Instructor |
Office |
Phone |
E-mail |
Office Hours |
Dr. Glenn T. Evans |
Gilbert 104 |
737-6717 |
evansgl@onid.oregonstate.edu | MWF 1:30-2:30 PM (Gilbert 104) |
| Lei Chen | Gilbert 047 | chenlei@onid.orst.edu | TR 3-5 pm (Gilbert 123) | |
| Liangdong Zhu | LPSC 268 | zhul@onid.orst.edu | MW 11-noon (Gilbert 123) |
Lectures: MWF 9:00-9:50 AM and exams LPSC 0125, Required text: Physical Chemistry, 4th edition by Silbey, Alberty and Bawendi
Week/Date |
Chapter and Topic |
Assignments
from Silbey, et al |
Important Dates |
1/26 Sept |
Ch 1: Zeroth Law |
PS1 = 1.3, 1.11, 1.13, 1.17,1.20, 1.29, 1.33, 1.34 | |
2/3 Oct |
Ch 2: First Law
|
PS2 = 2.5, 2.11a, 2.13.,2.16a, 2.19, 2.27, 2.37, 2.65, part 2 |
HW 1 due
5 Oct,9 AM |
3/10 Oct |
Ch 2: First Law
|
||
4/17 Oct |
Ch 3: Second Law
|
HW 2 due
19 Oct, 9 AM,
Exam 1 Wednesday |
|
5/24 Oct |
Ch 3: Second Law
|
PS3 = 3.5, 3.7, 3.9, 3.10, 3.28, 3.37, 3.39 | |
6/31
Oct |
Ch 4:
Fundamental equations |
HW 3 due 2 Nov, 9 AM |
|
7/7 Nov |
Ch 5: Chemical Equilibrium |
PS4 = 4.6, 4.11, 4.14, 4.16, 4.30, 4.33, 4.51, 5.5, part 2 |
Proofs
(last day 11 Nov) |
8/14 Nov |
Ch
6: Phase Equilibria |
HW
4 due 16 Nov,9 AM
Exam 2 Wednesday |
|
9/21 Nov |
Ch 6: Phase
Equilibria |
no class Wed 23 Nov;
Thanksgiving 24 Nov, 3 PM |
|
10/28 Dec |
Ch
6: Phase equilibria
and review |
HW5 due 2 Dec, 9 AM |
|
11/6 Dec
|
Final Exam
|
|
Tuesday,
6 Dec 6
pm |
Prerequisites
One year of college chemistry, one year of college physics and MTH 254 (vector calculus). These are real prerequisites. Our plan is to apply your physics background to understand the behavior of molecules using a language of mathematics. This may be your first applied math class.
Grading
The grade for the course is based on the results of two midterms, the final exam, and homework. The point distribution is as follows:
|
|
Each homework problem is worth one point and there will be roughly fifty problems assigned over the term. The problems will be graded as right or wrong by the TA. If the assignments are not submitted at the end of the class on the due date, the problem set will not be accepted.
On collective efforts ... There has been a tendency for students to work in groups in order to do the homework. However, to represent the work of another person as your own is plagiarism. A pattern has evolved over the years among those students who work in groups. In general their homework assignments are performed correctly but their exam grades are bone-chillingly miserable. Being that the homework is worth roughly ten percent of your grade, it might be quite a risk both for issues of academic dishonesty and for issues of learning physical chemistry to rely too heavily on group efforts. Is the group approach of merit? Of course, and I don't want to discourage it. Try the strategy: after having discussed a problem within your group, do it yourself rather than to copy verbatim the work of the one individual who deciphered the problem.
The grade guideline given above are upper bounds. If your grade exceeds the value given, e.g., if it exceeds 360 then an A grade is guaranteed. If the examinations are poorly constructed (an error on my part) and the grades are not representative of student comprehension, then the entire scale given above will be shifted to compensate for my errors.
Quality of Life Issues
On the voluminous amounts of math ...One can simplify one's life at the outset of PChem if you were to purchase and to understand how to use Maple. Maple is a program which performs symbolic, numeric and graphical functions. It takes derivatives, plots in two or three dimensions, takes limits and in general simplifies the tedious aspects of mathematics. I will use it when I do the PChem assignments. Maple has limitations: it can not think. It can not do a "proof" and I will ask you to prove various identities. Maple will not be available for your use on examinations but hopefully the math on exams will not require it. Mathematics on Maple is so simple that you may enjoy it.
On the homework assignments... Procrastination is your right. However, the homework assignments are long and your understanding of them will influence your grade significantly. My recommendation is to try to do a homework problem after the topic is covered in lecture. Perhaps this is a sustainable approach to PChem without homework-induced angst. Hour exams and the final will reflect the problems assigned on the homework.
On the lectures... PChem is not poetry. Interrupting me during lectures will not take away from the intrinsic beauty of physical chemistry. I encourage discussion: it adds to the lectures, it clarifies issues to the students and it gives me a better appreciation of the students overall comprehension.