Most of this week was spent on VSEPR models and WebMO. Hybridization and the test on bonding coming up next week were also covered. However, the VSEPR and WebMO report was the center of attention for this week. WebMO is a really cool website that a couple of chemists came up with that you can use to diagram whatever molecules you would like. You can change settings for comparative purposes, draw ball and stick and space filling models, show dipole moments, and examine molecular diagrams for all sorts of fun stuff. It is a program that costs money and I think it was originally intended for colleges, but Dr. Finnan got us hooked up (thanks again, by the way). To better understand the WebMO and get more practice with it, we did a report in which we have to give the molecules we made and a table of information about them, as well as a paragraph explaining why each of these molecules is how it is. We also spent some time on hybridization because so many people were confused by it. Hybridization, as far as I can tell, is something that occurs constantly for all atoms that it is capable of occurring for (unlike hybridization), and in these elements the s and p orbitals are combined to form a hybrid sp orbital.
I have a few questions from this week, and I will do my best to explain them as clearly as possible. I was curious as to why hybridization occurs in any period excluding the second. For example, why does sulfur hybridize, but selenium and phosphorus do not? I had a couple of other questions, but as I was writing them out I answered them by myself, so I decided against writing them. For example, I had been wondering about why hybridization even happens, and I realized that it was simply a way of explaining why all of the bonds in, for example, tetrahedral molecules exhibit the same properties. I started the week with a confident, complete understanding of hybridization, but then I realized that my understanding of it was wrong. That put a damper on things, because now I had to get rid of some of what I had learned before and relearn it, which is frustrating because then you are never quite sure what is new and what were your preconceived, incorrect notions. I think I figured it out though. I completely understand VESPR models, and I tried very hard to participate as much as possible. Throughout this whole hybridization reimagination process, however, I realized that I had to work on my turnaround time for new, contradictory ideas. It took me way too long to change my thinking quickly and effectively on that particular topic. I will definitely be considering that problem and how to fix it.
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