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 the printed notes. On the other hand, do not assume that all examinable material is to be found in the lecture notes.

Tutorial: Tutorial problems, which may form part of the material submitted for assessment, will be distributed by the lecturer.

Laboratory Work: You will undertake practicals both at the bench (wet-labs) and in the "write-up room" dry-lab workshops.

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

Before commencing an experiment, you are required to complete a laboratory preparation exercise (“prelab”). You will not be allowed to commence the experimental work until the preparation exercise is completed in a satisfactory manner. A delay in starting the experimental work due to poor preparation will have a detrimental effect on your ability to perform the laboratory work. You should attempt the prelab exercises well in advance of each practical class. You are advised to carefully read the notes for each experiment.

Students unable to attend laboratory classes due to illness or misadventure (as defined in the Handbook of Undergraduate Studies) must provide formal documentary evidence to the University as soon as possible after the absence, via the Special Consideration mechanism. For any unjustified absences, a mark of zero will be given.

Some practical work may 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 6 pm on the day of the next practical session, except for the last practical report which will be submitted at the end of the lab session. Penalties for late submission will accumulate at 10% per day overdue. Reports are to be word-processed and submitted via iLearn. All supplementary files (spreadsheets, spectra, etc) are to be uploaded along with the report.

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

Recommended Textbook: Atkins & de Paula "Elements of Physical Chemistry" 7th Ed, Oxford University Press is recommended. The larger "Atkins' Physical Chemistry" 11th ed, Oxford University Press is better but more expensive. The 10th edition is also acceptable.

Recommended Supplementary Text: Monk "Maths for Chemistry: a Chemist's Toolkit of Calculations" or some equivalent book might be useful.

Alternative Text Books: Raymond Chang "Physical Chemistry for the Chemical and Biological Sciences", 3rd ed, University Science Books (2000) is reasonable, and somewhat more readable than "Elements of Physical Chemistry", but is a bit light in the spectroscopy section. 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. You can find several 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 clearly.

Texts entitled Environmental Chemistry or similar tend to be too broad with 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 are 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

Your reports will be submitted electronically (through iLearn), so it is important that you have access to a word processor, and the ability to manipulate PDF files.

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 iLearn website. While spreadsheets are recommended for most calculations during session, it is important that you have a scientific calculator as this will be used in the final examination. Note that text-retrieval calculators are not allowed in the final examination. 

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

Microsoft Office is available free-of-charge to Macquarie University students. See https://wiki.mq.edu.au/display/microsoftstu/About

Unit Web Page: The URL of the CHEM2401 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

 CHEM2401 Physical Chemistry Schedule 2021

The schedule below is indicative and may be altered as required.