Lectures: MWF 10-11, 120 Latimer

Instructors:

Professor Daniel M. Neumark
B64 Hildebrand Hall/2-3502
Office Hours: Mon., Wed. 1-2 pm, or by appointment
Email: dan@radon.cchem.berkeley.edu

Professor Haw Yang
D46 Hildebrand Hall/3-7344
Office Hours: Tue., Thu. 1-2 pm, or by appointment
Email: hawyang@berkeley.edu

GSI’s:

Scott Goncher
Office Hours: Wed. 4-5 pm; Fri. 11-12 pm – Bixby Commons
Email: gonch@radon.cchem.berkeley.edu

Kateri DuBay
Office Hours: Mon. 11-12 pm; Fri. 4-5 pm – Bixby Commons
Email: dubaykf@uclink.berkeley.edu

Matthew Prantil
Office Hours: Mon. 4-5 pm; Wed. 9-10 am – Bixby Commons
Email: prantil@berkeley.edu

Text:

Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach
D. A. McQuarrie and J. D. Simon
First Edition, 1997 University Science Books

Topics:

For the first 10 weeks through November 5 we will team-teach the basics of physical chemistry and quantum mechanics. Then the course will split into two separate sections for the last 5 weeks. The first section taught by Prof. Neumark will focus on time-dependent quantum mechanics and spectroscopy of diatomic polyatomic molecules. The second section taught by Prof. Yang will focus on the spectroscopy of larger molecules in the condensed phase of relevance to Chemical Biology.

Week 1: Chapter 1 — Introduction to Quantum Mechanics. Motivation for QM, quantization, deBroglie wavelength, Bohr atom, Heisenberg Uncertainty principle. (HY)

Week 2: Chapter 2 & 3 — Time Independent Schrödinger Equation. Particle in a box solution, introduction to eigenvalue problems and quantization. (HY)

Week 3: Chapter 4 — Postulates of Quantum Mechanics. Wave functions, operators, properties of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. (DN)

Week 4 & 5: Chapter 5 — Harmonic Oscillator, rigid rotor, spectroscopy. (DN)

Week 6: Chapter 6 — The Hydrogen Atom. Spherical solution to the Schrödinger equation, spherical harmonics, hydrogen atom wavefunctions and energy levels, Rotational spectroscopy, angular momentum. (HY)

Week 7: Chapter 7 — Approximation Methods. Variational theory, non-degenerate perturbation theory to second order, degenerate perturbation theory. (HY)

Week 8: Chapter 8 — Multielectron Atoms. Effects of spin, Coulomb and exchange integrals, Slater determinants, atomic term symbols, Hund’s rules. (HY)

Week 9: Chapter 9 — The Chemical Bond. Born Oppenheimer approximation, H2+, molecular orbital theory, term symbols for diatomics. (DN)

Week 10: Chapter 10 — Bonding in Polyatomic molecules. Hybrid orbitals, Hückel theory. (DN)

Week 11-15:

Section 1 (meet at 120 Latimer) — Quantum mechanics and spectroscopy in physical chemistry. This section of the course will focus on understanding state-of-the-art advances in the field of physical chemistry. There will be a strong emphasis on the time-dependent formulation of quantum mechanics, including wavepacket dynamics, time-dependent perturbation theory, and the interaction of molecules with laser radiation. Applications of this formalism to the electronic, vibrational, and rotational spectroscopy of diatomic and polyatomic molecules will be discussed. The quantum mechanics of laser operation and applications of lasers to physical chemistry will be presented. The course material will be derived primarily from Chapters 11-15 in McQuarrie and Simon, supplemented by additional material from the scientific literature.

Section 2 (meet at 9 Lewis) — Quantum mechanics and spectroscopy for biophysical chemistry and structural biology. This section will focus on the use of quantum mechanics to understand the bonding and spectroscopy of large and/or biological molecules in the second phase. Topics will include: time-dependent perturbation theory, interaction of radiation with matter, electronic and vibrational spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules, normal modes of polyatomic molecules, molecular orbital theory, bonding in biological molecules, electronic absorption, emission, fluorescence, circular dichroism, NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and other structural techniques, molecular modeling and molecular dynamics and mechanics.

Grading:

Midterm 1 (October 1st) 100 pts 20%
Midterm 2 (November 5th) 100 pts 20%
Final 200 pts 40%
Homework 100 pts 20%

No makeup midterms will be given. Do not schedule conflicts.
The Final Exam will be in Exam Group 1, on Tuesday, Dec 14th, 8-11 am.

Homework:

Homework assignments will be given out weekly and are due the following Monday. To find the course web site go to www.cchem.berkeley.edu/chem120a_nhy (although because you are here right now, I doubt this information is really that helpful)
Course assignments and solutions will all be posted at this site. Copies of the solutions will also be placed on reserve in the library.

No late homework will be accepted.

Prerequisites: Math 53 and 54: multivariable calculus and linear algebra and differential equations; Physics 7B or 8B.