We will be using “The Elements of Physical Chemistry with Applications in Biology” by P.W. Atkins [third edition, published by W.H. Freeman]. A quick look through our text will make clear that we will be hard pressed to cover all of the topics in the entire book. However, we will cover the bulk of the text, and select material so that the end result will be a topically cohesive survey of physical chemistry concepts and applications.
As a general outline, we will follow the order in which the year-long course in physical chemistry is taught. We will start with the subject of quantum mechanics and its applications to chemical systems, chapters 12-14. Next comes selected topics out of the subject of spectroscopy, chapters 17-19. Kinetics forms the next subject, covered in chapters 10-11. In the second half of the course we will cover the subjects of thermodynamics and equilibrium, chapters 1-9. We will have our work cut out for us!
The rule of thumb to use in this course is that if a concept is not discussed in lecture, you don’t need to know the corresponding passage of a chapter; however, you are responsible for everything in the notes. Also, be aware that material may be presented by me differently from the way the author has done a given topic.
From the above, it should be very clear that missing a lecture can be extremely detrimental to your continued understanding of the material. Thus, I expect perfect attendance. If you have a valid, serious reason to be absent, you must call me beforehand. It will be up to you to get all the information presented at the missed class.
Secondly, I expect you to come prepared for each lecture by having read ahead in the textbook. The lectures won’t seem so mysterious if you know what is coming. If I find that the class, in general, is not keeping up with the outside reading, I may “pop” a quiz on you (which will count in the points total).
Finally, I expect you to participate in class by being alert and ready to answer questions. I find it personally insulting to see the occasional student spacing out, looking off into space, or exhibiting a case of “sleepy eyes”. This expectation falls in the rubric of common courtesy or mutual respect. Please make a determined effort to absorb all the information from each lecture.
The semester exams will not be given during lecture time. For a Tuesday/Thursday sequence, there are only 28 class meetings, and eliminating >10% of the lectures does not give you your money’s worth. They will instead be given on Fridays, time to be determined. I will accommodate your schedule, and collect everyone’s schedule for that reason. This is an advantage for students because I will be able to let you have as much time as you need to complete the exam.
As was mentioned earlier, there is a tremendous volume of subject matter covered in this course. In order to limit the sheer amount that you can be tested on, we will divide the semester’s lectures up into four portions, and give an exam on each of the four portions. Thus the exams will fall on the following days:
| Exam # | Date | Material Covered |
| Exam 1 | Friday, February 10 | lectures #1 - #7 |
| Exam 2 | Friday, March 10 | lectures #8 - #14 |
| Exam 3 | Friday, April 14 | lectures #15 - #22 |
| Exam 4 | Friday, May 12(or earlier) | lectures #23 - #28 |
| Comprehensive Final | Friday, May 12 | All Lectures |
Two related issues to keep in mind are that I will not discuss exam material on the day of the exam, and that my standing policy is that no make-up exams will be given. Please make your travel plans now with the exam schedule in mind. If you have an unavoidable conflict, you must talk to me immediately.
As set out above, you will be working toward accumulating points from among the 10 quizzes (100 points), 4 exams (400 points) and a comprehensive final (200 points). Simple math tells you that each exam is thus worth approximately 14%.
Clearly, an actual letter grade cannot be assigned to any one exam. Furthermore, course grade assignment is not done on an immovable, absolute scale. Instead, your performance will be judged with respect to the class average, at the end of the semester. Although I can not at this time predict the difficulty of the exams and the overall strength of the class, I can say that the average score for my physical chemistry courses has always been around 65-70%. In a large statistical sample, for this course a performance of 65-70 earns a B-, with 5-point intervals for grade changes. In smaller classes the average can vary; also, depending on the overall performance of the class, the average grade may be set higher or lower.
The above grading scheme is based on the assumption that attendance is perfect, that students come prepared, and that class participation is active. If a student is on the borderline between two grades, I will use these criteria to evaluate whether a move up or down is warranted.