Lecture T 8-8:50 SCI 450

Lab TR 9 - 11:30 SCI 520

Office Hours: T, R 3:00-4:30 and by appointment if needed.

Text: None. Assignments and readings will be from books put on reserve at the library.

Lecture Topics and Assignments:

The lecture will cover scientific writing, data and error analysis, the chemical literature, safety, temperature and pressure measurements, computational methods, and the design and use of instruments. Readings and problem sets covering these areas will be assigned periodically.

Laboratory Topics and Assignments: The course is divided into two sections. During roughly the first half of the semester you will be required to complete 7 experiments. The last portion of the course will be spent working on a novel independent project. This will be fully explained in class.

Course Part 1: You are required to complete a total of six experiments. Four experiments will be done by the entire class. These include: HCl / DCl, Bomb Calorimetry, Bromination of Acetone, and Computational Chemistry. You will select the remaining two experiments from those available ( a list will be provided). Your choices for the remaining three experiments should be made in consultation with the instructor. Your choices must expose you to a variety of theoretical ideas and experimental methods.

Course Part 2: The laboratory periods for the last part of the course (beginning approximately after spring break) will be spent working on novel projects. These projects will be selected in consultation with the instructor. You are encouraged to begin thinking about a suitable physical chemistry project early in the semester. You will be required to write a full report on the outcome of your experimental /computational project, give an oral presentation on the project, and make a poster on the project. Each aspect of this assignment will be elaborated on further in class. The final full report for this project will be due on the date and time of the final exam.

All relevant data must be entered into a laboratory notebook. Your notebook may be collected for grading at anytime. It must be submitted for grading at the end of the semester with your last report. More about this in lecture.

You are required to attend all of the final project oral presentations.

Late reports will not be accepted without explicit consent of the instructor. Extensions will only be granted under extreme circumstances. A severe late penalty of 10 pts per day will be applied to late reports. No work will be accepted after the date and time of the final exam.

Pre-lab Outlines: Each student must prepare an outline of the procedures (in your laboratory notebook) before performing each experiment. The purpose of these written outlines is to allow the instructor to assess the student’s preparedness to perform the experiments. Therefore, the outline should convey enough information for the instructor to judge the student’s understanding, but need not contain explicit, step by step instructions. The instructor will review the outline and make comments regarding items which need more attention. If the instructor feels the student is not prepared, the student will not be permitted to perform the experiment until the situation is remedied, possibly resulting in postponement until the next open date for that experiment.

Lab Rules:

1. Safety. Be careful and think before you act. Many of the chemicals and items of equipment that you will be using are potentially hazardous. If unsure, ask the instructor before proceeding. You are required to wear suitable clothing and safety goggles while in the lab. Eating, drinking or smoking is prohibited in lab. Do risk assessment (more on this in class).

2. Instruments. Be sure that you know how to operate an instrument before attempting to do so. Read any available manuals, and consult the instructor if necessary. Never be afraid to ask questions, particularly when high voltage/current, fragile glassware or expensive instruments are involved.

3. Clean Up and Security. Clean up and disassemble each experiment when done. It is your responsibility to be sure that your set-up is secure and safe when you leave each day.

Lab Notebook:

1. All entries should be made in ink. Errors should be crossed out with a single line and not made illegible.

2. Pages should be numbered consecutively and dated as used. The first few pages should be reserved for a table of contents which should be kept current.

3. All information regarding an experiment should be recorded in your notebook.

4. Never use loose sheets of paper to jot down important experimental information. They tend to mysteriously disappear and end up in the trash!

Grading: Your grade will be determined largely by your performance on the written laboratory reports. These will be scored in terms of presentation, thoroughness of the experimental data, quality of the analysis, and interpretation of the data. A thorough discussion of expected laboratory report writing will be discussed during the first two weeks of lecture. A breakdown of the various components in your final grade follows: