Classes

Timetable: Please check www.timetables.mq.edu.au for the official timetable of the unit.

Lectures: The material presented in the lectures is important and you should not assume that all examinable material is available in the textbook or in printed notes. On the other hand, do not assume that all examinable material is to be found in the lecture notes.

Tutorial: Attendance at the lecture and tutorial is compulsory. Tutorial problems, which may form part of the material submitted for assessment, will be distributed by the lecturer. 

Laboratory Work: You will undertake both experiments at the bench (wet-labs) and dry-lab workshops. The wet-labs will initially be held in E7B 347, the 2nd/3rd Year teaching Laboratories.

A laboratory roster will be issued to indicate which experiments you will be undertaking in which week. 

Before commencing a new experiment you are required to complete a laboratory preparation exercise. You must have the pre-lab exercises checked by a lecturer BEFORE the lab session starts. You will not be allowed to commence the experimental work until the preparation exercise is completed in a satisfactory manner. A delay in sta1ting the experimental work due to poor pre-lab preparation may have a detrimental effect on your ability to perform the laboratory work satisfactorily. You should attempt the pre-lab exercises well in advance of each practical class. You are advised to read each experiment carefully.

Students unable to attend laboratory classes due to illness or misadventure (as defined in the Handbook of Undergraduate Studies) and who are unable to catch up in a reserve session must provide formal documentary evidence to the University as soon as possible after the absence. For one such justified absence st udents will receive the average mark from the sessions that they did attend. For any unjustified absences students will receice a zero mark and may be liable to compulsory withdrawal from the unit. You will need to submit a "special consideration request".

Some practical work will be undertaken before the corresponding material has been covered in lectures. The notes have been written with this in mind and some allowance will be made in the marking of reports. 

Reports must be submitted no later than 5 pm, 14 days after completion of each experiment. Penalties for late submission will accumulate at the rate of 10% per day overdue.

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

Recommended Text Book: We recommend that you obtain Atkins & de Paula "Atkins' Physical Chemistry" 9th ed, Oxford University Press (2009). The 8th edition is also acceptable.

Recommended Supplementary Text: The University Co-Op Bookshop carries copies of Monk "Maths for Chemistry: a Chemist's Toolkit of Calculations". lf you are feeling a bit intimidated by the thought of maths, this text might be of use to you.

Alternative Text Book: Raymond Chang "Physical Chemistry for the Chemical and Biological Sciences", 3rd ed, University Science Books (2000) is reasonable, and somewhat more readable than "Atkins' Physical Chemistry", but is a bit light in the spectroscopy section.

You can find a number of textbooks with "Physical Chemistry" in the title in the University library. All cover similar material, but often use different notation. You may find that some of these other books explain certain topics more cl early. Some students find "Physical Chemistry" by R.A. Alberty and R.J. Silbey provides readable introductions to some topics, but is less helpful when it comes to problem solving. Two older books that can provide an alternative introduction to aspects of molecular spectroscopy are "Fundamentals of Molecular Spectroscopy" by C.N. Banwell and "Introduction to Molecular Spectroscopy" by G. M. Barrow. 

Text titled Environmental Chemistry or similar tend to be too broad wi th respect to the chemistry, and there is limited depth of discussions on Physical Chemistry aspects. However, good background information on the broader aspects of Chemistry in the environmental context can be obtained from these texts. Examples of good Environmental Chemistry texts are S.E. Manahan "Environmental Chemistry" (TD193.M36), G.W. VanLoon and S.J. Duffy "Environmental Chemistry: A Global Perspective" (TD193 .V36) and C. Baird and M. Cann "Environmental Chemistry" (TO192 .B35)

There also many web resources, but material placed on the web is not necessarily checked for accuracy, so be careful when using it.

Technology Used and Required

It is important that you have a scientific calculator as hand-held calculators will be used in tutorials, practicals, for assignments, tests and in the final examination. Note that text-retrieval calculators are not allowed in the in-semester tests or final examination. 

Use will be made of Excel and other data processing and display software. Computers carrying this software are available in the teaching laboratories. Items of interest and links to other on-line material will be placed on the unit Blackboard website. 

General use computers are provided by the University, but it would be advantageous to have your own computer and internet access.

Unit Web Page: The URL of the CBMS307 web site is: ilearn.mq.edu.au. You will be asked for a username and password. Your username is your student MQID. Your MQID and password have been mailed to you by the University. If you have lost them go to the student portal: my.mq.edu.au

What has Changed

There have been no significant changes from the previous offering.

A timetable and syllabus will be handed out in the first week.

Workshops/Practicals will start in Week 2.

This unit explores the underlying principles that govern the properties and behaviour of chemical processes. Using environmental chemistry examples and contexts, we explore the what, why and how fast of chemistry: structure, energy, and rate. The theoretical foundations of these topics are: quantum mechanics; thermodynamics, equilibrium statistical mechanics; and chemical kinetics. There is an emphasis on the chemistry of global climate change; ozone depletion; dispersal and transformation of chemicals in the environment; equilibrium and non-equilibrium processes in the World's oceans; and other environmentally relevant topics. The measurement and modelling of these systems is described and practiced.

This unit follows on from CBMS207 Physical and Environmental Chemistry I, broadening and deepening some the topics from that unit, and introducing some new topics.

Physical chemistry is the science that develops an understanding of the structure, properties and transformations of matter, from bulk behaviour down to the atomic level. It is the role of the physical chemist to collect, collate and analyse experimental data from all branches of chemistry and to construct predictive models. As such, physical chemistry underpins much of modern science and it drives advances in a very wide range of fields. Building on information and concepts from chemistry, physics and mathematics, physical chemistry contributes to and is stimulated by areas such as medicine, molecular biology, biochemistry, molecular engineering, chemical engineering, materials science and earth sciences.

Modern chemistry provides tools for elucidating structure at the molecular scale, for understanding the way in which reactions occur, and for analysing complex molecular systems. Chemists can determine the structures of simple molecules through to large assemblies, such as metal complexes, biological macromolecules and industrial polymers. This unit deals with tools that chemists use to investigate the sizes, shapes and amount of molecules and the rates of their reactions with other molecules.

The topics covered are:

• the transport and fate of chemicals in the environment;

• molecular spectroscopy, including molecular symmetry, electronic transition theory, fluorescence and Raman spectroscopies;

• chemical reaction kinetics, including complex reactions and competing reactions;

• thermodynamics, including statistical mechanics;

Office Hours

There are no formal office hours for this unit. Dr Jamie and Dr McRae are happy to receive students outside of the formal lecture and tutorial times but please be aware that we are not always to be found in our offices. It is generally wise to organise an appointment in advance, if possible.

Assumed knowledge for this unit is 200-level Physical and Environmental Chemistry I and 100-level General Chemistry. Some analytical and some organic chemistry is involved, but support for students weak in these areas will be provided. Some mathematics is inherent in this unit, but supporting material will be provided. A familiarity with high school level physics concepts would be an advantage but is not required.

Graduate Capabilities: The course work and laboratory work in this unit will help you to develop the graduate capabilities that “the University’s graduates would need to develop to address the challenges, and to be effective, engaged participants in their world”.  Graduate capabilities are viewed as essential for all graduates, irrespective of their course of study. Thus, in conjunction with discipline-specific skills and knowledge, they are the building blocks for developing the attributes valued in a university graduate. Some of the attributes and skills that CBMS307 can help you develop are:

·       Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills:  The topics explored in CBMS307 are fundamental to the discipline of chemistry. You will be applying problem-solving skills in the chemistry context, applying chemistry theory to practice in order to design and carry out laboratory experiments, using chemistry specific apparatus and techniques, and to apply safe laboratory practices, performing data analysis applying appropriate statistical treatment to data and using standard and specialised computer programs in the analysis of data and presentation of results.

·       Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking:  Within this unit you will develop and practice your ability to apply strategic problem-solving in situations where there is a clear solution and in situations demanding critical, analytical and integrative thinking. You will be solving problems by analysing the information given or discovered, looking for other sources of information to apply, looking for the scope and limitation of the context in which the problem and solution lie. In many cases you will be using standard and specialised IT technology for the discovery of information, the analysis of data and the presentation of results.

·       Problem Solving and Research Capability and being Creative and Innovative:  In both the theory and the laboratory component of this unit you will have ample opportunities to develop your problem solving skills and research capabilities. Through set assignment and prac write-up problems, and through performing the laboratory experiments, where procedures, data collection and data analysis will require you to make various decisions, you will be deeply involved in  problem solving and research processes in the chemistry context.

·       Effective Communication:  CBMS307 will help equip you with both oral and written communication skills, through your written prac write-ups and your assignments, and through the communications you will be engaged with your lecturers, your demonstrators and your class-mates. Part of your assessment will be concerned with your ability to communicate in clear, concise and appropriate, context-dependent modes (formal reports, informal team discussions, formal presentations, etc).

·       Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens:  Engaged and ethical behaviour will be addressed in the professional chemist context, that is, you will be concerned with collecting data and information with appropriate acknowledgement of sources, you will learn ways of performing experiments and recording outcomes in a manner that conforms to the expectations of the profession and community at large. You will be working with people from a variety of cultural and economic backgrounds and you will be expected to be able to form cohesive and effective teams with anybody in your class. In the theory section of the course we will touch upon issues of interest to contemporary society, such as climate change, chemical processes in the body, and new materials, from the perspective of their underlying chemistry.

·       Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible:  You will be working in small teams for much of CBMS307, especially in the laboratory component of the course, giving you the opportunity to develop your ability to work with others as a leader and a  team player and to have a sense of connectedness and mutual obligation with others.

This unit deals explicitly with aspects of environmental science, allowing you to develop an understanding of environmental processes uninfluenced and influenced by human activity, giving you the knowledge and skills to formulate opinions and personal ideologies relating to the environment.

·       Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative:  Especially during your laboratory work, you will be expected to develop discernment and common sense in your professional and personal judgement. You will also be given assignment and test questions that will give you the opportunity to exhibit these capabilities, especially in the context of the application of “models” in scientific knowledge and theorising.

·       Commitment to Continuous Learning:  We hope that you will have your enquiring minds and curiosity extended by CBMS307, and that the topics covered and skills developed will lead you to continue to pursue knowledge for its own sake. You will be have opportunities to reflect on your experiences, learn from them, and grow personally, professionally and socially.

Assessment: The grades that you achieve at Macquarie University are descriptive rather than numeric. The assessments and conditions on your performance (attendance, completion, etc) help to decide which of these descriptive grades applies to your work for the entire unit.

Your raw marks from assessments are combined into a weighted sum. The weighted sums for the whole class are ranked, and compared with grades for the same unit in previous offerings and across other appropriate units to check for consistency. This process of comparison allows for the identification any unusual influences on class performance that might warrant the weighted sums of marks being altered. The numerical cut-offs for each descriptive grade are then determined. The numerical grade that you will be issued with (the Standardised Numerical Grade, SNG) is determined to match your descriptive grade by standardising the weighted sums of raw marks to match standard scores out of 100. The SNG gives you an indication of how you have performed within the band for your descriptive grade. As the SNG is the result of scaling the weighted sum of your raw marks, you won't be able to:

(a)           work out your exam mark based on the assignment marks you already know and the SNG;

(b)          determine that you were "one mark away" from a different grade.

It is our professional responsibility as your teachers to assign you a descriptive grade that accurately reflects your performance and capabilities in a unit. Our grading decisions are subject to scrutiny from our academic colleagues within the Department, as well as within the Faculty and University Senate.

The Grades range from High Distinction to Fail, and are defined in the Handbook as follows:

Your final grades will be based primarily on the aggregate mark, but the minimum requirement to achieve a passing grade is satisfactory completion of both the coursework component and the laboratory component.

Levels of Achievement: The lowest passing level is to be able to identify and use correctly the appropriate formulae from those supplied, in familiar circumstances (i.e., problems similar to those practised in tutorial questions or from past exams). In this case you would expect to obtain a low Pass grade.

A creditable level of achievement is to display knowledge of the meaning and significance of the topics in relation to molecular parameters, and to correctly use formulae in unfamiliar situations.

The highest level of achievement is to display a deep knowledge of the models being used, its uses and limitations, and to apply knowledge from beyond that which is taught in the unit, and even to challenge the material presented.

The assignments and in-semester tests are designed to help you learn the material during the semester, rather than trying to cram on the day before the examination. They are relatively low risk (a small component of the aggregate score) but they are very valuable for you as measures of your understanding of the topics.

The laboratories and workshops will allow you to put the material that you have been exposed to in the lectures into practice. They will provide concrete expositions of theory. They also provide the opportunity for you to continue your development of bench, data collection and data analysis skills. Writing up the experiments will give you skills in communicating in the chemistry context.

Examinations: The final examination will cover all sections of the unit (lectures, tutorials, assignments and laboratory exercises).

The date of the final examination will be posted by the University during the semester. You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations.

www.timetables.mq.edu.au/exam

The only exception to sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration. The special consideration process is available at:

www.student.mq.edu.au/ses/Special%20Consideration.html

If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Special Consideration process the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period. The offer of a supplementary examination is at the discretion of the academic staff and you should not assume that it will be provided. Supplementary Examinations are not make-up exams, i.e., a poor result in the final examination is not reason to request a supplementary examination.

It is Macquarie University policy to not set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is, the final day of the official examination period.