Professor: Kirk Peterson

Office: WSU-TC/Rm. 207N (372-7282)

Office Hours: by appointment

Email: kirk.peterson@pnl.gov

Home page: http://www.tricity.wsu.edu/~kipeters

Text: I.N. Levine, Physical Chemistry (4th edition)

1. Elements of quantum mechanics

Chapter 18

Origins of quantum mechanics; wave-particle duality; Heisenberg uncertainty principle; Schrödinger's wave eqn.; particle in a box; formal quantum mechanics: operators, eigenfunctions, commutators, expectation values; vibrational motion (the harmonic oscillator); rotational motion (rigid rotor)

2. Atomic structure

Chapter 19

One-electron atoms: the hydrogen atom Hamiltonian and wave functions, ; angular momentum; many-electron atoms: ground state of helium, spin and the Pauli principle, perturbation theory, variation method, excited states of helium; the Aufbau principle and atomic term symbols

3. Molecular structure and spectroscopy

Chapters 20-21 (partial)

The H₂and H₂⁺ molecules: Born-Oppenheimer approx., molecular orbital method; homonuclear and heteronuclear diatomics; molecular term symbols; interaction of matter with radiation; rotations and vibrations of diatomic molecules; potential functions; electronic spectra of diatomics

4. Fundamentals of thermodynamics

Chapter 1

5. The 1st law of thermodynamics

Chapter 2

P-V work, heat, the 1st law, enthalpy, state functions

6. The 2nd law of thermodynamics

Chapter 3

The 2nd law, heat engines and entropy, entropy changes, reversibility/irreversibility

7. Material equilibrium

Chapter 4

Gibbs and Helmholtz functions, changes of state, chemical potentials and phase equilibria

8. Standard states and thermodynamic cycles (time allowing)

Chapter 5 (partial)

standard enthalpies, entropies, and Gibbs free energies

Notes:

1. Three one hour exams will be given and will consist mostly of problems with partial credit given. Hour exam dates will be announced.

2. Homework will be assigned semi-weekly (except the weeks of the hour exams) and will be due either Tuesday or Thursday of the following week.

3. Solutions to the homework and hour exams will be put on reserve in the library.

In addition to the textbook, you may find the following texts useful:

I.N. Levine, Quantum Chemistry, (Prentice-Hall, 1991).

M. Karplus and R.N. Porter, Atoms & Molecules, (Benjamin, 1970).

P.W Atkins, Physical Chemistry, (Freeman, 1995).

H.B. Callen, Thermodynamics, (Wiley, 1960).