This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Undergraduate Handbook 2016-2017 (archived)
Module CHEM4411: CHEMICAL PHYSICS 4
Department: Chemistry
CHEM4411: CHEMICAL PHYSICS 4
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied | 4 | 20 | Available in 2016/2017 | Durham |
Tied To
Pre-requisites
- Chemical Physics 3 (CHEM3411), Molecules and their Interactions (CHEM3137), AND Computational Chemical Physics (CHEM3151).
Corequisites
Excluded Combinations
- Core Chemistry 4 (CHEM4311) AND Contemporary Chemistry (CHEM4321).
Aims
- To build on material taught at level three and provide students with an advanced overview of more specialised areas.
Content
- Photochemistry.
- Molecular reaction dynamics.
- Polymers and Functional Surfaces: Advanced polymer synthesis; Functional Surfaces; Macromolecular Physical Chemistry.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- appreciate the role of lasers in photochemistry;
- explain how differential cross sections are related to rate constants and how they can be measured;
- deduce the qualitative outcome of a reaction from the key features of the potential energy surface and vice versa;
- calculate and explain how reaction exothermicity is proportioned amongst the internal states of reaction products;
- explain the link between the detailed gas phase properties and averaged observables in gas and solution phase reactions;
- describe the individual steps in charge transfer and chemical reactions and describe how they can be observed;
- be able to calculate electron transfer rate constants from experimental data.
- distinguish between major synthetic routes to polymer molecules and describe the characteristic features of each;
- understand surface phenomena and their translation to applications;
- understand principles of ligand field theory and electronic structure of transition metals, and the relationship to reactivity;
- describe the liquid crystalline meso phases and their physical properties and how these can be exploited in applications;
- understand the relationship between polymer structure, dynamics and material properties;
- understand how interactions between polymers affect their phase behaviour in blends.
Subject-specific Skills
Key Skills
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Facts and new concepts are introduced in the lecture courses.
- Students' knowledge is tested by examination.
- Undergraduates are aided in the learning process by workshops where they attempt sample problems and office hours where staff are available to answer any queries about the lecture courses.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 36 | 3 per Week | 1 Hour | 36 | |
| Seminars | 2 | All in week 22 | 2 Hours | 4 | Yes |
| Preparation and Reading | 160 | ||||
| Total | 200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 100% | examination 1 | 1.5 hours | 50% | |
| examination 2 | 1.5 hours | 50% |
Formative Assessment
Workshop problems.
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.