Physical Chemistry I

Catalog description

This course provides fundamental concepts, and organizing principles, applied in all aspects of chemistry and related fields. A rigorous and detailed explanation of central, unifying concepts in thermodynamics and chemical kinetics will be developed. Mathematical models that provide quantitative predictions will be described for thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. These contain the mathematical underpinnings to concepts applied in analytical, inorganic, organic, and biochemistry courses, as well as more advanced topics in chemistry. The course will cover: gases, temperature, energy and the First Law of Thermodynamics, entropy and the Second and Third laws, Helmholtz and Gibbs free energies, criteria for equilibrium and spontaneity, chemical equilibrium, phase equilibrium, electrochemistry, kinetic molecular theory, chemical kinetics, and irreversible processes in solution.