Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 3 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session
Textbook
McQuarrie, Donald A. Quantum Chemistry. 2nd ed. Sausalito, CA: University Science Books, 2007. ISBN: 9781891389504.
Other Books
Atkins, P., and J. de Paula. Physical Chemistry. 7th ed. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 2001. ISBN: 9780716735397.
Silbey, R., R. Alberty, and M. Bawendi. Physical Chemistry. 4th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. ISBN: 9780471215042.
Karplus, M., and R. Porter. Atoms and Molecules: An Introduction for Students of Physical Chemistry. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1970. ISBN: 9780805352184.
Exams
There will be three one-hour examinations during the term and a regularly scheduled final examination. An information sheet summarizing details of the examinations will be distributed prior to each examination. All of the exams will be closed-notes and closed-book. Tutorial reviews will be held prior to each exam.
Homework
Problems will be assigned every week. Late problem sets are not accepted. Homework will be graded by the recitation instructor and returned in recitation.
Grading
A total of 600 points is possible in the course as follows:
| ACTIVITIES | POINTS |
|---|---|
| Homework | 100 |
| Exams | 300 (100 each) |
| Final exam | 200 |
| Total | 600 |
Tutorial Reviews
These will be held prior to each exam.
Calendar
The calendar below provided information on the course’s lecture (L) and exam (E) sessions.
| SES # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | Historical development | |
| L2 | The atom of Niels Bohr | |
| L3 | Wave nature, de Broglie wavelength | |
| L4 | Uncertainty principle | |
| L5 | Stationary waves, Schrödinger equation | Problem set 1 due |
| L6 | Particle in a box | |
| L7 | Probabilities, expectation values, operators I | |
| L8 | Probabilities, expectation values, operators II | Problem set 2 due |
| L9 | Postulates of quantum mechanics I | |
| L10 | Postulates of quantum mechanics II | Problem set 3 due |
| L11 | Classic harmonic oscillator | |
| L12 | Quantum harmonic oscillator | |
| E1 | First hour exam | |
| L13 | Tunneling | |
| L14 | Three dimensional systems | Problem set 4 due |
| L15 | Rigid rotor | |
| L16 | Spherical harmonics | |
| L17 | Angular momenta | |
| L18 | Hydrogen atom I | Problem set 5 due |
| L19 | Hydrogen atom II | |
| L20 | Variation principle | |
| L21 | Helium atom | |
| E2 | Second hour exam | |
| L22 | Hartree-Fock, SCF | |
| L23 | Electron spin | Problem set 6 due |
| L24 | Pauli principle | |
| L25 | Born-Oppenheimer approximation | |
| L26 | Molecular orbital theory, H2+ | |
| L27 | LCAO-MO theory | Problem set 7 due |
| E3 | Third hour exam | |
| L28 | Qualitative molecular orbital theory | |
| L29 | Modern electronic structure theory | |
| L30 | Interaction of light with matter | |
| L31 | Vibrational spectra | Problem set 8 due |
| L32 | NMR spectroscopy I | |
| L33 | NMR spectroscopy II | |
| L34 | Perturbation theory | Problem set 9 due |
| L35 | Vibrational anharmonicity | |
| L36 | Crystal field states | |
| E4 | Final exam |
