CHEM520 - SPRING 2008
Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics
SYLLABUS
Last change: January 15th 2008
Course Instructor
Dr. Cecilia Clementi / Anderson Bio Lab. 304 / x3485
cecilia <at> rice <dot> edu
TA
Jorge Fallas [jfallas <at> rice <dot> edu]
Lectures
Tuesday/Thursday 4:00pm-5:15pm
Room 305 Anderson Biological Lab.
Office Hours
Jorge: Mon 10am-noon Dr.Clementi: by appointment
General Information
The course starts with a brief review of classical thermodynamics, then the
basic theory and formalism of statistical mechanics are introduced. Examples and
applications are discussed. Students are encouraged to suggest topics they would like
to see discussed in class (for instance an application of statistical mechanics into
a particular research problem).
Pre-requisites
Calculus
Undergraduate thermodynamics
Textbooks
Most of the material will be from the following books:
* Heat and Thermodynamics by Mark W. Zemansky, Richard H. Dittman (McGraw-Hill).
* Statistical Mechanics by Donald A. McQuarrie (University Science Books).
* Statistical Mechanics by R. K. Pathria (Elsevier).
Course Requirements
Your final grade will be based on the following work:
Weekly homework assignments
Two take-home midterm tests
One final project
Grading
I use an absolute grade scale (no curving). The table below summarizes my grading scale.
90%
≥
A-/A/A+
80%
--
90%
B-/B/B+
70%
--
80%
C-/C/C+
60%
--
70%
D-/D/D+
<
60%
F
Weekly Schedule
Please refer to the class website.
Special Needs
Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments or
accommodations is requested to speak with me during the first two weeks of
class.
All discussions will be confidential. Students with disabilities should
also contact Disability Support Services in the Ley Student Center.
