University of Arkansas CHEM 3453 Fall 2009

Elements of Physical Chemistry

Objective: To develop an understanding of the theoretical principles and experimental methods governing the behavior of chemical systems, with emphasis on aspects important in biological applications.

Instructor: Professor Colin Heyes, office CHEM 218, phone 575-5607; e-mail: cheyes@uark.edu

Office hours: Tues, Thurs, 11:00-12:00. Wed. 2:30-3:30.

Lectures: MWF at 9:30 in SCEN 408.

Prerequisites: Chem 2262, Phys 2033, and Math 2554.

Text: Physical Chemistry FOR THE BIOSCIENCES, by Raymond Chang
University Science Books, 2005. ISBN 1-891389-33-5

Read chapter one on your own. We will cover portions of nine chapters, namely chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14.

For each 1-3 chapters, there will be required homework problems and an in-class exam, based on the solving of problems that relate to the homework in those chapter(s). See the schedule below for details of which chapters will be covered when.

Homework: Homework sets will be posted on WebCT. The guidelines for required homework sets are that students are permitted and even encouraged to work together, for the purpose of enhancing learning and understanding; so long as each person writes, understands and is able to explain her/his own answers, when asked (whether in class, lab, or another setting). Homework problems for each section will be due the Friday before the week of the scheduled exam. Each homework set will count as 50 pts to the final grade. Clearly, getting high points on the homework sets will not help your final grade much if you do not use them for their intended purpose of enhancing your learning and understanding of the material enough to obtain high points on the exams.

Late Homework: Homework is to be turned in during class on the due date. Students with a valid excuse will be allowed to turn in ONE AND ONLY ONE homework problem set on the following Monday in class. A late certificate is needed to be signed by me before or during class on the original due date. ONLY ONE LATE CERTIFICATE WILL BE ALLOWED PER SEMESTER. Any subsequent late homework set will be given zero points. The graded late homework will not be available before the exam, therefore it is in your best interests to hand in the homework sets on time.

Exams: You should bring a calculator for each exam. A sheet containing important formulae will be provided in the exam. The provided formulae will use the notation from the book, but WILL NOT be defined in the exam. Also, formulae may need combining and further derivation to solve a particular problem. They are intended as a guide and to avoid having to memorize exactly many equations but not as a substitute for studying.

Exams will be scheduled as we finish chapters. Each in-class exam is worth 100 points. The tentative exam schedule is given below

Sept. 9 Sept. 30 Oct. 28 Nov. 18 Dec. 7
The final exam will be comprehensive and will cover all course material. It is worth 250 points.

Missed exams: A single exam missed for documented health reasons or an official university function (official documentation is required) will be either made up or replaced with the average of the other tests, at the instructor’s discretion. Otherwise, they count as zero.

Grading Information:

In-class exams: 5 x 100 pts each = 500 pts total

Homework sets: 5 x 50 pts each = 250 pts total

Final Exam: 250 pts

Total points = 1000 pts

There will be random pop quizzes in class. They will usually be short (5-10 mins) and consulting notes and the textbook is allowed. Points gained from the pop quizzes will be used as make-up points for points dropped in homeworks and quizzes. These few points can mean a difference in grade for cases where the grade is borderline (e.g. it may take your final grade from 80% (B) to 82% (A) or from 55% (D) to 57% (C)). Attendance is required in class for pop quizzes and make ups will not be allowed (except for documented health reasons or an official university function).

Preliminary grading scale:

>82 % = A

81-69 % = B

68-57 % = C

56-45 % = D

< 45 % = F

Academic Honesty is expected on all exams. Deviations will be dealt with harshly and addressed according to established university policy.

Inclement weather policy: General UofA policy will be followed. Generally, unless the university officially closes, classes will take place as scheduled.

Chem 3453 test and homework schedule

Chapter	Problems	Pages to read	Homework Due	Tentative Exam Date
Two	Blackboard	1-21 (inclusive)	Sept. 4	Sept. 9
Three		39-64
Four	Blackboard	81-117	Sept. 25	Sept. 30
Five	Blackboard	127-159	Oct. 23	Oct. 28
Six		193-223, 228
Eight		267-275, 288-293
Nine Ten	Blackboard	311-336, 343,346 363-372	Nov. 13	Nov. 18
Eleven Fourteen	Blackboard	401-408+lecture 513-514,517-522, 527-531, 534-538,552-568	Dec 4	Dec. 7

Other advice:

Prepare for the exam. Don’t be misled to think that you can get all the info from the formula sheet during the exam. People have tried this in the past and IT DOESN’T WORK. Trust me!

Do not drop an exam unless you have an emergency.

Review your result in the light of common sense. Can it really be 10⁸² m/s or
-100 K (degrees Kelvin)? Minor computational errors (e.g. typing in 23.2 instead of 32.3) will be treated leniently but results which are orders of magnitude off and are obviously nonsensical will be not. Try to find your error, or at least include a comment that the results are obviously too big or too small.

KEEP THE UNITS THROUGHOUT in intermediate calculations. Compare the units of your results with the units you should get. This is the most efficient way of checking your calculations. Always include the unit when giving a result. Results stated without a unit (unless the result is a pure number) are meaningless and, in general, will not count.