CS 2102 Homework Assignment #3 Context

The examples for this homework assignment are derived from some real, practical examples found within the domain of General Chemistry. While I cannot expect students to be well-versed in this domain, it is a given that a college education provide at least the basis fundamental knowledge of the composition of all matter from molecules and atoms. This section of this homework explains WHY we asked the questions on this assignment.

The complexity of the Universe can at times be simply staggering. As of 2006, scientists have identified 117 chemical elements that appear to form all matter as we know it. (Note that element 118 has been discovered before 117; aren't those chemists crazy!)

The field of chemistry can be divided into:

• Theoretical chemistry is the use of reasoning to explain or predict chemical phenomena
• Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses the results of theoretical chemistry incorporated into efficient computer programs to calculate the structures and properties of molecules and solids, applying these programs to real chemical problems.

Anyone interested in learning about chemistry will invariable have to learn how to use the available computational tools to advance their learning. For this assignment, we will learn "just enough" to work with some of the introductory concepts that one would find in a high-school or college-level course. The point, once again, is not to teach chemistry, but to reinforce the philosophy that Computer Science provides techniques that are important and relevant to all scientific disciplines.

1. For the purposes of this assignment, we are not going to concern ourselves with the accuracy of the atomic masses. To properly manage this, we would need to store the error value in the computation. Thus, the atomic mass for Hydrogen is determined as 1.00794 ± 0.00007.
    
2. Nothing yet...
    
3. There is a host of structural information encoded within the periodic table, grouping elements into categories. These could easily be added, but for the purpose of this assignment, we are keeping it simple:
    
4. Molecular information cannot be presented in such linear form; the element information is not intended to be read left-to-right, yet we need to find some way to present the information so it can appear in this way. Thus considering water (H₂O) as simply two Hydrogen atoms and one Oxygen atom is hardly sufficient to understand the structure, which is H-O-H with (I believe) a 107-degree angle between the angle formed by the three atoms.  Moving on to more complex molecules, there needs to be some way
    

Notes

References

1. http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iupac/AtWt/index.html