MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
NORTHERN CYPRUS CAMPUS
CHM 351
Physical Chemistry (3-2)4
Outline of the Course:
This course covers an extensive application of physicochemical topics such as
electrolytes, electrochemical cells, kinetic theory of gases, elementary and complex reactions,
molecular reaction dynamics, transport properties, adsorption and heterogeneous catalysis.
Textbook:
“Physical Chemistry”, Atkins and de Paula, 10th Edition, Oxford University Press,
2014. You are strongly encouraged to have access to this textbook. There are some copies in
the Library.
Supplementary Texts:
There are other excellent texts on the subject. You can also borrow these from the
Library. You are well advised to read them. Student websites of some texts contain a wealth
of information and further course-related material. MAKE A HABIT OF READING
RELEVANT MATERIAL FROM OTHER TEXTS AS WELL.
The Course:
Course instruction is 3 hours/week. You will find the course coverage below.
Coverage of some chapters will be partial, as indicated. You are advised to read the
relevant course material before you come to the class. YOU WILL GET FULL
BENEFIT FROM THE DICUSSION IN THE CLASSROOM IF YOU STRICTLY
ADHERE TO THIS. Students should take adequate lecture notes, and these notes should be
reviewed as soon as possible after the class meeting so that students may consult with the
instructor about any material that may seem unclear. Do not wait until the last minute before
an exam to ask about material that is not well understood. Learn and study as you go along.
Try to solve as many problems as you can, either from your own textbook or any other
external source.
There will be two midterm exams and one final exam at preannounced dates. In
addition, there will be some pop-up quizzes.
Laboratory work is one session per week. Lab scheduling and coverage will be
provided by your lab instructor. Lab experiments are to be conducted under the supervision
of a lab instructor. Teamwork and coherent experimentation is the aim of your lab work, and
therefore emphasis will be placed on completing the experiments as teams rather than as
individuals. Furthermore, you are required to wear goggles and lab coats at all times in the
laboratory. Your lab instructor will not admit you into the lab without these. This is for your
own safety and for safety of your lab mates. DO NOT underestimate the protection offered
by your goggles and your lab coats.
PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATORS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN EXAMS.
Topic
Chapter/Section
Introduction to
Physical
Chemistry
Activities of
5F
Ions
Electrochemical
Cells and
6C and D
Electrode
Potentials
The Kinetic
Model (of
1B
gases)
Transport
19 (excluding 19C.2(c) and
Properties
19C.3)
Chemical
20 (excluding 20C.2,
Kinetics
20E.6, 20F.2, 20G.3-5)
21A (excluding 21A.2), B
Molecular
(excluding 21B.2(b) and C
Reaction
(excluding
Dynamics
21C1(c),(e),21C.2(b) and
21C.3)
Adsorption and
22A.2, B (excluding
Heterogeneous
22B.1(b), 22B.2) and C
Catalysis
(excluding 22C.2)
Additional Materials:
Students are strongly encouraged to expand their knowledge of the course through the
use of other relevant books and supplementary material. I shall also post some hand-outs that
you will find useful, as well as solutions to midterm and the final exams on the course page of
the website. The site carries PP presentations as well.. Use these in conjunction with your
notes to unify your understanding of the discussed material.
Website:
In addition to the above, you will find your grades as well as announcements about the
course and the lab posted on the website at
www.onurhan.com
Please check it frequently.
Office Hours:
Students should feel free to discuss with me any question(s) related with the course
during office hours. My office is at SZ-44. You can call me on my office phone anytime
during working hours. If I happen to be out of office, I shall definitely return your calls at the
earliest opportunity.
Recitation Hours:
There will be an optional one-hour interactive recitation each week at 11.40 at SZ-08
on Fridays. Further examples related to lecture material will be discussed during these hours.
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Students are expected to share the interaction. Although attendance is not compulsory, you
are well advised to come to the recitations regularly.
Grading:
Your final letter grade will be based on a weighted average of the following
assessments.
Lab – 10% (Previous lab work may be accepted – see your lab instructor)
Quizzes – 10%
Midterms – 20% each
Final – 40%
Attendance:
You are expected to attend all class and extracurricular activities. This may affect
your final letter grade.
Admittance to the Final Exam:
In order to be admitted to the final exam, students must have obtained at
least a lab grade of 6.00 out of 10.
FAILURE TO DO THIS WILL LEAD TO A FINAL
LETTER GRADE OF NA. STUDENTS WITH NA ARE
NOT ALLOWED TO SIT FOR RESIT EXAMS.
Final touches:
Physical chemistry is a demanding and rewarding subject. The material is deep and
fundamental. Efforts put into mastering it are definitely rewarded with a sense of triumph. It
requires study and practice. The course, itself, is time-consuming.
Physical Chemistry is easy to learn and grasp if you work systematically and try to
find answers to as many questions as possible. Try to participate in discussions and feel free
to ask questions during lecture/recitation/office hours.
You can send e-mail messages to me if you wish to do so. Please use your METU
address for this, as you will not get any response to any message coming from other domains.
You might receive collective or individual e-mail messages from me regarding the
course. Please check your METU mailbox regularly.
Collaboration with other students is encouraged. DO NOT COPY someone else’s
work. Cheating, deception and plagiarism will not be tolerated and will lead to
disciplinary action.
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