Physical Chemistry
Tutorials, Facts and Tips on Physical Chemistry and Information on the Latest Edition of ‘Physical Chemistry – Laidler, Meiser, Sanctuary’
Is Learning Chemistry difficult? Are you stressed about it?
Exam time is coming and we have 1,100 freshman chemists getting stressed and nervous, so this is for them.
You need “stress” in your life. No stress would mean you would stay in bed all day. Well I’m a chemistry prof and like physical chemistry, and not a psychologist, but over the years you get to know students worries.
There are two types of stress. There is bad stress (“I’m scared”, “I’m dumb” “It is too hard?”) and there is good stress (“Great day, gotta get up!”, “I really want to understand stuff” “I am looking forward to tonight, so got to look good.”)
Use the good stress.
Be motivated. If you hear a pop song and you like it, I bet you know it by heart after hearing it 2 or 3 times. You have to want to learn a subject. So do not let chemistry intimidate you, it is not that hard, but you must be organized.
At the beginning, PAY ATTENTION to the definitions. I shouted, sorry, but they are the key. Then you apply the definitions to problems, which is almost completely what is tested at the beginning.
Chemistry is fun too, but you have to make it fun. It answers lots of questions in daily life and makes you more aware of things from household chemicals, global warming and green house gases, to stuff on labels and side effects from pharma products.
Learn with your friends. Peer learning is great. Also you can talk to your cat and tell it how NaOH and HCl neutralize each other–that is articulation helps retaining material. Do the assigned problems only (not the others) and do them properly. If you have trouble, look at the answer in the solution manual, but then do it again without looking. You can preview the text material first, but please read it again after you have studied the material because then the text makes sense.
Keep up. Do not cram. Imagine you get a 4 month job and you say to your boss, “Hey pay me for the four months, but I will do all the work in the last 2 weeks!!” Keep up, understand the stuff as you go and then review before the exam.
When you get stuck, do not give up. You can bet it is that bit of knowledge that will be on the exam, so work on things you have trouble with, not on the things you already know.
Do not believe your teachers. Question everything they say. Then mull over the ideas. When things do not make sense to you, you have not understood them. All of science makes sense. It has to. It is Nature and Nature is, really, amazing: Nature created you, and you are pretty amazing!!
A student has responsibility to learn, that is your job and you can do it well.
Good luck,
Chemistry fun: I have some posts about chemistry, like why do chickens in the tropics have thin shells, and the thermodynamics of weight loss, and the Kinetics of sobering up.
original image from sun dazed on flickr
Entropy (Part 4): Randomness by rolling ten dice
In order to illustrate the concept of randomness as it pertains to entropy, in a series of entries different numbers of dice have been rolled.
Entropy 1: Randomness by rolling two dice
Entropy 2: Randomness by rolling three dice
Entropy 3: Randomness by rolling four dice
A die with six random states is used to illustrate a particle, so as the number of dice increases, so the number of states increases. For n dice there are 10n different ways they can be rolled. The roll that comes up most frequently is the one that has the most number of arrangements. As the number of dice increases, that random states becomes more and more likely as seen in the above entries for 2, 3 and 4 dice. Now we jump to 10.
For 10 dice there are over 60 million arrangements (610) and Figure 4 shows the outcomes for 30,000 rolls. This can be compared to Figures 1 to 3.
For ten dice, the chance of a number lower than 20 or greater than 60 is negligible. The chance of rolling 10 one’s is one over 60 million. The most random states are dominating. This is only for 10 dice. Next case will be Avogadro’s dice which have 61023 states, which is a lot more than 60 million.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
The interactive software used in this video is part of the General Chemistry Tutorial and General Physics Tutorial, from MCH Multimedia. These cover most of the topics found in AP (Advanced Programs in High School), and college level Chemistry and Physics courses.
Thermodynamics module
Chapters 1 to 6 of Physical Chemistry - Laidler, Meiser, Sanctuary
Includes multimedia that opens on relevant pages and allows the student to visualize many of the concepts by varying parameters and plotting different graphs. Things students often have difficulty with, such as isothermal, isobaric, isochoric and adiabatic process, are clearly visualized.
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Physical Chemistry textbook
by Laidler, Meiser, Sanctuary
This popular Physical Chemistry text book is now available in electronic format. We have preserved much of the material of the former hard copy editions, making changes to improve understanding of the concepts in addition to including some of the recent discoveries in physical chemistry. Many chapters have new sections and the coverage of several chapters has been greatly expanded.
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Organic Chemistry
College Level
“I know of no aid available in any format that will better enable students to learn the mechanistic aspects of organic chemistry.”
-Journal Of Chemical Education
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Introductory Chemistry
High School Level
“This program IS for the student or teacher who wants a fantastic tool to teach or learn difficult science concepts.”
- Educational Media Reviews Online
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Bryan Sanctuary, a Professor of Chemistry at McGill University (Montreal, Canada), is the primary author of this blog as well as president of MCH Multimedia. | www.mchmultimedia.com | and co- author of Physical Chemistry - Laidler, Meiser, Sanctuary
College Science Bundle: The three college level courses - General Chemistry, General Physics (calculus) and Organic chemistry, bundled together in one package.
High School Science Bundle: The two high school level courses- Introductory Chemistry and General Physics (non- calculus), bundled together into one package. This bundle is very popular with High School and Home School students.