Download CHM 337-Experimental Methods in Physical Chemistry

CHM 337
Experimental Physical Chemistry, Section 4276, 4277
Course Website: http://www.cuny.edu
Fall 2011
Course Description
This course is designed to accompany or follow CHM 330/336. It covers the
experimental aspect of physical chemistry such as thermodynamics, chemical kinetics
and quantum chemistry. The course also aims to sharpen your skills as experimentalists,
by focusing on the design, interpretation and significance of laboratory work.
Instructor and Office Hours
Dr. Shi Jin
9:00 am-12:00 pm, Wednesday @ 6S-234
Meetings
Time: Friday, 9:05 am – 5:30 pm
Location: Room 5S-117 (prelab); Room 6S-239 and 6S-249 (lab)
Text
Experimental Physical Chemistry 3rd Edition, A.M. Halpern and G. C. McBane,
ISBN: 0-7167-1735-2, W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, NY, 2006
Notebook
You must use a bound notebook to record all laboratory data.
Learning objectives
1. Students will learn how to experimentally address physicochemical problems.
2. Students will gain experiences in selected experimental methods.
3. Students will understand the importance of comparing experimental data with
theoretical predictions.
4. Students will learn how to work safely in a chemical laboratory and will
acquire laboratory skills and develop an approach to obtain good quality
physicochemical data.
5. Students will learn the application of computers in data acquisition,
processing, and analysis, particularly with the aid of a common spreadsheet
program.
6. Students will be able to write an extensive report from an experiment,
including the introduction, methods, results and qualitative/quantitative
discussion.
7. Students will be able to orally present quantitative results of the experimental
work and to perform scientific literature searches.
Grading
Laboratory reports (9)
Extended project (written & oral)
Exam
77%
12%
11%
A comprehensive reports will be due two weeks after completion of the
laboratory experiment. Late reports will never be accepted. The text, tables, and
graphs must all be computer-generated (lengthy formulas may be handwritten,
although this is discouraged); WORD and EXCEL programs are available in
Rooms 6S-239. Lab partners are encouraged to share experimental results and
discuss interpretation, but reports must be written independently and without
copying from textbooks or other sources. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.
Pre-lab exercises will be due at the beginning of each lab session. They
include brief introductory questions on the background of the experiment, outlines
of the experimental procedure, or tabular setups for the data to be collected. In
addition to giving a concrete idea of the work to be done, the pre-lab exercises
will help in completing the laboratory experiments more efficiently.
Course Syllabus:
The following is a tentative outline of the lecture schedule for CHM 337. You are
required to read the corresponding chapter in the textbook before attending the classes
Expt Date
Reference
Topic
26-Aug
2-Sep
Parts 1-3 &
Handout
Handout
9-Sep
Part 5, Expt 13
16-Sep
23-Sep
Handout
Expt. 29
14-Oct
Handout
21-Oct
Part 6, Expt 17
28-Oct
Handout
4-Nov
Part 9, Expt 39 &
Handout
Experimental Design, Execution,
and Analysis
Thermodynamics. Adiabatic
Calorimetry
Solid-Liquid Equilibrium in TwoComponent Systems
Electrochemistry
Determination of the critical
micelle concentration
Computer-Assisted Searches for
Scientific Information
Making Oral Presentations with
PowerPoint
Transport. Viscosity of Polymer
Solutions
Chemical Kinetics. The Iodine
Clock
Spectroscopy. UV/Vis: Cyanine
Dyes & Iodine Gas
Extended Projects
Bomb Calorimetry
Surface Area and Porosity
Analysis by Gas Adsorption
Determination of Aggregation
Number of Micellar System
Presentations on Extended
Projects
FINAL EXAM
11-Nov
18-Nov
2-Dec
Part 3, Expt 5
Handout
Expt. 30
9-Dec
TBA
Report
Date
3-Sep
Grade (%)
17-Sep
9
24-Sep
9
8-Oct
15-Oct
9
9
22-Oct
7
29-Oct
9
5-Nov
9
12-Nov
9
3-Dec
12
7
11