These questions will remain posted for only 24 hours following the lecture. The objective is to have you probe your own retention and comprehension of the most recent presentation and thus to serve to re-enforce or to alert yourself about gaps; that is, to reassure you that you're actually learning or provide indirect feedback to correct any misconceptions or deficits in understanding. It's an assessment of your level of competence. Answers will not be posted but can, of course, be brought out in recitations.

Lecture 34

1. The valence electrons in the first row of transition element ions are in the five 3d atomic orbitals. These five orbitals all have equal energies? But if that transition element ion is in an octahedral complex with six cyanide (CN^-) ligands, the 3d orbitals change in some ways. How?

2. How does the color of a solution of some transition metal complex ion give quantitative information about the "crystal field splitting energy"?

3. What on earth is optical isomerism? What are chiral isomers?

4. What is the geometry of the complex ion [Co(H₂O)₄ClBr]⁺?

5. Can there be geometrical isomers for the complex ion [Co(H₂O)₄ClBr]⁺?

6. Does crystal field theory explain bonding in transition metal complex ions?