Prerequisites:
CHEM 3356, Physical Chemistry I, is a either a
co-requisite or
prerequisite for this course.
Text:
CHEM 3376 Physical Chemistry Laboratory Manual (Coe, D. A, and Diebold, F. E., 8th edition, Montana Tech, Butte, 2004) is the text for this course.
Other useful references include
Physical Chemistry for the
Biosciences (Raymond Chang,
University Science Books, Sausalito CA,
2005) and Experiments in Physical
Chemistry (Shoemaker, D. P., Garland, C. W., and Nibler, J. W., 5th ed., McGraw
Hill, Colorado Springs, 1989).
Course Structure:
The experiments in this course have been chosen to complement the material presented in the physical chemistry lectures and to introduce you to nuances of acquiring, analyzing, and reporting data.
The philosophy in this course is to involve the student in a set of experiments which will meet one or more of the following objectives:
To provide you with the experience of measuring a number of physical properties, e.g., temperature, heats of reaction, solubility, enthalpy of vaporization, phase behavior of multi-component systems.
Illustrate and elaborate on concepts and theories that have been introduced in the lecture.
Introduce material that will not be encountered in the lecture, but which we feel should be a part of your educational experience.
To introduce techniques of error analysis for small data sets.
To cultivate habits of and provide practice in good report writing.
To introduce the use of electronic spreadsheets as an aid in preparing technical reports.
To introduce the use of analog to digital interfaces as an aid in acquiring data.
To provide practice in using the scientific and technical literature to locate technical information.
To foster independent thinking, initiative, and effort.
Grading:
Experiments in this course will be graded on the participation and initiative that you show in carrying out the laboratory work, your laboratory notebook (which may be requested at any time), and the reports that are required for each experiment. These reports are due at the beginning of the lab period one week after completion of the experiment. The reports will generally be graded on a 50 point basis, but there may be some exceptions where the report will carry more weight.
A number of experiments can be written up by group that performed the experiment (or some subset of this group). It is expected that all of the authors of a group report will have been active participants in the report writing process. The student authors of a jointly authored report must be clearly identified on the title page of the report.
Honesty:
Quizzes and exams are expected to be a measure of your own effort
and ability. A single incident of cheating will result in a grade of zero for that quiz or
exam. A second incidence of cheating will result in removal from the class roll.