Physical Chemistry Vs. Biological Physical Chemistry

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Hello guys,

I noticed that in my junior year I am required to take either physical chem 1 or biological physical chem, and I am wondering what the difference is between the two in terms of content/difficulty. Also, I have taken up to Calc 2 and will be taking Calc 3 (next semester, in my fall semester of sophomore year), I am just wondering what other math courses will be useful for physical chem (linear algebra, differential equations, partial differential equations, real analysis etc.?)

Thanks for the input!

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The best option would be to email/speak to the two professors and ask for a syllabus to see which material is covered, or ask students who have taken the course before.

At my university, we have PChem I/II, the first of which was primarily gas laws (ideal gas law, virial series, Van der Waals/Redlich-Kwong equations, with all of the different expansion/compression conditions like adiabatic, constant tempt, constant pressure, etc.), and the second semester is Michaelis Menten enzyme kinetics, and predicting the location of a particle (particle in a box, on a box, etc.).

My guess would be enzyme kinetics for the biological physical chem, and a lot of gas laws for physical chem I, but again, it likely varies by school. Just nab a syllabus/talk to the professors/students who have taken the courses before. Difficulty also varies by school; both pchem I/II were of similar difficulty here. Calc I was sufficient for both courses at my uni, but higher-level courses would allow you to understand the material with more depth.
 
I would assume the biological p chem is basically dealing with the p-chem (macro, subatomic, stat-mech, etc) in biological contexts. I could see either being useful depending on if you are more chemically inclined and how mathematical of an approach your specific prof takes. From what @Verity is describing sounds like my ChE thermo class + biochem II - pretty interesting mix.

In a basic p-chem course the only math you'd really need is algebra, basic differential and integral calc, stats, ODEs. If you go on and take a quantum course, PDEs, linear algebra and integral calc may come in handy. I honestly can't remember what I gained from my real analysis course (except a math minor) which I took ~8 yrs ago.
 
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The best option would be to email/speak to the two professors and ask for a syllabus to see which material is covered, or ask students who have taken the course before.

At my university, we have PChem I/II, the first of which was primarily gas laws (ideal gas law, virial series, Van der Waals/Redlich-Kwong equations, with all of the different expansion/compression conditions like adiabatic, constant tempt, constant pressure, etc.), and the second semester is Michaelis Menten enzyme kinetics, and predicting the location of a particle (particle in a box, on a box, etc.).

My guess would be enzyme kinetics for the biological physical chem, and a lot of gas laws for physical chem I, but again, it likely varies by school. Just nab a syllabus/talk to the professors/students who have taken the courses before. Difficulty also varies by school; both pchem I/II were of similar difficulty here. Calc I was sufficient for both courses at my uni, but higher-level courses would allow you to understand the material with more depth.
The best option would be to email/speak to the two professors and ask for a syllabus to see which material is covered, or ask students who have taken the course before.

At my university, we have PChem I/II, the first of which was primarily gas laws (ideal gas law, virial series, Van der Waals/Redlich-Kwong equations, with all of the different expansion/compression conditions like adiabatic, constant tempt, constant pressure, etc.), and the second semester is Michaelis Menten enzyme kinetics, and predicting the location of a particle (particle in a box, on a box, etc.).

My guess would be enzyme kinetics for the biological physical chem, and a lot of gas laws for physical chem I, but again, it likely varies by school. Just nab a syllabus/talk to the professors/students who have taken the courses before. Difficulty also varies by school; both pchem I/II were of similar difficulty here. Calc I was sufficient for both courses at my uni, but higher-level courses would allow you to understand the material with more depth.

Thank you for the reply! I am going to speak to my counsellor tomorrow and get in contact with the profs (it is still early, but it's better to know now and to prepare accordingly)
 
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I would assume the biological p chem is basically dealing with the p-chem (macro, subatomic, stat-mech, etc) in biological contexts. I could see either being useful depending on if you are more chemically inclined and how mathematical of an approach your specific prof takes. From what @Verity is describing sounds like my ChE thermo class + biochem II - pretty interesting mix.

In a basic p-chem course the only math you'd really need is algebra, basic differential and integral calc, stats, ODEs. If you go on and take a quantum course, PDEs, linear algebra and integral calc may come in handy. I honestly can't remember what I gained from my real analysis course (except a math minor) which I took ~8 yrs ago.
Thank you for the reply! and yeah.. I think PChem 2 is the one that deals with quantum and I do not think that I need to take PChem 2 (but who knows, if I end up like PChem 1 I might take it as an elective!)
 
FWIW, I took regular PChem last semester and it was, by far, the hardest class I have ever taken. We jumped straight into all kinds of crazy quantum mechanics immediately and it was thoroughly unpleasant. That being said, after taking that class I really felt like I understood chemistry on an entirely new level. I am a TA for organic chemistry and now when my students ask me what an atomic orbital is, I am far better equipped to answer them.

Also note that my professor was a certifiably insane person who would take off 5% from your entire grade if he caught you sleeping in class.
 
Also note that my professor was a certifiably insane person who would take off 5% from your entire grade if he caught you sleeping in class.

WHAT???? :scared:
 
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FWIW, I took regular PChem last semester and it was, by far, the hardest class I have ever taken. We jumped straight into all kinds of crazy quantum mechanics immediately and it was thoroughly unpleasant. That being said, after taking that class I really felt like I understood chemistry on an entirely new level. I am a TA for organic chemistry and now when my students ask me what an atomic orbital is, I am far better equipped to answer them.

Also note that my professor was a certifiably insane person who would take off 5% from your entire grade if he caught you sleeping in class.
:O :O
 
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What P-Chem are you people taking? our p-chems deal with quantum mechanics, at least in p-chem 1.
 
Biology pchem in my school is focused on more in-depth general chemistry ideas in a biological context. The class was taught using calculus but the tests themselves don't have any calculus.
 
Currently in a P Biochem class. Lots of calculus required in and out of tests.
I took differential equations/linear algebra and I've been doing fine in the class.
 
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