2Ph
Physical Chemistry
Energy, equilibrium, rates and the quantum mechanics of atoms and molecules.
My level
2.1 Gases and states of matter
- The ideal gasGCSEA-LevelUndergradThe gas laws, molar volume and the ideal gas equation.
- Kinetic theory of gasesA-LevelUndergradMolecular speeds, the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution and collision frequency.
- Real gasesUndergradDeviations from ideality, the compression factor, van der Waals and virial equations.
- Intermolecular forcesGCSEA-LevelUndergradDispersion, dipole-dipole and hydrogen bonding, and model potentials between molecules.
2.2 Thermodynamics
- Enthalpy, calorimetry and Hess's lawGCSEA-LevelUndergradExothermic and endothermic change, bond enthalpies, calorimetry and Hess cycles.
- The first lawA-LevelUndergradInternal energy, work and heat, state functions and heat capacities.
- Entropy and the second and third lawsA-LevelUndergradSpontaneity, entropy changes for physical and chemical processes, and the statistical meaning of entropy.
- Gibbs energy and spontaneityA-LevelUndergradCombining enthalpy and entropy to predict feasibility, and the link to equilibrium constants.
- Chemical potential and activityUndergradPhDPartial molar quantities, chemical potential, activity and the Gibbs-Duhem equation.
- Phase equilibriaA-LevelUndergradPhase diagrams, the phase rule, and Clapeyron and Clausius-Clapeyron equations.
- Mixtures and colligative propertiesUndergradIdeal and real solutions, Raoult and Henry laws, and colligative properties.
- Chemical equilibriumGCSEA-LevelUndergradDynamic equilibrium, equilibrium constants, Le Chatelier's principle and temperature dependence.
- Acid-base equilibria and pHGCSEA-LevelUndergradpH, strong and weak acids, buffers, titration curves and indicators.
2.3 Electrochemistry
- Electrochemical cellsGCSEA-LevelUndergradElectrolysis, galvanic cells, standard electrode potentials and cell EMF.
- The Nernst equationA-LevelUndergradHow cell potential depends on concentration and temperature.
- Electrolyte solutionsUndergradIonic strength, activity coefficients and conductivity of ions in solution.
- Electrode kineticsUndergradPhDOverpotential, exchange current density and the Butler-Volmer and Tafel equations.
2.4 Chemical kinetics
- Rates and rate lawsGCSEA-LevelUndergradMeasuring rates, factors that affect them, orders of reaction and rate constants.
- Integrated rate laws and half-livesA-LevelUndergradConcentration-time relationships for zero-, first- and second-order reactions.
- Temperature dependence and the Arrhenius equationA-LevelUndergradActivation energy, the pre-exponential factor and Maxwell-Boltzmann reasoning about rate.
- Reaction mechanisms and the steady stateA-LevelUndergradElementary steps, rate-determining steps, pre-equilibria and the steady-state approximation.
- Collision and transition-state theoryUndergradPhDMolecular pictures of rate constants: collision theory, activated complexes and the Eyring equation.
- Photochemical kineticsUndergradPhDQuantum yields, excited-state decay and quenching.
- Electron transfer and Marcus theoryUndergradPhDOuter-sphere electron transfer, reorganisation energy and the inverted region.
2.5 Quantum chemistry
- Atoms, isotopes and relative massGCSEA-LevelProtons, neutrons and electrons, isotopes, and relative atomic mass from mass spectra.
- Wave-particle duality and uncertaintyA-LevelUndergradPhotons, the photoelectric effect, de Broglie wavelengths and the uncertainty principle.
- The Schrödinger equationUndergradPhDWavefunctions, operators, the Born interpretation and expectation values.
- Particle in a box, oscillator and rotorUndergradPhDExactly solvable models of translation, vibration and rotation.
- The hydrogen atom and atomic spectraA-LevelUndergradEnergy levels, orbitals and quantum numbers of one-electron atoms; line spectra.
- Many-electron atomsA-LevelUndergradOrbital approximation, shielding, the Pauli principle, Hund's rules and term symbols.
- Molecular orbital theoryA-LevelUndergradLCAO, bonding and antibonding orbitals, diatomic MO diagrams and bond order.
- Hückel theoryUndergradPhDπ-electron energies of conjugated and aromatic systems from the secular determinant.
- Computational chemistryUndergradPhDVariational principle, Hartree-Fock, density functional theory and basis sets.
2.6 Spectroscopy
- Light and the electromagnetic spectrumGCSEA-LevelUndergradWavelength, frequency, wavenumber and photon energy across the spectrum.
- Absorbance and the Beer-Lambert lawA-LevelUndergradTransmittance, absorbance and quantitative absorption spectroscopy.
- Rotational spectroscopyUndergradMoments of inertia, rotational constants and microwave spectra.
- Vibrational spectroscopy: IR and RamanA-LevelUndergradBond vibrations, selection rules, anharmonicity and normal modes.
- Electronic spectroscopyUndergradPhDUV-vis transitions, selection rules, the Franck-Condon principle and vibronic structure.
- Photophysics: fluorescence and phosphorescenceUndergradPhDJablonski diagrams, intersystem crossing, lifetimes and emission quantum yields.
- Magnetic resonance: NMR and EPR principlesUndergradPhDNuclear and electron spins in fields, resonance conditions, shielding and relaxation.
2.7 Statistical thermodynamics
- The Boltzmann distributionA-LevelUndergradPopulations of energy levels and why temperature controls them.
- Partition functionsUndergradPhDMolecular partition functions and how they generate thermodynamic properties.
- Equilibrium constants from partition functionsPhDCalculating K from molecular properties.
2.8 Solids, surfaces and transport
- Crystals and diffractionA-LevelUndergradLattices, unit cells, Miller indices and X-ray diffraction.
- Diffusion, viscosity and conductivityUndergradPhDFick's laws, Stokes-Einstein and ion mobility.
- Macromolecules and polymersUndergradPhDMolar mass averages, polymer conformations and characterisation.