Module CHEM3041: MOLECULES AND THEIR INTERACTIONS

Department: Chemistry

CHEM3041: MOLECULES AND THEIR INTERACTIONS

Prerequisites

• 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 Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To advance the knowledge of intermolecular interactions and electronic and vibrational spectroscopy.

Content

• Intermolecular forces: electrostatic; induction; dispersion; repulsion.
• Experimental methods.
• Molecular excited states: electronic spectroscopy, fluorescence and phosphorescence.
• Practical work.

Learning Outcomes

• Explain the nature of intermolecular forces and their consequences for the properties of gas and liquids;
• use the equations for intermolecular forces in quantitative calculations;
• 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.

• Perform and discuss advanced laboratory experiments.

• Problem solving, developed through small group teaching and study;
• information retrieval and scientific writing, exercised through assignments for workshops and accounts of laboratory work.

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

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Set work for workshops.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University