Syllabus

Fundamentals of Physical Chemistry (CHM 3400)

Spring 2007

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Instructor: David Chatfield, CP 336, 305-348-3977, David.Chatfield@fiu.edu, www.fiu.edu/~chatfiel.

 

Office Hours: MW 2:30-4:00 or by appointment.

 

Class Time and Place: MW 5:00-6:15 P.M., PC 310.

 

Text: Peter Atkins and Julio de Paula, Elements of Physical Chemistry, 4rd Ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005.

 

Prerequisites: MAC 2311, 2312 (calculus); PHY 2048 or 2053, 2048L, 2049 or 2054, 2049L (physics); CHM 3120, 3120L (analytical chemistry)

 

Course Description: The course will survey the topics in physical chemistry of greatest use to chemists and biologists.  These include thermodynamics, kinetics, electrochemistry, the quantum theory of atoms and molecules, and spectroscopy.

 

Grading:  Grading will be based on problem sets (10% of the grade), two mid-term exams (25% each), and a final exam (40%).

 

Homework:  Homework will be assigned approximately each week and will be due on the Wednesday of the following week.  Homework will not be graded but will be assigned a check plus (complete and correct), check (nearly complete and correct), or check minus (seriously deficient).  Solutions to the homework will be posted on my website (see above).  Late homework will not be accepted.  Be sure to keep up with the homework.  Only by doing it will you solidify your learning.

 

Outline of course: The chapters in the text will be followed in sequence, with a few omissions.  The chapters are short, so we will move through them rapidly (usually not more than one week per chapter).  The outline below is ambitious.  It is possible that some of the later material will be omitted.  The chapters and topics to be covered are:

 

Chapter                 Topic                                                              Chapter                 Topic

 

--                     Introduction (on your own)

1                      Properties of Gases

2                      Thermodynamics: First Law

3                      Thermochemistry

                        (largely on your own)

4                      Thermodynamics: Second Law

5                      Phase Equilibria: pure substances

6                      Properties of Mixtures

7                      Principles of Chemical Equilibrium

8                      Consequences of Chemical Equilibrium

9                      Electrochemistry

10                    Rates of Reactions

11                    Accounting for the Rate Laws

12                    Quantum Theory

19                    Molecular Rotations and Vibrations