Thermodynamics Premaster Course

Course manual 2022/2023

Course content

The goal of this course is to give students with a non-academic background a solid basis in thermodynamics and kinetics.

Topics discussed are:

• the behavior of perfect and real gases, on a macroscopic and a microscopic level
• thermodynamic state functions such as energy, enthalpy and entropy, and energy exchange as heat or work
• the relation between free energy and equilibrium
• electrochemistry and redox reactions
• reaction kinetics. 

Study materials

Literature

• Atkins & De Paula, Elements of Physical Chemistry, Oxford University Press

Software

• SOWISO

Other

• Handouts and exercises (digital)

Objectives

• Explain how various state functions (pressure, temperature, volumes..) can be used to describe changes in physical and chemical phenomena
• Use microscopic molecular properties (e.g. mass and velocity of molecules) to explain macroscopic thermodynamic phenomena (e.g. pressure, phase transitions)
• Calculate the heat and work involved in physical and chemical processes (e.g. pressure-volume work)
• Predict the direction of chemical reactions using Gibbs energy and equilibrium constant calculations
• Use thermodynamic parameters (e.g. pressure and temperature) to calculate reaction rates
• Explain how thermodynamics functions can be used to describe redox reactions
• Calculate redox equilibria on the bases of electrochemical potentials
• Illustrate how chemical kinetics concepts can be used to express how rapidly reactants are consumed and products formed
• Calculate reaction orders and rate constants from experimental data (e.g. concentration substrate, temperature) and use these to predict the course of reactions

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar
• Laptop seminar

Learning activities

Attendance

Additional requirements for this course:

tutorials are compulsory, if more than 3 out of 14 are missed you will be excluded from resit

Assessment

• for the exam, the grade is based 80% on the exam test and 20% from the weekly assignment
• exam and resit are open book
• the assignment are mandatory, all the assignment need to be done in order to mature point (20% of the grade) for the final grade
• the resit is graded 100% on the retake exam (no contribution from the weekly assignment)

Inspection of assessed work

Students can contact the teacher via email and fix an appointment to inspect and discuss their exam

Assignments

During the course exercises will be done to practice the subject discussed during the lesson in the form of tutorials (group work) and personal weekly assignment

20% of the final grade will be given through weekly assignments

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. A. Gargano