Apply the basic principles of general chemistry and organic and inorganic chemistry in engineering.

  • S27. Apply critical thinking using different strategies depending on what needs to be learned and the context in which it needs to be learned.

  • C18. Develop teamwork in a cooperative manner, planning the work to be executed and respecting and integrating different points of view when working in a team.

General competencies

  • K4. Identify the basic principles of general chemistry and organic and inorganic chemistry that are applied in engineering.

Presentation of the subject

Introduction to general chemistry emphasizing those most useful aspects within electronic and mechanical engineering. Introduction to the scientific method.

"The classroom (physical or virtual) is a safe space, free of sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic and discriminatory attitudes, either towards the students or towards the teachers. We trust that together we can create a space safe where we can make mistakes and learn without having to suffer prejudice from others."

Contents

1. Introduction

Description

Science and Engineering. Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.

The scientific method.

Subject classes. Pure substance, homogeneous and heterogeneous mixture.

Scattered systems. Alloy, emulsion, suspension, spray, mud, smoke and foam.

Separation of mixtures. Filtration, distillation and chromatography.

Atomic models. Cathode rays. Subatomic particles. Antimatter. Isotopes. Mass spectrometer.

Periodic table. Molecular formula. Conservation of the dough.

Equalization of chemical reactions. Combination, decomposition and combustion reactions.

Too much and too much molar.

Limiting reagent and excess reagent.

Dissolution of ionic and molecular compounds. Strong and weak electrolyte. Net ionic equation.

Introduction to acid-base and redox reactions. Oxidation state.

Concentration of solutions. Molarity. Evaluation.

Internal energy, heat and work. Exothermic and endothermic process. Status functions. Enthalpy of reaction. Specific heat. Hess's law. Enthalpy of standard formation. Energy value of food and fuels.

Related activities

Questionnaire on the scientific method.

Pollution survey.

Exercises.

First partial test.

 

2. Microscopic chemistry

Description

Light models. Electromagnetic spectrum. Photoelectric effect. Spectrum of lines.

Quantization of energy. Wave-particle duality. De Broglie's equation. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Wave function. Representation of orbitals. Quantum numbers. Spin. Pauli exclusion principle. MRI.

Electronic configuration. Hund's rule.

Periodic properties. Effective nuclear charge. Atomic radius. Ionization energy. Electronic affinity. Properties of alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, chalcogens, halogens, and noble gases.

Chemical bond. Metallic, ionic and covalent bond. Lewis structures. Electronegativity. Dipolar moment. Resonance structures.

Enthalpy of bond. Explosives.

Related activities

Exercises.

First partial test.

 

3. Gases and liquids

Description

Pressure. Standard atmospheric pressure.

Barometer and manometer.

Laws of Boyle, Charles and Avogadro. Ideal gas law. Molar volume of an ideal gas.

Density, partial pressure and molar fraction.

Microscopic explanation of pressure. Distribution of the velocities of molecules. Effusion. Dissemination.

Real gases. Dependence on pressure and temperature. Van Der Waals equation.

Intramolecular and intermolecular forces. London scattering force. Dipole-dipole strength. Hydrogen bridge link. Ion-dipole strength. Viscosity. Surface tension.

Phase changes. Heat of fusion, vaporization and sublimation. Critical temperature and pressure. Steam pressure. Volatility. Clausius-Clapeyron equation. Phase diagram.

Solutions in water. Saturated and supersaturated solution. Solubility of solids, liquids and gases. Henry's law. Dependence on temperature.

Concentration of solutions. Collective properties. Osmosis.

Related activities

Exercises.

Second partial test.

 

4. Chemical reactions

Description

Reaction rate. First and second order reactions. Average life. Activation energy. Arrhenius equation. Reaction mechanisms. Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst. Enzymes.

Chemical equilibrium. Equilibrium constant. Equilibria with solids or liquids. Calculation of concentrations. Principles of Le Chatelier.

Acids and bases. Conjugated pairs. Water self-ionization constant. PH scale. Strong and weak acids and bases. Dissociation constants. Ionization percentage. Polyprotic acids. Acid salts. Hydrolysis by dissolving salts.

Spontaneous, reversible and irreversible process. Entropy. Second law of thermodynamics. Standard molar entropy. Reaction entropy. Gibbs free energy.

Redox reactions. Equalization. Galvanic cell. Semi-reactions. Electrodes. Electromotive force. Standard cell potential. Standard reduction potential. Nernst equation. Concentration cell. Batteries. Fuel cell. Corrosion. Cathodic protection. Galvanized iron. Electrolysis.

Related activities

Exercises.

Second partial test.

 

5. Organic chemistry

Description

Simple, cyclic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Isomers. Properties and reactions.

Functional groups. Alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amines and amides. Chirality.  

Biological molecules. Proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids.

Related activities

Second partial test.

 

Activities and evaluation system

Questionnaire on the scientific method: 10%

First partial test: 45%

Second partial test: 45%

Recovery exam: 90%

For students who do not pass the assessment during the course, 10% of the questionnaire grade will be retained, and a global recovery exam will be held that will be worth 90% of the grade. In this case, the final grade for the subject will be a maximum of 5.

The first partial test has no minimum grade to make an average. The second partial test has a minimum grade of 2.5 to make an average.

Attendance at 80% of theory and exercise classes may be required.

The common competency “autonomy and critical thinking” is assessed through the questionnaire on the scientific method, which is worth 10% of the grade.

 

Important: 

Any form of academic fraud will be sanctioned in accordance with the center's assessment regulations. If signs of fraud are detected, including the improper use of generative artificial intelligence tools, the subject's teaching staff may call the student for an individual interview with the aim of verifying their authorship.

Bibliography

Basic

Mario Bunge (1958). Science, its method and its philosophy. Laetoli. ISBN 9788492422593.

Theodore Brown, Eugene LeMay, Bruce Bursten, Catherine Murphy (2009). Chemistry, the central science. Pearson. ISBN 978-607-442-021-0.

Complementary

Conception Flaqué, Glòria Andreu, Pilar Cortés, Llorenç Puig (2008). Chemistry for engineering. UPC editions. ISBN 9788498803556.

Conception Flaqué, Llorenç Puig, Pilar Cortés, Glòria Andreu (2004). Chemistry in questions and problems. UPC editions. ISBN 8483017830.

Concepción Herranz (2009). Chemistry for engineering. UPC editions. ISBN 978-84-9880-333-4.

Joaquim Sales, Jaume Vilarrasa (2003). Introduction to inorganic and organic chemical nomenclature. reverted ISBN 9788429175516.

José A. López (2004). Chemistry problems. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 9788420529950.

Raymond Chang (2010). Chemistry McGraw-Hill. ISBN 6071503078.