Assistants: Angie Anderson [SC7850, Ph 3-9411]
Deborah Boxall [SC7850, Ph 3-9411]
Tadd Kippeny [SC7810, Ph 4-0844]
Lab Hours: 1:10-4:00 p.m. Monday — Thursday [SC7510]
Lectures: 4:10-5:00 p.m. Wednesdays [SC5212H]
Lab Text: Experiments in Physical
Chemistry (6th edit.) by Shoemaker, Garland, and Nibler.
Physical Chemistry Laboratory Campus Class Pak (available at Campus
Copy, Rand).
August 24 lecture
August 31 lecture
September 7 lecture
September 14 lecture
September 21 laboratory
September 28 laboratory
October 5 laboratory
October 12 lecture
October 19 laboratory
October 26 laboratory
November 2 laboratory
November 9 laboratory
November 16 lecture and review
December 2 Exam
Note: On laboratory weeks, students should go directly to the laboratory.
Experiments (# in lab text)
Grade Computation: 25% each for problem sets, laboratory results and analyses, journal-style reports, and exam. Final grades will be assigned on the basis of absolute point scores, assuming a nominal total of 600 (30 for each of 5 problem sets, 30 each for lab results and analyses, 75 for each of 2 reports, and 150 for the exam):
A 545
A- 530
B+ 510
B 485
B- 470
C+ 450
C 425
C- 410
D+ 390
D 365
D- 350
Vanderbilt Honor Code: In effect for all work. Lab partners are expected to collaborate on lab work, as discussed more fully below. Students should write and sign the following on each graded assignment: "I pledge my honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment." For the purposes of this course, "unauthorized aid" includes (but is not limited to) the use of manufactured data ("dry-labbing") and the use of problem solutions, data, and reports obtained by other students in this or in previous years of this or any other course.
The course will meet 7 times for lectures and exam and 7 weeks for laboratory experiments. Students will work in pairs in the lab. Each team will submit a single report for each experiment, with both partners sharing credit for the results and data analysis but with only the main author receiving a grade for the report. Each student will author two journal-style reports during the semester; the format for these will be discussed in class. Everyone should complete at least the four core experiments, and may do at most two of the optional experiments. Experiments beyond the 4th will require only brief reports, complete enough to make the results clear. (Note: The major writeups can be on either the core or the optional experiments, but at least a brief report will be required of every team on each core experiment.) Lab partners will of course collaborate on the collection of data; they are also strongly advised to do so on their analyses. Report authors are both authorized and encouraged to have their lab partners critically review their reports. All other work should be done independently, under the honor code.
At this time, writeups for all but one of the 9 experiments are included in the Class Pak. About half of these follow the descriptions in the lab text fairly closely. In addition some supplementary material will be made available in the laboratory, the library, and (hopefully) on a course Web page.
The laboratory will be operated on the "station" principle: All required setups will be in place throughout the semester, and students will work at the different experiments in accord with a sign-up schedule. There will be two stations for each of the four required experiments, but only one for each of the five optional ones. The only provision for repeating botched experiments is the inclusion of the 7th week of experiments in the schedule, i.e., students will be allowed to work only on their scheduled lab days.
Students should come to lab on experiment days prepared to work efficiently and should record all "manual" data directly in their bound notebooks in ink. These notebooks should be submitted along with the reports, so each team will need two notebooks, to be used in alternating fashion. In addition, students should utilize wise "backup" procedures to ensure against loss of data. The notebook should be initialized by the TA or instructor at the end of each lab day. This constitutes a key part of the "check-out" procedure, and students without such clearance will be liable for any damage or breakage subsequently found at their stations. For some experiments a copy of key data may also be required at the end of the day; check with the TA in charge of the experiment.
To encourage advance preparation for the experiments, we will hold pre-lab orientation sessions in the scheduled lecture time slot (W 4:10) each week that lab is in session. Also, each student will take a written quiz to be given at 1:10 p.m. on the day of the scheduled lab work. Quizzes will be administered by the TA in charge of the experiment and will count for 5 of the 30 "results and analysis" points for the experiment. The quizzes will be based on a number of "Study Problems" included near the end of each writeup in the Class Pak. Answers to these problems will be made available in advance.
Reports are due at 4:00 p.m. on the regular lab day, one week after the completion of the experimental work. Late lab work will result in the loss of 10% (absolute) per late day. Students who encounter unanticipated problems or serious delays may elect to "punt" on the delayed work and do the same or a different experiment later, provided this can still be accommodated in the schedule. Every student should have submitted at least one of the required major reports by October 15. [Exceptions to late policy: Delays occasioned by equipment problems beyond the control of the students will be accommodated through special arrangements. Also, each student will be permitted one late submission with the penalty capped at 10%, provided the work is submitted no more than one week late.]
The experiment stations must be left in a condition that will permit the next team using the setup to proceed immediately with their work. Follow the outdoorsman's rule: Leave the site better than you found it. Any carelessness that causes a subsequent team to lose time will result in the loss of 5 of the 30 points for the "results and analysis" part of the experiment. This includes unreported breakage of equipment and spillage of chemicals or water away from the setup, e.g. on or by the balances.
The lecture part of the course will heavily emphasize the processing, analysis, and display of data. The main tool for this instruction is a program called KaleidaGraph, ~30 copies of which will be available in the Stevenson Computer Classroom and on both the Macintoshes and PCs in Branscomb. The vehicle for this instruction is the five problem sets included in the Class Pak. These begin with self-instruction tutorials and move toward small data analysis projects. Homework will be due at 4:10 p.m. on Wednesdays, in accord with the due date listed on each problem set – the first four in the first four weeks, the last late in the term. Late homework will not be graded.
A single exam is scheduled for the last regular lecture
period in the course. This exam will be comprehensive, with roughly
1/3 on
data analysis and the rest on the experiments. Since not everyone will
be doing the same experiments, there will be options on the test. Students
may work for as long as two hours on this exam.
It is my firm conviction that the two most significant skills to be practiced in the physical chemistry laboratory are (1) how to interpret and analyze data, and (2) how to prepare scientific reports. It is for this reason that the emphasis is on these two aspects of the work in this course.