ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 99 Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 24 Interactive Classroom: 24 Total: 150
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Physical Chemistry
Areas: Physical Chemistry
Center Faculty of Biology
Call: Second Semester
Teaching: Sin docencia (Extinguida)
Enrolment: No Matriculable | 1st year (Yes)
Students who have taken this course are expected to be able to:
• Determine the magnitudes used to describe the state of a thermodynamic system.
• Know and apply the laws of thermodynamics to biological systems and to chemical reactions.
• Understand and know how to describe the properties of multicomponent systems.
• Solve questions and problems involving chemical and phase equilibrium, ideal and non-ideal solutions.
• Define chemical kinetics and know the factors on which it depends.
• Know and apply the methods to measure reaction rates.
• Describe reaction mechanisms and catalysis.
LECTURES (face-to-face sessions):
• 1. The First Law of Thermodynamics (~5 h)
Basic concepts. Internal energy. Heat. Heat capacity. Work. The first law. Enthalpy. Heats of reaction and calorimetry. Enthalpy changes accompanying physical and chemical processes.
• 2. The Second and Third Laws of Thermodynamics (~4 h)
Spontaneous processes. Entropy. The second law. The third law: absolute entropies. The Gibbs energy.
• 3. Phase Equilibria and Solutions (~7 h)
Phase transitions. Phase diagrams of one-component systems. Ideal solutions: Raoult’s law. Ideal-dilute solutions: Henry’s law. Non ideal solutions. Colligative properties. Phase equilibria in binary mixtures.
• 4. The Principles of Chemical Equilibrium (~5 h)
The reaction Gibbs energy. The reaction quotient. Equilibrium state. The expression of the equilibrium constant. The response of equilibria to the conditions. Acid-base equilibria.
• 5. Chemical Kinetics (~6 h)
Reaction rate. Rate law. The determination of the rate law. Theoretical models of chemical kinetics. The temperature dependence of reaction rates. Reaction mechanisms. General principles of catalysis. Enzyme catalysis.
LABORATORY SESSIONS (face-to-face sessions):
1. Thermodynamics of phase equilibria: Solid-liquid phase diagram of a binary mixture (4 h).
2. Chemical equilibrium: Spectrophotometric determination of the equilibrium constant for the formation of a protein-ligand complex (4 h).
SEMINARS (face-to-face sessions):
Some of the exercises/questions proposed for each of the topics of the course will be solved and assessment activities will also be carried out (13 h).
TUTORIALS (face-to-face sessions):
Students will work on integrated exercises with the lecturer’s help and questions or difficulties related to the course contents will be discussed (3 h).
Core reading list:
• Atkins, P.; de Paula, J. (2010), Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences, 2nd ed., Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• Chang, R. (2005), Physical Chemistry for the Biosciences, Sausalito, California, University Science Books.
• Petrucci, R. H.; Herring, F. G.; Madura, J. D.; Bissonnette, C. (2017), Química General, 11ª ed., Madrid, Pearson Educación. The ebook is available online through the BUSC catalogue.
Extended reading list:
• Atkins, P.; de Paula, J. (2008), Química Física, 8ª ed., Buenos Aires, Editorial Médica Panamericana. The ebook is available online through the BUSC catalogue.
• Levine, I. N. (2014), Principios de Fisicoquímica, 6ª ed., México, McGraw Hill.
• Levine, I. N. (2004), Fisicoquímica, Volumen 1, 5ª ed., Madrid, McGraw Hill. The ebook is available online through the BUSC catalogue.
General and basic-subject skills:
CB1 – Students must demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge required in a specific field of study, which is initially developed on the basis of their general secondary education, and that they have both drawn on information in textbooks and on the very latest information resources to attain the level of competence required of them.
CB2 – Students should be able to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way, and must demonstrate their skills in sustaining arguments and solving problems within their field of study.
CB3 – Students must have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) to make judgments that include reflections on relevant issues of social, scientific or ethical nature.
CB4 – Students should be able to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both a specialized and a non-specialized audience.
CB5 – Students should have developed those learning skills that are needed to undertake further studies with a high level of autonomy.
CG1 – To know the concepts, methods and most important results characteristic of the different branches of biotechnology.
CG2 – To apply the theoretical/practical knowledge acquired to raise problems and look for their solutions in both academic and professional contexts.
CG3 – To be able to get and interpret information and relevant results and to reach conclusions in issues related to biotechnology.
CG4 – To be able to transmit information, by means of oral presentations and written reports, and to discuss ideas, problems and solutions related to biotechnology, in front of a general or specialized audience.
CG5 – To study and learn in a self-sufficient way, organizing time and resources, new knowledge and techniques in biotechnology and to acquire teamwork abilities.
Transversal skills:
CT1 – Global thinking and addressing problems form different perspectives.
CT3 – Capacity for organizing and planning their work.
CT6 – Critical reasoning.
Specific skills:
CE1 – To be able to carry out calculations, analysis of data, and interpretation of experimental results in the field of biotechnology.
CE4 – To have a global view of cell functioning, including its biomolecules, metabolism, gene expression, relation between cell compartments, and the mechanisms for cell signalling and communication.
CE7 – To have knowledge of material and energy balances and transfer, applied thermodynamics and separation operations, and to apply them to solve engineering problems.
A) Lectures, during which the lecturer covers the different aspects of the course (theory, problems and/or examples).
B) Interactive classes in small groups (seminars), in which problems and exercises are proposed and solved.
C) Laboratory sessions, in which the student, following the protocols set up for this purpose, operates the given lab equipment and solves practical questions.
D) Tutorials in very small group, intended to discuss questions or difficulties related to the course contents, to provide information or guide the student, and to know the progress towards acquiring the different skills.
All teaching activities will be held in a traditional in-person format. Attendance to seminars, tutorials and laboratory sessions is compulsory.
The student’s assessment will have two components, summative assessment (40 %) and a final exam (60%).
The summative assessment will be based on:
• Problem/question solving during the seminars (75 %).
• Active participation in tutorials (5 %)
• Laboratory sessions (20 %). The assessment will take into account the performance of the student in the lab together with a written exam covering the contents of the practical work.
In some of the seminars, assessment activities will be carried out. The marks obtained in these activities will be part of the student’s summative assessment. Non-attendance to any of these classes will lead to a zero mark in all the assessment activities carried out during that class.
Absence to the scheduled tutorials will lead to a zero mark in the corresponding component of the summative assessment.
Students must obtain a pass in the lab classes to achieve an overall pass grade in this course. To get a pass mark for the lab, a student must attend all the scheduled lab sessions and correctly carry out the proposed experimental work A student who misses a lab-session should contact the lecturer to re-schedule the practical. Non justified absences will result in a fail grade for the lab experiments.
In the second opportunity, the student will take a final exam and its mark will be added to that obtained in the continuous assessment activities carried out during the teaching period.
In cases of academic misconduct in work submitted for assessment, the guidelines established in the "Regulations for the assessment of student academic achievement and review of grades" will be followed.
A “non-attendance” grade will be issued to a student if he/she has not done any of the assessed activities planned for the course.
Exceptions for students retaking the course
Students who retake the course, but successfully completed the laboratory the year before, will be allowed to keep the lab grade for a maximum of two years. Therefore, they will not have to repeat the lab work. However, the marks obtained in all other assessable activities will not be retained.
All other students repeating the course will have to follow the same attendance and assessment rules as students taking the course for the first time.
The following skills will be assessed during the semester:
Seminars: CG1, CG2, CG5, CB1, CB2, CB5, CT1, CT6, CE1, CE4, CE7
Laboratory sessions: CB3, CB4, CG3, CG4, CT1, CT3, CE1, CE7
Tutorials: CG2, CG4, CG5, CB2, CB4, CB5, CT1, CT6, CE1, CE7
Final exam: CG1, CG2, CB1, CB2, CT1, CT6, CE1, CE7
In-class and laboratory work time
• Lectures (27 hours)
• Interactive Classes (Seminars) (13 hours)
• Interactive Laboratory Classes (8 hours)
• Tutorials (3 hours)
• Exam (3 hours)
• Total in-class and laboratory work time: 54 hours
Out-of-class work time
• Study of the course contents (54 hours)
• Problem solving (39 hours)
• Preparation for the lab sessions and data analysis (3 hours)
• Total out-of-class work time: 96 hours
• It is important to keep up to date in studying the course material.
• After reading a chapter, it is useful to write a summary of the important points, identifying the basic equations that should be remembered and making sure that you understand them and know when they apply.
• Working problems is essential to learning the course contents. It may be useful to follow the following steps: (1) List all the relevant information that is given. (2) List the quantities to be calculated. (3) Identify the equations that should be used to solve the problem and apply them correctly.
• The full instructions for an experiment, which are described in the lab manual, should be carefully read before coming to the laboratory.
A Virtual Classroom on the USC Virtual Campus will be available for this course.
The lecturer will attend to the students’ queries in person during the lecturer’s office hours posted at the beginning of the academic year.
“Contingency Plan”
Regardless of the scene, all teaching activities will take place at the times scheduled by the center.
Adjustments of the Teaching Methodology to Scenes 2 and 3
SCENE 2. Physical distance: lectures, seminars and tutorials will be face-to-face whenever lecture rooms allowing the required physical distance between students are available. Otherwise, they will be online and delivered synchronously via video conference using Microsoft Teams. Lectures may also be delivered via the virtual classroom on the USC Virtual Campus. In this case, students will have at their disposal a video (slides with audio) for each of the lectures. Students will attend face to face lab sessions. The length of each experiment will be reduced to 50% and the student will analyze the experimental data as a post-lab activity following the instructor’s directions and will submit a lab report.
SCENE 3. Closed facilities: All teaching activities will be delivered online. Lectures will take place synchronously via video conference (Microsoft Teams) or by providing the student with videos recorded by the lecturer (slides with audio) via the virtual classroom on the USC Virtual Campus. Seminars and tutorials will be delivered via video conference using Microsoft Teams. Lab sessions will be held online and, in substitution for the laboratory work, the student will carry out the analysis of the experimental data provided by the lecturer and will submit a lab report.
In Scenes 2 and 3, students’ queries will be attended to online (Microsoft Teams) during the lecturer’s office hours.
Adjustments of the Assessment System to Scenes 2 and 3
The assessment system will be the same regardless of the scene in which all the teaching activities are carried out, varying only the face-to-face or online nature of the assessment activities.
SCENE 2. Physical distance: Summative assessment activities may be face-to-face or online and the final exam will be face-to-face, both on the first and second opportunities. The student must submit the lab report before the deadline to get a pass mark for the lab.
SCENE 3. Closed facilities: All assessment activities will be online. The student must submit the lab report before the deadline to get a pass mark for the lab. The assessment of the laboratory sessions will take into account both the substitute online lab assignment (lab report) and an online exam covering the contents of the practical work.
In cases of academic misconduct in work submitted for assessment, the guidelines established in the "Regulations for the assessment of student academic achievement and review of grades" will be followed.
Ana Maria Rios Rodriguez
- Department
- Physical Chemistry
- Area
- Physical Chemistry
- Phone
- 881814210
- anamaria.rios [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
| Monday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00-12:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom 04: James Watson and Francis Crick |
| Tuesday | |||
| 11:00-12:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom 04: James Watson and Francis Crick |
| Wednesday | |||
| 12:00-13:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Classroom 04: James Watson and Francis Crick |
| 05.20.2022 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 04: James Watson and Francis Crick |
| 07.08.2022 16:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 03. Carl Linnaeus |