This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Undergraduate Handbook 2006-2007 (archived)

Module CHEM3041: MOLECULES AND THEIR INTERACTIONS

Department: Chemistry

CHEM3041: MOLECULES AND THEIR INTERACTIONS

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Open	3	20	Available in 2006/2007	None.	Durham

Pre-requisites

Core Chemistry 2 (CHEM2012) AND Properties of Molecules (CHEM2041).

Corequisites

Core Chemistry 3 (CHEM3012) OR, for students following the MSci in Chemistry and Mathematics or Chemistry and Physics (FGC0), Chemical Physics 3 (CHEM3411).

Excluded Combinations

None

Aims

To advance the knowledge of colloids and interfaces, intermolecular interactions and electronic and vibrational spectroscopy.

Content

Intermolecular forces: electrostatic; induction; dispertion; repulsion.
Experimental methods.
Molecular excited states: electronic spectroscopy, fluorescence and phosphorescence.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

Explain the nature and quantitative aspects of intermolecular forces and apply this knowledge;
describe the theory behind rotation-vibration spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules, its applications and the experimental techniques involved;
describe the principles behind electronic spectroscopy and the relaxation of excited states, and display a knowledge of the range of applications available within each technique.

Subject-specific Skills

Perform and discuss advanced laboratory experiments.

Key Skills

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

Lectures are used to convey concepts and are examined by written papers. This is thought to be the best method to assess the knowledge of the students.
Workshops are larger groups of students where problems are considered and common difficulties shared. This ensures that students have understood the work and can apply it to real life situations. These are formatively assessed.
Laboratory classes teach students techniques in various aspects of physical chemistry. They are continuously assessed so that the student can learn from one session to the next.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total Hours
Lectures	21	1 per week	1 Hour	21
Practicals	20	4 per week in Term 1 or 2	3 Hours	60
Other (workshops)	3	1 per Term	1.5 Hours	4.50
Preparation and Reading				114.50
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component	Component Weighting	Element	Length/Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Examination	65%	Written examination	Two hours	100%
Laboratory Work	35%	results of laboratory work		100%

Formative Assessment

Set work for workshops.

Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.