COURSE STRUCTURE AND GRADING
· 45% 3 midterm EXAMS
o Exams will be either during class or in the testing center on the arranged days throughout the semester. It is departmental policy that exams will not be returned indefinitely, however, there will be ample opportunity to review completed exams in-class, during office hours, or by appointment.
· 25% Final EXAM
o Comprehensive exam covering all material from the course. It will be a standardized American Chemical Society exam featuring multiple choice questions. Therefore, a scantron and pencil are required.
o NOTE: There are no calculators for this exam
· 20% Assigned homework
o Homework assignments will be given for every chapter (or “Focus”) covered from the textbook and will be a combination of problems selected from the textbook and written by the instructor. The homeworks are designed to be challenging, and to extend the content covered in the lecture to a broader set of applications. However, the framework for all homework problems will be covered in class lectures.
o Some assignments will require the use of plotting software such as Microsoft Excel, Matlab, etc.
· 10% Quizzes
o In-class and take-home quizzes will be given throughout the semester to gauge student progress throughout the course.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Week Date Topic
1 Aug. 27 Introduction to Physical Chemistry
Aug. 29 Brief Introduction to the Quantum Model for a Molecule (CH. 1)
Sept. 1 Labor Day – NO CLASS
2 Sept. 3 The Perfect Gas
Sept. 5 "
Sept. 8 The Kinetic Model
3 Sept. 10 Real Gases
Sept. 12 Internal Energy (CH. 2)
Sept. 15 "
4 Sept. 17 Enthalpy
Sept. 19 Thermochemistry
Sept. 22 State Functions and Exact Differentials
5 Sept. 24 Adiabatic Changes
Sept. 26 Entropy (CH. 3)
Sept. 29 EXAM 1 (CH. 1-2)
6 Oct. 1 "
Oct. 3 Entropy Changes Accompanying Specific Processes
Oct. 6 Measurement of Entropy
7 Oct. 8 Concentrating on the System
Oct. 10 Combining the First and Second Laws
Oct. 13 Fall Break – NO CLASS
8 Oct. 15 Phase Diagrams of Pure Substances (CH. 4)
Oct. 17 Thermodynamic Aspects of Phase Transitions
Oct. 20 Thermodynamic Description of Mixtures (CH. 5)
9 Oct. 22 "
Oct. 24 Properties of Solutions
Oct. 27 Phase Diagrams of Binary Systems: Liquids
10 Oct. 29 Activities
Oct. 31 The Equilibrium Constant (CH. 6)
Nov. 3 EXAM 2 (CH. 3‒5)
11 Nov. 5 The Equilibrium Constant
Nov. 7 The Response of Equilibria to the Conditions
Nov. 10 The Canonical Ensemble
12 Nov. 12 Electrochemical Cells
Nov. 14 Rates of Chemical Reactions (CH. 17)
Nov. 17 Rates of Chemical Reactions
13 Nov. 19 Integrated Rate Laws
Nov. 21 Reactions Approaching Equilibrium and Arrhenius Equation
Nov. 24 Thanksgiving Break – NO CLASS
14 Nov. 26 Thanksgiving Break – NO CLASS
Nov. 28 Thanksgiving Break – NO CLASS
Dec. 1 Introduction in Statistical Themodynamics – Bolzmann Eq. (CH. 13)
15 Dec. 3 Molecular Partition Functions
Dec. 5 EXAM 3 (CH. 6, 13, 17)
16 Dec. 9 FINAL EXAM, Tues. (11 AM)