How to Kill the COVID-19 Virus

By the middle of 2020 millions of people had been infected with a virus which causes a disease known as COVID-19 and hundreds of thousands of people had died.

So I was intrigued when I read that Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, an infection control expert from the University of New South Wales, had stated that, "it's relatively easy to kill compared to some other viruses".

Why is the COVID-19 virus easy to kill and how do you kill it? 

Read this edition of AUS-e-NEWS to find out more.

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Classification of Haloalkanes

Question: How do you classify haloalkanes (alkyl halides) as primary, secondary or tertiary?

Answers at https://www.ausetute.com.au/rxclassify.html

Test your knowledge of how to classify haloalkanes with AUS-e-TUTE's games and tests (with instant feedback and worked solutions!). Find out more at https://www.ausetute.com.au/register.html

Monoprotic acid pH with a concentration of 0.022M

Question: What is the pH of a monoprotic acid with a concentration of 0.022 M?

Answer:
1. Assume this is a strong monoprotic acid so that it fully dissociates: HA → H⁺ + A^-

2. [HA] = [H⁺] = 0.022 M

3. pH = -log₁₀[H⁺] = -log₁₀[0.022] = 1.7

Find out more, and see questions with worked solutions, at https://www.ausetute.com.au/phstronga.html

What is the weight/volume percent (w/v) of a solution prepared from 50 g NaCl and 2.5 L of water?

Question: What is the concentration, weight/volume percent (w/v), of a solution prepared from 50. g NaCl and 2.5 L of water?

Answer:
1. w/v % is a measure of the concentration of a solution.
Units are often given as g solute/100 mL solvent.

2. w/v% = (mass solute in grams/volume of solution in mL) × 100

3. w= mass solute = 50 g
v = volume of solution = 2.5 L = 2.5 L × 1000 mL/L = 2500 mL (assuming the NaCl does NOT increase the volume as it dissolves in the water)

4. w/v% = (50 g/2500 mL) × 100 = 2 g/100 mL

Find out more, and see worked solutions to questions, at https://www.ausetute.com.au/wtvol.html

Why is the heat of formation for gaseous oxygen equal to 0?

Question: Why is the heat of formation for gaseous oxygen equal to 0?

Answer:
1. The standard heat of formation of any compound is defined as the enthalpy change for the compound when it is formed from its elements in their standard states.

2. Gaseous oxygen (O_2(g)) is a molecule (not a compound). The standard state for oxygen is as a gas, O_2(g).

3. There is no need to change gaseous oxygen, O_2(g) into its standard state because that is how it exists under standard conditions, therefore its heat of formation is 0.

Find out more at, and see worked examples, at https://www.ausetute.com.au/heatform.html

How to know what species will spontaneously react in redox reactions

A redox reaction is spontaneous if the standard electrode potential is positive,
that is,
if E^o_(reaction) > 0

Find out more, and look at a worked example, at: https://www.ausetute.com.au/redoxspon.html

Why is polyvinyl chloride an addition polymer?

Question: Why is polyvinyl chloride an addition polymer?

Answer:

1. An addition polymer is produced in an addition polymerization reaction.

2. In an addition polymerization reaction, the double bonds (C=C) in the monomer molecules open up so that one monomer molecule can "add on to" another monomer molecule to make a longer chain resulting in a polymer.

3. When vinyl chloride monomers (chloroethene monomers, CH₂=CHCl) join together in an addition polymerization reaction the polymer product is polyvinyl chloride, -(-CH₂-CHCl-)_n-

Find out more about addition polymerisation at https://www.ausetute.com.au/polymers.html

Find out more about polyvinyl chloride at  https://www.ausetute.com.au/pvc.html