Abstracts physical chemistry

To master one scientific topic after another, Haber skipped dinners and studied until 2 a.m. With overflowing enthusiasm, he ignored the conventional boundaries between abstract and practical science between chemistry, physics, and engineering and between mechanics, technicians, and scientists. He solved industrial problems posed by the iron plates used to print banknotes and by Karlsruhe s corroded water and gas mains, and then made fundamental discoveries in electrochemistry. Conversely, he used the abstract theory of gas reactions in flames to explain to manufacturers why some reactions continue spontaneously while others stop. Soon he had contributed basic scientific insights to almost every area of physical chemistry. 

In its disciplinary development at the end of the nineteenth century, physical chemistry served as a bridge, not a wedge, between the mathematical abstractions of theoretical physics and the metaphorical descriptions of organic chemistry. Not only through novel theories but also through control of new instrumentation, much of it electrical and optical in nature, physical chemistry was to revitalize and transform techniques in the chemical laboratory and theories of chemical explanation. Notably for our concerns, speculations about reaction mechanisms in hydrocarbon chemistry were to begin to proliferate in the early 1900s. 

Approximately 1995 monoterpenoid-related papers were retrieved from the page-by-page search of 135 titles published since compiling the previous Report (Vol. 7, p. 3) to August 1977 and available to early November 1977 additional papers were retrieved via Current Abstracts of Chemistry and Index Chemicus, and relevant sections of Current Contents, Physical and Chemical Sciences, and Chemical Abstracts. 1210 of these papers provided the core upon which this Report is based. 

Student learning can be enhanced by several factors, including a demonstration of relevance to current research and improved methods of communicating the abstract concepts in physical chemistry. For instance, numerous examples in physical chemistry come from outdated experiments. Michelle Francl reports on her project to overcome this drawback by teaching students the fundamentals of physical chemistry using recent articles from the literature. 

Next, I shall examine the challenges that confront us as we try to teach physical chemistry. Figure la summarizes what I think are the main difficulties there is the mathematical aspect of our subject, the abstract character of many of its central concepts, and the overall complexity of physical chemistry. No difficulty is an island, and 1 like to think that the triangle summarizes the interplay between difficulties rather than their isolation. 

Physical chemistry and physics may be different fields but they have some important features in common they are abstract they both use mathematics they overlap in some content areas (such as thermodynamics and quantum mechanics). To a large extent, science and physics educators started research on basic physics concepts that also are used in physical chemistry. Consequently, physical chemistry education research owns much to the work that has been done in physics education and has much in common with it. For example, they share some of the research methodology and an interest in studying the relationship between the physical description of phenomena and its mathematics description in the learner s mind. 

Looking at thermodynamics from the physical chemistry perspective, students at the high school and college levels experience difficulties with fundamental concepts in chemical equilibrium and thermodynamics (61). Thomas and Schwenz (62) found that physical chemistry students still have difficulties with the above concepts, which may continue through their professional careers. Both students and lecturers in the SOzbilir study (52) (see above) assumed the abstract nature of thermodynamics concepts as a cause of learning difficulties. 

As instructors of physical chemistry, we all too often hear comments like the one in the title of this chapter. The prevailing attitude with which many students approach physical chemistry is one of fear for their academic survival. The concerns they have are not so much with the chemistry but with the math. For some students, the physical chemistry course is the first time they must authentically apply advanced mathematical concepts to solve real problems. Instructors can facilitate this transformation with exercises that demand critical thinking skills, but developing such materials requires extensive time and talent. The Virtual Substance molecular dynamics program is a powerful tool in our efforts as educators to help students successfully transition from abstract knowledge of mathematics to its application to scientific concepts. 

Lastly, the ability to model systems from the real world of chemistry means that atomistic simulations are a perfect complement to the abstract models (harmonic oscillator, hydrogen atom, ideal gas, etc.) that are the traditional focus of physical chemistry textbooks. Students are left with a more realistic idea, and greater appreciation, of science. 

References to the literature. References to the original data are given in the text, as Washburn.2 The exact citation can then be found in the list of references, which are given in alphabetical (and numerical) order, as Washburn,2 Bur. Standards J. Research 10, 525 (1933), where the numerals indicate, respectively, the volume, page, and year. The abbreviations used for the titles of the periodicals are those adopted as standard by the International Union of Chemistry (See, for example, Chemical Abstracts List of Periodicals Abstracted ). When the citation is that of a book, it is written as Washburn, Introduction to the Principles of Physical Chemistry, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York (1921), where the title is in quotation marks, and then in order follow the name of the publisher, the place of publication, and, in parentheses, the year of publication. If the book citation includes volume and page numbers, these follow immediately after the title. 

T. M. Dunn, Abstracts, Division of Physical Chemistry, 149th Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Detroit, Michigan, 4-9. 

L. M. Pritykin, The origin and development of the physical chemistry of polymers , Voprosy Istorii Estestvozn Tekhn [USSR], 1991, 1, 15-25 [in Russian] (English abstract by J. H. South). 

Iu. Ia. Fialkov, The development of physical chemistry for nonaqueous solutions periodization and fundamental trends , Voprosy Istorii Estestvoznaniia Tekh. [USSR], 1986, 4, 86-92 [in Russian, English abstract by A. J. Evans],... 

Physical chemistry is known for its heavy use of mathematics, which can makes the subject seem abstract. Therefore, it is no surprise that mathematics ability has been found to be a good predictor of student success in physical chemistry (House 1995 Bers 1997 Nicoll and Francisco 2001). The emphasis on mathematics, combined with a traditional focus on the early development of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, leads to the impression that physical chemistry is a theoretical science, with only tenuous connections to real science. However, making connections to concepts or applications that are known to or relevant to students can be difficult or impossible if attempted through a hands-on approach. Equipment costs and availability, time limitations, and expertise can all hinder such efforts. There again, a technology-based approach can provide a solution. 

S.M. Hasany and D.R. Stranks, Abstracts of the 4th National Conference of Pure and Applied Physical Chemistry, Bucharest, Roumania, 1974. 

L. M. Sachs, M. Geller, and Joyce J. Kaufman, presented before the Division of Physical Chemistry, 153rd American Chemical Society National Meeting, Miami Beach, Florida, April 1967, Abstract 153. 

Woerdman, W. deGroot, J. J., American Chemical Society Division of Physical Chemistry, Abstracts of the 181st National Meeting 1981, paper lAA. 

The first is that wherever possible the mathematics is presented through the use of actual chemical examples. I firmly believe that this is much more valuable than using abstract problems. The end of chapter questions all contain traditional problems using x and y, but then go on to explore chemistry using the wealth of symbols to be found in physical chemistry textbooks. 

Rowland F.S. and Molina M.J., Stratospheric chemistry of chlorine compounds. Abstracts of 169th Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Philadelphia, Penna., April 6-11, Physical Chemistry Abstract No. 70 (1975b). 

Department of Physical Chemistry, Comenius University, Bratislava, SLOVAKIA Abstract... 

Since translational diffusion process is sensitive to the microscopic structure in the solution, understanding the diffusion provides an important insight into the structure as well as the intermolecular interaction. Therefore, dynamics of molecules in solution have been one of the main topics in physical chemistry for a long time. 1 Recently we have studied the diffusion process of transient radicals in solution by the TG method aiming to understand the microscopic structure around the chemically active molecules. This kind of study will be also important in a view of chemical reaction because movement of radicals plays an essential role in the reactions. Here we present anomalous diffusion of the radicals created by the photoinduced hydrogen abstraction reaction. The origin of the anomality is discussed based on the measurments of the solvent, solute size, and temperature dependences. 

For those whose interests lie far away from the physical chemistry of zeolites, here are some of the hard facts (in addition to those highlighted in the Abstract) that Rabo et al. revealed in their 1966... 

Department of Physical Chemistry, Eniricerche SpA, 20097 San Donato (MI), Italy ABSTRACT... 

It can be seen that the impact factors for the journals considered in Table 4 range between 6.903 for the Journal of the American Chemical Society and 1.007 for the Journal of Molecular Structure THEOCHEM. The journal with the highest number of publications containing the string MP2 in the title and/or keywords and/or abstract, the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, has an impact factor of 2.639. The journal with the highest impact factor, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, contains 3.2% of the papers satisfying our selection criterion in 2004. 

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