Syllabus for Chemistry 331, Spring 2009
Course Title: Chem 33100 Physical Chemistry Lab I
Instructor:
Prof. Zhonghua Yu,
Tel: 650-8361.
Office: MR-1114,
Email: zyu@sci.ccny.cuny.edu
Course Description: Vapor pressures; phase diagram; combustion calorimetry; liquid
viscosities; electrochemical determination of thermodynamic quantities, and other experiments
based on topics covered in Chem. 33000.
Co-requisite: Chem 33000.
Hours/Credits:
Textbook:
Prerequisite: Chem 24300.
5 hours per week, 2 credits
No textbook is required. However, the following books are good references for
this course.
1. D.P. Shoemaker, C.W. Garland, and J.W. Nibler, Experiments in Physical
Chemistry, 6th Ed. McGraw Hill. 1996.
2. A.M. Halpern and G. C. McBane, Experimental Physical Chemistry, 3rd Ed.
Freeman. 2006.
3. H.W. Salzberg, J.I. Morrow, S.R. Cohen, and M.E. Green, Physical Chemistry
Laboratory: Principles and Experiments. MacMillan. 1978.
Course objectives:
This course is intended to demonstrate the established principles of physical chemistry and
provide experience with the kind of experimental measurements that can yield new results. The
experiments in this course are developed to demonstrate principles including thermochemistry,
phase equilibrium, electrochemistry, molecular spectroscopy, transport properties and chemical
kinetics.
After completing this course, students should be able to:
1. Understand the principle and performance of various temperature, pressure, voltage, and
vacuum measurement instruments.
2. Write laboratory reports, perform error propagation analysis, and properly report the final
results.
3. Apply thermodynamics to analyze the combustion reaction carried out at a constant
volume for determining the standard enthalpy of the reaction.
4. Describe the principles of the electrochemical cell, design an electro-chemical cell to
experimentally measure the enthalpy and entropy change for a chemical reaction.
5. Understand the principle and use of phase diagrams, and the experimental methods to
collect data for constructing them.
6. Understand principles and use of UV-Vis absorption spectrometer.
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7. Design experiments to determine the order of a reaction, its rate constant, and activation
energy.
8. Work as part of a team in performing experiments.
9. Access and utilize chemical information technology for proper experimental design and
interpretation.
Lecture:
Lab:
Friday, 12:30-1:20pm, Room MR-417A
Friday, 1:30-5:20pm, Room MR-1020
Lab Assistant:
Ms. Cristina Veresmortean, MR-1019. Tel: 650-8384
Teaching Assistant: TBA.
Office Hours:
Thursday 2:30-4:00 pm or by appointments (Prof. Yu)
Experiments to be covered:
A: Error Analysis (1-week)
B: Thermochemistry

Oxygen Bomb Calorimetry (2-week)
C: Phase Equilibrium

Vapor Pressure of a Pure Liquid (1-week)

Liquid-Vapor Phase Diagram of a Binary Mixture (2-week)
D: Electrochemistry

Temperature Dependence of EMF (1-week)
E: Transport Properties and Chemical Kinetics

Kinetics of H2O2 Decomposition (2-week)

Viscosity of Liquids (1-week)

Kinetics of Reaction of Cr(VI) by Glutathione (2-week)
F: Demo: Single Molecule Imaging and Spectroscopy (1-week)
Lab & Report
Before each lab you will probably need to spend 30 to 60 minutes preparing for each
experiment. This entails reading the lab manual and handouts, and reviewing key background
information so you have a good idea what you will be measuring.
After you finish the experiments, your collected data will have to be checked by the TA
before you leave. Lab reports are due one week after the scheduled lab day for the experiment.
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There is a 4-point penalty for each day that a report is late. A lab report will not be accepted
if it is late for more than two weeks.
Your lab report should include the following: 1) Title page; 2) Abstract; 3) Introduction,
including summary of theory; 4) Brief Experimental Procedure; 5) Data, Graphs, and Results
with proper significant figures; 6) Discussion and Conclusion; 7) References. Refer to the
handout for more detail.
Grading
Each lab report counts 100 points. The total score for 7 lab reports is 700 points. Your
attendance and lab performance together count 200 points. Your final grade for this course is
based on the total points as the following:
800-900
600-800
< 600
A
B
C
Schedule
Group A-B
Group C-D
Jan. 30
Error Analysis
Error Analysis
Feb. 6
#1. Viscosity of Liquids
#1. Viscosity of Liquids
Feb. 13
Feb. 20
#2. Oxygen Bomb
#2 Oxygen Bomb
#2. Oxygen Bomb
#2. Oxygen Bomb
Feb. 27
Mar. 6
#4. Liquid-Vapor Phase Diagram
#4. Liquid-Vapor Phase Diagram
#3. Vapor Pressure of a Pure Liquid
#5. Temperature Dependence of EMF
Mar. 13
Mar. 20
#3. Vapor Pressure of a Pure Liquid
#5. Temperature Dependence of EMF
#4 Liquid-Vapor Phase Diagram
#4 Liquid-Vapor Phase Diagram
Mar. 27
Apr. 3
#7. Kinetics of H2O2 Decomposition
#7. Kinetics of H2O2 Decomposition
#6. Kinetics of Reaction of Cr(VI)
#6. Kinetics of Reaction of Cr(VI)
Apr. 8-17
Spring Break
Apr. 24
May 1
#6. Kinetics of Reaction of Cr(VI)
#6 Kinetics of Reaction of Cr(VI)
#7. Kinetics of H2O2 Decomposition
#7. Kinetics of H2O2 Decomposition
May 8
Make-up
Make-up
May 15
Demo: Single Molecule Imaging
Demo: Single Molecule Imaging
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