This course facilitates, through solving exercises, students’ understanding of the laws of thermodynamics, which has a macroscopic viewpoint, and fundamentals of statistical thermodynamics having a microscopic viewpoint. The course also focuses on exercises for chemical kinetics.
Through solving exercises in this course, students will be able to:
1) Explain the concepts and physical quantities of thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamics
2) Describe physical changes, such as phase transition, and chemical reactions on the basis of thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamics from the macro- and microscopic viewpoints, respectively
3) Understand the basics of chemical reactions from the view point of physical chemistry.
physical chemistry, thermodynamics, statistical thermodynamics, chemical equilibrium, partition functions, rate constant, rate equation, reaction order, transition state theory, reaction cross section, diffusion controlled reaction
✔ Specialist skills | Intercultural skills | Communication skills | Critical thinking skills | ✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
Solving exercises and its explanation.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | The first law of thermodynamics | Calculate the internal energy of a system. |
Class 2 | The second law of thermodynamics | Calculate the entropy change for physical and chemical changes. |
Class 3 | Free energy and chemical equilibrium | Explain the free energy and chemical potential. |
Class 4 | Boltzmann distribution | Calculate entropy by using Boltzmann formula. |
Class 5 | Molecular partition function and average energy | Calculate the average energy by using the molecular partition function. |
Class 6 | Molecular thermodynamics for a simple system | Calculate the molecular partition function of translation, rotation, and vibration. |
Class 7 | Molecular partition function and chemical equilibrium | Calculate the equilibrium constant by using the partition function. |
Class 8 | Reaction rate, rate constant, rate equation | Write down the rate equation using the rate constant |
Class 9 | Reaction order, molecularity of reaction | Explain reaction order and molecularity of the reaction |
Class 10 | first order reaction, second order reaction | Solve the rate equation of first order reaction and second order reaction |
Class 11 | Consecutive reaction, pseudo-first order reaction | Explain consecutive reaction and pseudo-first order reaction |
Class 12 | Steady-state approximation | Solve the rate equation by using steady-state approximation |
Class 13 | Transition state theory | Explain transition state theory |
Class 14 | Reaction cross section of bimolecular reaction | Give the relation between the reaction cross section and the rate constant of bimolecular reaction |
Class 15 | Diffusion, conductance, diffusion controlled reaction | Write down the rate constant for diffusion controlled reaction by using the diffusion coefficient |
Course materials are provided during class.
Physical Chemistry 8/e (Oxford University Press)
Full attendance and completion of all exercises are compulsory.
Students will be assessed on their understanding and commitment of each class and the final exam.
The course is opened only for the students who have joined the department of chemistry before fiscal year of H27. Enrollment in the related courses is desirable.