20289 Laboratory: Physical Chemistry
Credits: 2 intermediate credits in Chemistry or in Physics
Prerequisites: Thermodynamics; Chemical Kinetics; Differential and Integral Calculus I (or Infinitesimal Calculus I); General Chemistry1 (or General Chemistry I + General Chemistry II, for Biology Students; or General Chemistry I + General Chemistry II)
Required: Advanced Computer Applications
Development team: Itzhak Dotan, Shmuel Weiss, Inbal Tuvi-Arad, Igor Rahinov, Varda Ittah
In this course, students perform experiments in physical chemistry: kinetics, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, vacuum techniques and spectroscopy. Students are acquainted with laboratory methods, principles of data acquisition and analysis, and learn how to handle modern laboratory equipment such as UV-Vis spectrophotometers, polarimeters, conductometers, calorimeters and vacuum hardware.
The course includes a 2-hour lecture on statistics and data analysis, and five 6-hour laboratory sessions conducted at the Open University laboratory. One or two experiments are conducted at each session. In preparation for each experiment, students are required to complete a preparatory report. In the laboratory, students are required to pass a quiz testing their understanding of the laboratory session-related topics, and to submit a detailed lab report after each session.
Topics (topics may change): The isotopic effect on the rate of chemical reaction; The Langmuir isotherm; Inversion of sucrose; Dependence of EMF on temperature – reaction enthalpy; Electrochemistry; Physical characteristics of liquids; Calorimetry; Vacuum techniques.
1or General Chemistry (20477 or 20487), which is no longer offered.