Surface Chemistry: A Comprehensive Guide for Mechanical Engineering Students

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a factor that affects the rate of adsorption?

Accepted Answer

Age of the adsorbent

Answer

Surface area

Answer

Temperature

Answer

Pressure

Question 2

The surface tension of a liquid is a measure of:

Accepted Answer

The force required to break the surface

Answer

The attraction between molecules within the liquid

Answer

The amount of energy needed to form the surface

Answer

The thickness of the surface layer

Question 3

The BET surface area measurement technique is based on:

Accepted Answer

Measuring the volume of gas adsorbed at multiple pressures

Answer

Measuring the volume of gas adsorbed at a single pressure

Answer

Measuring the mass of the adsorbed gas

Answer

Measuring the change in surface tension of the liquid

Question 4

What is the primary driving force for adsorption?

Accepted Answer

Gibbs free energy

Answer

Entropy

Answer

Enthalpy

Answer

Surface tension

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of a heterogeneous catalyst?

Accepted Answer

Zeolite

Answer

Nickel

Answer

Sulfuric acid

Answer

Platinum

Question 6

What is the role of a catalyst in a chemical reaction?

Accepted Answer

To decrease the activation energy

Answer

To increase the activation energy

Answer

To change the products of the reaction

Answer

To have no effect on the reaction

Question 7

Which adsorption isotherm model describes a monolayer coverage of the adsorbent surface with no interactions between adsorbed molecules?

Accepted Answer

Langmuir

Answer

Freundlich

Answer

Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET)

Answer

Guggenheim

Question 8

Which factor does NOT influence the rate of adsorption?

Accepted Answer

Molecular weight of the adsorbent

Answer

Concentration of the adsorbate

Answer

Surface area of the adsorbent

Answer

Temperature

Question 9

What is the primary function of a catalyst in a chemical reaction?

Accepted Answer

To decrease the activation energy of the reaction

Answer

To increase the activation energy of the reaction

Answer

To alter the equilibrium constant of the reaction

Answer

To increase the yield of the reaction

Question 10

Which characteristic is essential for an effective catalyst?

Accepted Answer

Both high activity and selectivity

Answer

Exceptional stability

Answer

High selectivity

Answer

Long lifetime

Question 11

Which process describes the accumulation of molecules from a gas or liquid onto a solid surface?

Accepted Answer

Adsorption

Answer

Desorption

Answer

Catalysis

Answer

Diffusion

Question 12

Physical adsorption is characterized by:

Accepted Answer

Weak van der Waals forces

Answer

Strong chemical bonds

Answer

Specific surface sites

Answer

Irreversible bonding

Question 13

A key characteristic of catalysis is:

Accepted Answer

Lowering the activation energy of a reaction

Answer

Consuming the catalyst in the reaction

Answer

Increasing the number of reactants

Answer

Producing side reactions

Question 14

Heterogeneous catalysis typically involves:

Accepted Answer

A solid catalyst and a gas or liquid reactant

Answer

Two solid catalysts

Answer

Two liquid reactants

Answer

A gas catalyst and a liquid reactant

Question 15

The Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi principle states that:

Accepted Answer

Adsorption strength correlates with catalytic activity

Answer

Catalysts create new reaction pathways

Answer

Catalysis is only possible with transition metal catalysts

Answer

The reaction rate is proportional to the catalyst concentration

Question 16

Which is NOT a surface characterization technique?

Accepted Answer

Gel electrophoresis

Answer

X-ray diffraction

Answer

Atomic force microscopy

Answer

Scanning electron microscopy

Question 17

Which statement about adsorption is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Adsorption is always a chemical reaction.

Answer

Adsorption involves molecules accumulating on a surface.

Answer

Higher temperatures generally decrease adsorption.

Answer

Adsorption can be used to purify substances by removing impurities.

Question 18

Which of the following is not an adsorption isotherm?

Accepted Answer

Raoult's law

Answer

Langmuir isotherm

Answer

Freundlich isotherm

Answer

BET isotherm

Question 19

Which of the following is a type of adsorption isotherm that describes multilayer adsorption?

Accepted Answer

BET isotherm

Answer

Langmuir isotherm

Answer

Freundlich isotherm

Answer

Henry's law

Question 20

Physisorption involves weak attractive forces, such as:

Accepted Answer

van der Waals forces

Answer

Ionic bonds

Answer

Covalent bonds

Answer

Hydrogen bonds

Question 21

Chemisorption forms:

Accepted Answer

Strong chemical bonds between adsorbate and surface

Answer

Weak physical bonds between adsorbate and surface

Answer

Reversible adsorption

Answer

Irreversible adsorption

Question 22

Which surface modification technique can increase surface roughness?

Accepted Answer

Etching

Answer

Polishing

Answer

Coating

Answer

Annealing

Question 23

In surface chemistry, the process involving molecules leaving the surface of a solid is termed:

Accepted Answer

Desorption

Answer

Adsorption

Answer

Catalysis

Answer

Oxidation

Question 24

In catalysis, the substance that enables a chemical reaction without being consumed itself is known as the:

Accepted Answer

Catalyst

Answer

Substrate

Answer

Inhibitor

Answer

Reactant

Question 25

Which type of adsorption involves strong chemical bonding between the surface and the adsorbed molecules?

Accepted Answer

Chemisorption

Answer

Physisorption

Answer

Isothermic adsorption

Answer

Heterogeneous adsorption

Question 26

The Langmuir isotherm model describes the adsorption process when the:

Accepted Answer

Surface sites are independent and identical

Answer

Surface is heterogeneous

Answer

Adsorption is multilayer

Answer

Heat of adsorption is zero

Question 27

Which spectroscopic technique is primarily used to study the surface structure of materials?

Accepted Answer

X-ray diffraction

Answer

UV-Vis spectroscopy

Answer

Infrared spectroscopy

Answer

Nuclear magnetic resonance