Note: This sample midterm exam covers the same experiments that were covered in the spring 1998 semester of Organic Chemistry 1 Lab, but these questions do not necessarily have the same format or cover exactly the same material as the questions on the actual current midterm. Note: Due to limitations of the html format, numbers in formulas are given in plain text when they should be subscripts or superscripts (example: H2O). Please do not do this on quizzes.
1. Which of the following causes eye irritation?
a. Mutagens
b. Carcinogens
c. Teratogens
d. Lachrymators
2. Which of the following may be properly disposed of by pouring them down the sink?
a. Liquid organic chemicals
b. Solid organic chemicals
c. Decolorizing carbon, sand, litmus, filter paper, and similar nonhazardous
substances
d. Properly diluted acids and bases when followed by large amounts of water.
3. If you spill strong acid on your hand and begin to feel a burning sensation where the acid touched you, what should you do?
a. Rinse the hand briefly with water.
b. Wash the hand with water for at least fifteen minutes.
c. Soak the hand in a strong base for at least ten minutes.
d. Rub mineral oil thoroughly on the hand.
4. Working alone in the laboratory without supervision . . .
a. is all right if the experiment is not too hazardous.
b. is not allowed.
c. is allowed if you are sure you can complete the experiment without help.
d. is fine, if nobody sees you.
5. If you need to smell a chemical, you should . . .
a. inhale deeply over the test tube.
b. take a breath of air and fan the vapors toward you.
c. put some of the chemical in your hand and smell it.
d. pour it out on the desk top.
6. In the polystyrene experiment, you . . .
a. dissolved solid polystyrene foam and used the solution to form a polystyrene
film.
b. synthesized polystyrene using packing "peanuts" as the starting
material.
c. prepared liquid polymer and turned it into a solid film.
d. used ethyl acetate to initiate a free radical polymerization reaction.
7. What is the monomer from which polystyrene is made?
a. Ethyl acetate
b. Styrofoam
c. Styrene
d. String
8. Which of the following is an acceptable definition of "polymer"?
a. the basic building blocks of plant and animal life
b. high molecular weight molecules made up of repeating units of smaller
molecules
c. a crystal-clear, brittle plastic
d. a compound made by modifying natural-occurring molecules
9. Polymerization that occurs at the boundary between two immiscible layers is called . . .
a. condensation.
b. interstitial.
c. copolymerization.
d. interfacial.
10. Which of the following is NOT a synthetic polymer?
a. Saran wrap
b. Teflon
c. Dacron
d. Leather
11. Nylon molecules contain what functional group in the largest amount?
a. Alcohols
b. Carboxylic acids
c. Amines
d. Amides
12. To eliminate the HCl produced as a side product in nylon synthesis,
a. NaOH was dissolved in the aqueous layer.
b. dichloromethane was used as the organic solvent.
c. hexane-1,6-diamine was added.
d. water was added.
13. If you have 23.9 g of sebacoyl chloride, how much is this in moles? (C=12, H=1, Cl=35.5, O=16, N=14)
a. 0.01 mole
b. 0.10 mole
c. 0.21 mole
d. 0.075 mole
14. What type of polymerization reaction was used to synthesize nylon 6.10?
a. Condensation
b. Elimination
c. Addition
d. SN1
15. Name the following molecule:
a. Nylon 6.10
b. Nylon 6
c. Nylon 6.6
d. Nylon 10.6
16. A student performed the Diels-Alder experiment using 0.100 g of anthracene (mw 178) and 0.200 g maleic anhydride (mw 98). If the student obtained 0.105 g of 9,10-dihydroanthracene-9,10-succinic acid anhydride (the Diels-Alder adduct), what is the percent yield of the reaction?
a. 18.7%
b. 22.6%
c. 35.0%
d. 67.7%
17. Which of the following is NOT true of the Diels-Alder reaction experiment you performed?
a. Anthracene is the diene.
b. Maleic anhydride is the dienophile.
c. Xylene is the solvent
d. Ethyl acetate is the catalyst.
18. A student performed a Diels-Alder reaction of anthracene and maleic anhydride. If the product obtained was NOT completely dried before determining its melting point, how will the results be affected?
a. The melting point would be higher than when the product was completely
dry.
b. The melting point would be lower than when the product was completely
dry.
c. The melting point range would be narrower than when the product is completely
dry.
d. The melting point would not be affected at all but the percent yield
would be.
19. Which of the following compounds reacts with maleic anhydride to give the product shown?
20. In the Diels-Alder experiment, the adduct was collected by filtration and washed with appropriate solvent. What is the most likely effect of neglecting to wash the product?
a. The purity of the product would be lower.
b. The percent yield of the product would be lower.
c. The product would not crystallize well.
d. There is no effect at all on the results since the solvent is not part
of the reaction.
21. What is the theoretical yield, in grams, of maleic acid (MW 116.07 g/mol) if 0.20 g of maleic anhydride (MW 98.06 g/mol) is hydrolyzed by 0.5 mL of water (density 1.0 g/mL, MW 18.0 g/mol)?
a. 3.24 g
b. 2.5 g
c. 0.26 g
d. 0.24 g
22. How would you distinguish a cyclic anhydride from its corresponding diacid by IR?
a. The anhydride has a hydroxyl peak but the diacid does not.
b. The anhydride has a carbonyl peak but the diacid does not.
c. The diacid has a hydroxyl peak but the anhydride does not.
d. The diacid has a carbonyl peak but the anhydride does not.
23. After the hydrolysis of maleic anhydride is complete, the reaction mixture is extracted twice with 1 mL of methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE). The purpose of the extraction step is:
a. To transfer unreacted maleic anhydride to the organic layer, leaving
the diacid in the aqueous later.
b.To transfer the diacid to the ether layer.
c. To remove the water.
d. None of the above.
24. The procedure for the hydrolysis of maleic anhydride calls for the reaction mixture to be extracted twice with 1 mL samples of methyl t-butyl ether. A certain student was in a bit of a hurry and decide to extract once with 2 mL of the ether. In theory, this change will . . .
a. make no difference in the amount of diacid obtained.
b. result in less diacid being obtained.
c. result in more diacid being obtained.
d. will result in the same amount of diacid being obtained.
25. If a cyclic anhydride with a MW of 148 g/mole was hydrolyzed, what would be the molecular weight of the diacid product?
a. 148 g/mol
b. 166 g/mol
c. 184 g/mol
d. Not enough information about the anhydride is given to answer the question.
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