Chap 4: Symmetry and Group Theory
Goals: 4.1 and 4.2
Symmetry elements and operations
- Describe the relationship between a symmetry element and a symmetry operation
- Find symmetry elements and operations of a molecule
- Use the symbols associated with symmetry operations
- Perform symmetry operations on molecules and draw before and after views of the molecules molecules
Goals: 4.2
Point Groups
- Determine the point group of a molecule
- Identify the symmetry operations of a molecule
Goals: 4.3.2 and 4.3.3
The symmetry operations of a molecule
- Represent the symmetry operations of a molecules (graphically, as matrix, as a reducible representation, as irreducible representations (for example, of the x, y, and z components of the operations)
- Use the language of the character table (determine its order, describe the difference between a class and a symmetry operation)
- Draw representations of the symmetry elements on the molecules themselves
Goals: 4.4.1
Chirality
- Use character tables to determine whether a molecule is chiral
- Recognize chiral inorganic compounds
- Draw enantiomers of chiral inorganic compounds
- Recognize chiral centers on inorganic compounds
- Recognize diastereomeric inorganic compounds
- Draw diastereomers of inorganic compounds
Goals: 4.4.1
Molecular Vibrations
- Use character tables to determine the total number of vibrational states available to a molecule
- Use character tables to determine the total number of IR active vibrational states
Goals: 4.4.2
Specific Molecular Vibrations
- Use character tables to predict the number of a specific vibration (such as a CO stretch) that will be IR active
- For relatively simple molecules, be able to describe the stretching modes that are IR active and IR inactive (draw vectors on the molecule and explain why a stretch is or is not IR active)