CHEM 325: Physical Chemistry II
Abridged Syllabus
Spring 2009

Quick Links

Syllabus including student information from and FERPA statement in PDF format.

Instructor Information

James McCormick

Office: Magruder 3110

Phone: 785-4315

Web Page: http://www2.truman.edu/~jmccormi/

Office Hours

As posted, by appointment or whenever my door is open.

 

Lecture

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 09:30 – 10:20, Magruder 2050

 

Textbook

Atkins, P. and de Paula, J. Physical Chemistry, 8^th Ed.; Freeman: New York, 2006.  A companion solutions manual is available and is recommended. 

 

Calculator

A hand-held scientific calculator (can perform logarithms, scientific notation and exponentials) is required for all exams and quizzes. Bring your calculator to all class meetings. No loaner calculators will be available!

 

Computers

You are expected to be skilled in the use of commonly-encountered software including web browsers, word processing programs, spreadsheets and Mathematica.

 

A course web page is available (not on the CourseInfo system). There you will find all class information and useful links.

Course Objectives

At the end of this semester students will be able to 1) understand that chemistry is a physical science and that the general rules learned in previous courses are based on experiments and a mathematical treatment of data; 2) write mathematical descriptions of microscopic models of the physical world and relate these to macroscopic phenomena; 3) understand the limitations of mathematical models that describe the physical world, why these limitations come about and how this restricts where the models can be applied; and 4) begin to appreciate the broader implications of physical chemistry beyond chemistry.

 

The primary focus of this course will be quantum mechanics, and spectroscopy with other topics (e. g., statistical thermodynamics) covered as time and interest permit. It is assumed that you have a basic understanding of these topics from previous chemistry courses, especially CHEM 120/121. It is also assumed that you have a good knowledge of calculus. For a more detailed description of what you should know from CHEM 120/121, please click here.

Course Requirements

The information given below is specific to this course.  Please see my general syllabus for information on my policies regarding: Students with Disabilities, Attendance, Make-Ups, Promptness, Late Penalties, Extra Credit, FERPA, Academic Honesty  and Unnecessary Equipment. You will also find there more information on my Grading Scale and the answer to the question “Is It Going to be on the Test?”

 

Chapters Covered in the Text You are expected to gain an understanding of, and be able to apply the material in chapters 8-15. Other chapters may be covered, if times permit. Note that the chapters will not be covered in order (see the Course Calendar for details).

 

Exams There will be two exams, each having three parts: a take-home portion, an in-class exam and a post-exam. Please see the Course Calendar for the tentative dates and please note these dates are subject to change.

 

No later than a week before an exam, the take-home portion will be distributed and it will be due at the time of the in-class exam. This part of the exam will consist of approximately five questions that will include questions that expand on the material covered and connect topics. These questions will require more thought and effort than can be accommodated in a one-hour exam, and you should plan accordingly. You may use the book and other resources as needed, but you may not collaborate with any other student on working these problems. You are permitted to ask other faculty members and students for general help on a topic, but not on a specific question from the exercise.

The in-class portion of each exam will focus on specific computational skills and will call on you to explain concepts. There will be five to seven questions, each with multiple parts. The computational questions will be draw heavily upon quiz questions and problems from the book. Therefore, it is essential that you work problems from the text in preparation.

 

The post-exam portion will be available immediately following the exam (except when people take the exam late) and will consist primarily of questions that are from the in-class portion of the exam. Note that a question may differ slightly between the in-class exam and the post-exam. So, take care how you answer a question! For this portion of the exam, you will write only your answers on the provided answer sheet and attach your work to this sheet. There will be minimal partial credit, so check that your answers have the correct units and significant figures. As with the take-home portion, you may use whatever resources you need, but you may not collaborate with any other student, or ask faculty for help on a specific question. The points awarded in the post-exam section will depend on how many questions you answered correctly and your score on the in-class portion.

 

Final Exam The final exam will be an ACS standardized exam and will be given on Tuesday, May, 5 in Magruder 2050 from 9:30–11:20.

 

Quizzes A 10-point quiz will be given in the last 15 minutes of class on Friday, except when there is an exam, or where otherwise noted in the syllabus or announced. The quiz problems will be taken primarily from the chapter under discussion, but they may include older material and they may not require a numerical solution. A week before a quiz you will be given a number of questions (either from the textbook or my own) that may appear on the quiz. The first quiz will be January 23. It will cover the first week’s material along with review questions over quantum mechanics and bonding topics from CHEM 121 and organic.

 

From time to time and at my discretion, there may be additional, unannounced take-home quizzes. These will be handed out at the end of lecture and due in the following lecture. They will be worth twice as much as a regular quiz. The lowest scoring take-home quiz will be dropped.

 

Homework It is expected that you will work the end-of-chapter problems. Answers for the odd-numbered “Problems” and part b of the “Exercises” are in the back of the book and are worked out in the optional student solutions manual. The quizzes and the in-class exams will draw heavily from these problems and exercises.

Grading

Your average score, as a percentage of the total points possible, for all assessments will be normalized to the point totals shown below.

The grading scheme shown below will be used to determine the final letter grade for the course. If the actual average is significantly different than 700, the grading scale may be adjusted at the instructor’s discretion.

As this is an advanced major’s course, I expect that most people will earn an A or a B in the class. However, I will use the entire the grading scale.

 

A student whose grade is below a cut-off by 20 points or less will be considered for the next higher grade. The criteria for promotion include final exam score, a student’s class participation, a general increase in quiz and/or exam grades over the semester, and attitude (in that order). This range may be expanded, at the instructor’s discretion, but it will never be contracted.