Do we have to know the molecular orbital theory for the DAT?

[panmit]

I just finished a bootcamp exam, and it asked a question which one will be attracted to a magnetic field:

Some of the choices were standard stuff like He, Zn, etc.

But there were also ones such as O2, N2, etc. I forgot all about this from my chem classes. Do we have to know these? But if I remember correctly, aren't there different patterns to fill these? How do we memorize them?

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[syeh3]

Yes the paramagnetic and diamagnetic

 

[panmit]

Crap! So he have to know all the orbital mixing stuff? Do you guys have any websites or videos that you recommend so I can refresh my memory on anti-bonding orbitals, etc. because chad doesn't go over this at all.

 

[shaidester]

I think I remember that question on the bootcamp exam (I think it was 5?). I thought that question was a bit ridiculous.

 

[panmit]

yep, it was from test 5. I just don't want to waste my time with learning the MO theory if it won't be tested.

 

[Dotoday]

A little. Know Homo and Lumo and conjugation.

 

[*Garam Masala*]

Chad's videos breeze through this fast enough that youre not wasting time, but thoroughly enough that you can answer questions about it if it comes up on your DAT

 

[TheDanger]

Bringing this back. Has anyone encountered a question regarding molecular orbital theory on the DAT? I don't recall Chad covering this at all. Bootcamp gave this explanation, but I don't remember doing a problem like this since gen chem during undergrad.

Starts at 3 min 11 sec

 

[tooth_hurty]

Bringing this back. Has anyone encountered a question regarding molecular orbital theory on the DAT? I don't recall Chad covering this at all. Bootcamp gave this explanation, but I don't remember doing a problem like this since gen chem during undergrad.

Starts at 3 min 11 sec

Bump - I was wondering the same thing..?

 

[Ari Rezaei]

The truth is nearly anything covered in your general chemistry class can come up on the DAT. We try to cover nearly everything that can come up on the test so you will be prepared to answer it, or at the very least eliminate some answer choices. For this specific question, the demonstration of magnetic fields interacting with O2 and N2 is pretty popular and is usually shown to gen chem students to illustrate the properties of paramagnetism/diamagnetism.

To answer if you need to know this, I think it depends on what you're trying to score. If you're OK with around a 20, you can probably skip it, since you're less likely to see a question on this. If you're trying to knock this section out of the park though (and I hope you all are striving for this!), I'd recommend at least knowing the basics. It takes a few minutes to read the explanation and store that info in the back of your head, and if it comes up on your DAT as one of the 'harder' questions, you'll be glad you spent a little bit of time reviewing it 🙂

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Bump - I was wondering the same thing..?

Basic Molecular Orbital Theory should be known. Make a checklist......Drawing electron configurations, able to identify the ground state and excited state, able to identify diamagnetic vs paramagnetic states......quantum numbers such as n and l. Be able to recognize what the shape of an s, p, d, or hybridized orbital looks like......be familiar with terms like Uncertainty Principle, Pauli Exclusion, and things like that. Understanding hybridization is important.....For example,,,,sp3 for NH3, sp2 for BF3, and sp for CO2. Understanding things like conjugation increases stability due to efficient orbital overlap is also important.

I hope this gives you some needed direction.

Dr. Romano