Overview
In this unit you will develop advanced understanding of the core areas of physical chemistry, based around the themes of systems, states and processes. You will study mixtures and phases, spectroscopy, molecular motion and ionic conductance. This unit will extend your theoretical knowledge to complex mixtures encountered in environmental studies and vibrational spectroscopy, which is rapidly emerging as a core analytical tool for screening and quantification of species in a myriad of disciplines.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: CHEM19085 OR CHEM12077 OR CHEM12079 OR CHEM12080
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student emails
The textbook has errors
Review the current textbook and consider replacing with a new text from a different publisher.
Feedback from Reflective practice
Content is heavily based on traditional chemistry and could benefit from modern concepts like materials science
Review content to ensure that more materials chemistry-based concepts are included.
- Evaluate the properties of mixtures
- Predict the types of molecular motion in fluids and mixtures
- Design and conduct practical assessments of molar conductance and conductivity
- Assess the kinetics and determine the mass transfer process of various chemical reactions.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||
| 2 - Report - 50% | ||||
| 3 - Online Test - 30% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | ||||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | |||||||||||
| 2 - Report - 50% | |||||||||||
| 3 - Online Test - 30% | |||||||||||
Textbooks
Physical Chemistry: Thermodynamics, Statistical Thermodynamics, and Kinetics, Global Edition
- Authors: Thomas Engel and Philip Reid
- Pearson
- ISBN: 9781292347714
- Binding: eBook
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Endnote
- MS Office
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Vancouver
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.anastasi@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 10 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Fundamental Concepts of Thermodynamics
Chapter
1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 17 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Heat, Work, Internal Energy, and the First Law of Thermodynamics
Chapter
2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 24 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Internal Energy, Enthalpy and Thermochemistry
Chapter
3, 4
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 31 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Phase Diagrams and the Relative Stability of Solids, Liquids and
Gases
Chapter
8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 07 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Electrochemical Cells and Batteries
Chapter
11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 14 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 21 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Transport Phenomena
Chapter
17
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 28 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Elementary Chemical Kinetics
Chapter
18
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 05 May 2025Module/Topic
Complex Reaction Mechanisms
Chapter
19
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 12 May 2025Module/Topic
Ideal and Real Solutions
Chapter
9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Residential School
Week 10
Begin Date: 19 May 2025Module/Topic
Ideal and Real Solutions
Chapter
9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 26 May 2025Module/Topic
Electrolyte Solutions
Chapter
10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 02 Jun 2025Module/Topic
Revision
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 09 Jun 2025Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 16 Jun 2025Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
You will be provided with a scientific essay generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI). You are to apply your own essay-writing experience and physical chemistry knowledge to evaluate the essay, and grade it according to the criteria that will be provided.
Please refer to the Generative AI Permission document available on your Moodle site for guidelines on the acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in this unit.
Week 4 Friday (4 Apr 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
To be submitted via Moodle
Week 6 Friday (25 Apr 2025)
Returned with feedback via Moodle
Your evaluation of the essay will be graded according to the following:
Demonstration of knowledge of the subject (with examples) as applied towards your evaluation (50%)
Critical analysis of the writing (50%)
- Predict the types of molecular motion in fluids and mixtures
- Assess the kinetics and determine the mass transfer process of various chemical reactions.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
2 Report
The Assessment Task relates to the compulsory Residential School. At the Residential School, you may work in pairs or groups on experiments. For the Assessment Task, you will write up an individual scientific report of the experiments and activities undertaken during the Residential School.
Please refer to the Generative AI Permission document available on your Moodle site for guidelines on the acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in this unit.
Week 10 Friday (23 May 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 12 Friday (6 June 2025)
Returned with feedback via Moodle
Introduction and Background: 50%
- Very convincing justifications for the merits of the experiments
- Demonstration of theory to relate experiment to environmental analytical applications
Literature: 20%
- Scientific literature, externally cited in the correct format to justify claims and explanations
Organization: 30%
- Well-positioned to reinforce the argument(s)
- Data tabulated and graphs generated on computer.
- Correctly labelled figures and tables
Overall Presentation: 10%
- No typos, cohesive and very easy to follow arguments
- Word limit - 2000
Please refer to the Generative AI Permission document available on your Moodle site for guidelines on the acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in this unit.
- Evaluate the properties of mixtures
- Predict the types of molecular motion in fluids and mixtures
- Design and conduct practical assessments of molar conductance and conductivity
- Assess the kinetics and determine the mass transfer process of various chemical reactions.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Team Work
3 Online Test
The Online Test will be an assortment of problem-solving and extended-answer questions. The mark allocations per question will be provided on the Assessment with each question.
The Online Test will be available over a 24 hour period. You must open the test within the 24 hour period and complete it. Once opened, you will have 3 hours to answer the questions. You will only be able to access the test once within the 24 hour period. Please ensure that you have given yourself 3 hours to attempt all the questions and upload your answers and that you have internet connectivity for the duration of the Test.
Please refer to the Generative AI Permission document available on your Moodle site for guidelines on the acceptable and unacceptable use of generative AI in this unit.
Week 12 Friday (6 June 2025) 11:00 am AEST
The online test will open on Friday 6 June at 11:00 am AEST, and will close 24 hours later. Once you open the quiz, you will have 3 hours to complete.
Exam Week Friday (20 June 2025)
Marks will be released via Moodle at Certification of Grades.
Each question will have the allocated marks stated. You will be marked on the completeness and correctness of your answers.
- Evaluate the properties of mixtures
- Predict the types of molecular motion in fluids and mixtures
- Assess the kinetics and determine the mass transfer process of various chemical reactions.
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
