physical chemistry how hard???

[UCDavisdude]

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hey yall, i was owndering what your opinions were on physical chemistry. im taking it in the fall and was wondering...just how hard is it. compared to calc, physics or ochem or biochem.. etc. thaanks yall

 

[radioh3ad]

it is a combination of all of that. schrodinger's ... omfg will pwnz j00

 

[UCDavisdude]

it is a combination of all of that. schrodinger's ... omfg will pwnz j00

your scaring me now

 

[coco]

I actually didn't think it was that bad... It was def. more difficult that ochem (i heart ochem!) but less difficult than biochem, at least for me. I found it more enjoyable than memorizing a whole bunch of pathways. I guess it really depends on you though. Half my class had dropped by the 5th week or so. some people had been repeating it for the 3rd time. i didn't think it was that difficult! it has such a horrible reputation I was freaking out the first week. the book was written in some foreign language known as pchem language and i was having a rough time but i think it was all in my head. it's not an impossible class to pass... hundreds of people have passed it at one point, and if they can do it, you can too! hehe Just make sure you put in the required time and do practice problems to really understand the concepts. good luck!!

 

[dshnay]

your scaring me now

You're going to love Fisher and his pop quizes =)
Unfortuantley i'll be in the same boat

 

[UCDavisdude]

You're going to love Fisher and his pop quizes =)
Unfortuantley i'll be in the same boat

fisher?
my professors name is lamar. im guessing ur taking 107? im taking 110

 

[drbriggz]

Pchem is one of the most difficult classes I've taken, but definitely do-able. I'm not gonna lie and tell you "you'll be fine' like some did to me... just study more than you would for your other classes and you should be ok. Schroedinger is the ****... actually, a big steaming pile of it. I love ochem and wish the rest of my chem major was influenced (at least a little) by organic, but no. Definitely try to understand the lectures as best you can (notes don't really help if you can't understand the ****) and talk to your prof if you are confused. The texts on this subject explain topics, but don't help if you're lost. If you are good at math (that is, math w/ few to no numbers) and the basics of chem (like orbitals and that stuff) then you should do fine with ample studying. PM me if you have specific questions during the course; I'd be more than willing to try and lend a helping hand.

Hopefully your prof goes over the "cat in the box" problem; it pretty much sums up the craziness of Pchem!

 

[imsotired]

Pchem is one of the most difficult classes I've taken, but definitely do-able. I'm not gonna lie and tell you "you'll be fine' like some did to me... just study more than you would for your other classes and you should be ok. Schroedinger is the ****... actually, a big steaming pile of it. I love ochem and wish the rest of my chem major was influenced (at least a little) by organic, but no. Definitely try to understand the lectures as best you can (notes don't really help if you can't understand the ****) and talk to your prof if you are confused. The texts on this subject explain topics, but don't help if you're lost. If you are good at math (that is, math w/ few to no numbers) and the basics of chem (like orbitals and that stuff) then you should do fine with ample studying. PM me if you have specific questions during the course; I'd be more than willing to try and lend a helping hand.

Hopefully your prof goes over the "cat in the box" problem; it pretty much sums up the craziness of Pchem!

Hahahaha. I remember Schroedinger's cat. Our teacher told us that we had to know the answer to "Why a cat?" by the end of the semester because it would be on the final. Good old days.....

 

[Wiggy73]

I really liked p-chem (at least, the first semester - thermo was boring) and ended up doing research for my professor. Okay, so I'm a geek. 😎

So, why a cat? I got my A without ever learning that, and it's a shocking gap in my education. Was Ernest a not-so-closeted feline hater?

 

[ShyRem]

I LOVED pchem - took it the same time as ochem and advanced calc, and let me tell you - pchem was harder than ochem first semester, but easier than ochem second semester. EVERYTHING was easier than advanced calc (which ranked right up there with biochem - both sucked the life out of me).

If you've had more than the bare bones minimum amount of math required for the major, you'll be fine (complex variables helped a lot, abstract algebra - aka modern algebra - would have been nice to have had, linear was used briefly, I found dif eq to be worthless in any situation). If you've only had the basic calc series, you'll likely be working your a$$ off. Befriend a math major to help you out.

I loved pchem so much that if the med school thing doesn't work, I would seriously consider a PhD program in theoretical chemistry.

 

[jojo14]

I think pchem is a lot easier with a good math background (my opinion- this means up to calc III or linear algebra as stated earlier). There is this stereotype out there that the bio/organic people don't do as well in pchem/physics and vice versa- I definitely fit this stereotype! Thought pchem was pretty difficult but I did enjoy it because it introduces some crazy ideas. I worked pretty hard and got an A and a B, so it is doable (because I am pretty stupid when it comes to these things).

 

[Uegis]

I took p chem, but it was the 107A-B, and chem 108. Those classes were just an extension of topics I learned in the Chem 2 series. It's not tough or complicated, just required practice and some reading. I would take advantage of office hours since the class is big.

 

[UCDavisdude]

I took p chem, but it was the 107A-B, and chem 108. Those classes were just an extension of topics I learned in the Chem 2 series. It's not tough or complicated, just required practice and some reading. I would take advantage of office hours since the class is big.

im taking the 110 series because im a chem major. our classes are smaller. less than thirty students. just like my ochem series, 128. each quarter had 1 lecture only with about 30 student only.

 

[Uegis]

im taking the 110 series because im a chem major. our classes are smaller. less than thirty students. just like my ochem series, 128. each quarter had 1 lecture only with about 30 student only.

That's awesome. I was a biochem major, so i took the 107 series. With the small class, you can get to know your professor better and get a good letter, haha. Good luck with that class. I enjoyed pchem, and since you are a chem major, i'm sure you'll enjoy it too.

 

[UCDavisdude]

That's awesome. I was a biochem major, so i took the 107 series. With the small class, you can get to know your professor better and get a good letter, haha. Good luck with that class. I enjoyed pchem, and since you are a chem major, i'm sure you'll enjoy it too.

thanks alot, ill probably need the luck. hopefully its even more interesting than ochem. ochem was a blast.

 

[happydays]

I lOOOOOOved p-chem as well. The intro pchem was stupid and lame, but advanced pchem with quantum was awesome! I miss it so much that I actually want to attend the lecture again just for fun. I'm taking an (even more) advanced quantum class in the physics dept for thrills next term. Should be interesting.

Ok, I'm a chem major, so it goes without saying that I love chem. But I think anyone can master pchem.

Just remember your diff equations and linear algebra and the class should be a sinch. 🙂

 

[LJDHC05]

I lOOOOOOved p-chem

Wow...you are the first person I have EVER seen so fond of pchem...

It was the workload that killed me, not the exams or the material. We had these monster weekly problem sets that would take like 10-20 hours to do and our book wasn't very helpful. In the end though it was an enjoyable class and I never want to see it again...ever. If you can do a Partial Differential Equation, you're all set for a while. If not, you will know very soon.

 

[DrBowtie]

Can anyone tell me what the differences between P-chem in the Chem department and a particle physics or upper level Mechanics class in the Physics department?

Same content it seems.

 

[radioh3ad]

Can anyone tell me what the differences between P-chem in the Chem department and a particle physics or upper level Mechanics class in the Physics department?

Same content it seems.

i assume the physics department will have higher level math or more concentration on a section of the intro to p-chem course that non-phyiscs majors take.

like you guys might have a whole course dedicated to thermo or like you said particle physics. p-chem deals with all that.

 

[happydays]

Can anyone tell me what the differences between P-chem in the Chem department and a particle physics or upper level Mechanics class in the Physics department?

Same content it seems.

Chem focuses more on molecular applications, while physics focuses more on mechanical applications (or no applications).

I heard from a professor that some uber famous chem journal is considering changing "Chemistry" to "Molecular Science."

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To answer the OP's questions, no pchem is not the same, or even close, to those other classes. Biochem is mostly memorization (mechanisms, function, characterization, shape), more like ochem. Calc is all math, almost no applications. Physics emphasizes different topics then chem, so don't rely on that too much.

All in all, do the work, study, and you should be fine.