Lecture: MWF 8:00-8:50 in S301

Office Hours: MWF 11:00 - 11:50

(and by appointment)

S 304A

Lab: Arranged in S 304

 

Physical chemistry is a predominantly theoretical course normally taken during the junior or senior year. General chemistry and Quantitative Analysis are prerequisite, although with my permission, Quant may be taken concurrently.  In addition, you should have Math 125 and 126, and Physics 121 and 122.  You also have access to the textbook website at http://bcs.whfreeman.com/pchem8e/default.asp?uid=0&rau=0.

 

LECTURE COVERAGE

There is one required text for the lecture portion of the course.  It is Peter Atkins and Julio de Paula, Physical Chemistry, 8th Ed., W.H. Freeman, 2006.  We should also have the student solutions manual.

 

The following material will be covered on or about the dates indicated below. If warranted, this schedule may be revised as the semester progresses.

 

Week

Beginning

Material in Atkins/de Paula

Suggested end-of-chapter exercises (a) and problems

1

1/7

Chapter 22

E: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15

2

1/14

Chapter 22

P: 1, 3, 5, 9, 13, 19, 21, 23, 29, 35

3

1/21

Chapter 23

E: 1, 4, 5, 6

4

1/28

Chapter 23

P: 1, 3, 9, 19, 23, 29, 35

5

2/4

Chapter 8

E: 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12

6

2/11

Chapter 8

Exam 1 due Friday

P: 5, 7, 11, 13, 15, 21, 27

7

2/18

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

 

E: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15

8

2/25

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

P: 1, 3, 23, 31, 33

E: 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 14

 

3/3

No Classes - Spring Break

 

9

3/10

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

P: 1, 3, 9, 15, 19, 27

E: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11

10

3/17

Chapter 11 

No Class Good Friday

P: 15, 19, 29

11

3/24

No Class Easter Monday

Chapter 11

Exam 2 due Friday

 

12

3/31

Chapter 12

 

E: 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10

P: 1, 3, 5, 9, 21

13

4/7

Chapter 13

 

E: 2, 6, 9, 14, 22

14

4/14

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

P: 5, 13, 15, 19, 27

E: 3, 4, 6, 7, 9

15

4/21

Chapter 14

P: 3, 9, 23

 

Cumulative Final Exam – Thursday, May 1, at 8:00 a.m.

EXAMS AND GRADING

 

The grading in this course will be derived from two 100 point hour exams and a 200 point cumulative final exam. Your total points will be converted to a percentage of the 400 points available and letter grades will be assigned on that basis. Students are expected to take all exams at the scheduled times. If a conflict should arise which prevents taking an exam at the scheduled time, I may, at my discretion, grant a make up. Requests for make-ups MUST be made before the scheduled exam time (even a phone message may suffice). Requests made after the scheduled time will not be considered. There will be NO exceptions. You are responsible for topics covered in the text, even if they are not covered in class. You are also responsible for topics covered in class even if they are not covered in the text.

 

On all written work, proper grammar and sentence structure are expected and points will be lost for bad grammar and sentence structure. Obviously, this is not an English class but good communications skills are essential in chemistry. You will also be required to use the American spellings of chemicals.

 

In addition, it is my policy NOT to approve dropping the course after the College's official drop date.

 

If you are a student with a disability, kindly meet with me immediately to discuss the accommodations you will need during class activities, examinations, and out of class assignments in order to participate fully and demonstrate your abilities.

 

The anticipated grade cut-offs are below. They may not be the final cut-offs but they will give you an idea of your status. In the past, cut-offs have always stayed the same or have been dropped slightly. Therefore, these cut-offs can be regarded as giving your minimum grade.

 

A   93%

A-  90%

B+  87%

B   83%

B-  80%

C+  77%

C   68%

C-  65%

D+  61%

D   50%

 

Please note that beginning in 2006, we are now receiving American Chemical Society Journals online, not in paper.  (Chemical and Engineering News and the Journal of Chemical Education are the only two paper subscriptions still current.)  What this means is that from any campus computer, including residence hall rooms, you can search the ACS literature going back at least 15 years.  The journal collection can be accessed from any campus computer by going through the library website or by directly going to:

http://pubs.acs.org/wls/journals/query/subscriberSearch.html

LABORATORY COVERAGE

 

This year, I will be revamping the laboratory portion of the physical chemistry course.  As they are completed, I will be giving you sections of the new lab manual.  However, two mainstream physical chemistry lab books will be kept on the shelves by the door in the lab for your review.  They are Garland, Nibler, and Shoemaker, Experiments in Physical Chemistry, 7th Ed., McGraw-Hill, 2003 and R. J. Sime, Physical Chemistry: Methods, Techniques, and Experiments, Saunders, 1990.

The physical chemistry laboratory is unlike any other you have ever participated in.  Here, we often must assemble apparatus from generic parts.  This is due to the specialized nature of the equipment.  Of course, we will also make use of familiar things, beakers, flasks, pipets, and the like, but you will need to approach many of the experiments with a certain amount of creativity.

Physical chemistry is also unique in that we often make you figure out what needs to be done.  The instructions are not as detailed as you saw in general chemistry and organic.  For example, you may be told to make 100 mL of 0.10 M HCl solution; you need to recall how to do it from your previous experiences.  You are required to keep a duplicate notebook, turning in the white pages when you leave lab.  All your data are to be recorded in this notebook; scratch paper will be confiscated. 

Lastly, before you start laboratory work on an experiment, you must look up all of the substances used in the Material Safety Data Sheet books in the Chem Reading Room.  Place into your notebook relevant information about each substance, such as CAS Registry Number, procedures to follow if the substance is spilled, disposal procedures, first aid procedures, etc.

You are to do the following activities during the time period listed for each.  Failure to perform the experiment on time will result in a score of zero on that experiment.

 

Expt #

Page

Dates

Experiment Title

1

73

1/8 - 1/19

The Rate of Reaction Between Acetone and Bromine

2

89

1/22 - 2/2

Conductance of Electrolytic Solutions

3

99

2/5 - 2/16

Surface Tension

4

107

2/19 - 3/2

Viscosity of Solutions of Macromolecules

5

115

3/12 - 3/23

Monomer-Dimer Equilibrium

6

121

3/26 - 4/6

The pKa of a Weak Acid

7

133

4/9 - 4/21

Molecular Mechanics 2 - Hückel energies of molecules

All lab reports MUST be done on a word processor or computer.  You may use any machine you wish.  The College maintains many microcomputers with word processing, spreadsheets, illustration software, etc., in several campus locations or you can use any other machine you have access to.  Further, lab reports are to be written in the form of a manuscript for submission to an American Chemical Society journal; look at a recent issue of the Journal of the American Society in the reading room to see the style.  The ACS Style Guide in the Chem Reading Room can help you in your writing.

 

Lab reports are to be submitted to Turnitin.com.  We will talk about what that can do for you and how to use it. 

 

All lab reports are due within two weeks of beginning the experiment.  Failure to turn the lab report in on time will result in a score of zero on that experiment.

Each experiment will be graded on a 50 point basis; 30 points for the experiment, per se, and 20 points for the write-up.  At the end of the semester, you are also to turn in your lab notebook, which will be graded on a 50 point basis.  Your total points will be converted to a percentage of the 400 available points.  The grade cut-offs have not yet been established.