Taking Physical Chemistry?

[packofneurons]

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The school I go has mostly the normal track for pre-meds except when it comes to chemistry. Since my university doesn't offer Gen Chem II, it is required to take p. chem in this sequence: Gen Chem I, O Chem I + II, p. chem.
I have heard many rumors that it is extremely hard... and physics definitely isn't my strongest subject.

That being said, can anyone give me feedback on if they took p. chem? Or should I just take Gen Chem II at some local 4 year university back home?

 

[randombetch]

I say, go for it! That's basically what I'm doing.

 

[silverhorse84]

I only took pchem because I had to to graduate. I worked really hard (and had a good friend/tutor) in order to not allow it to lower my GPA. I'm not that great at physics either and many of the concepts were a little abstract for me. There were definitely parts that were interesting and easier to understand, and if you're only taking the first part, the easier parts were in the first 1/3 of the course (I went to a quarter school, so it was broken up into 3 classes instead of the 2 that semester schools have).
For me: I would take general chem II at another university. Now, it seems a little weird that your school doesn't offer a full year of general chemistry. Maybe you should look at the syllabus for pchem, because maybe its not the same as pchem at schools that do have a full year of gen chem.

 

[capricia]

Do you like chemistry? Do you really, really like chemistry? Even most chemists don't like physical chemistry. It is a very difficult class, and at my school definitely is a class where you feel good to get a C.

 

[packofneurons]

I only took pchem because I had to to graduate. I worked really hard (and had a good friend/tutor) in order to not allow it to lower my GPA. I'm not that great at physics either and many of the concepts were a little abstract for me. There were definitely parts that were interesting and easier to understand, and if you're only taking the first part, the easier parts were in the first 1/3 of the course (I went to a quarter school, so it was broken up into 3 classes instead of the 2 that semester schools have).
For me: I would take general chem II at another university. Now, it seems a little weird that your school doesn't offer a full year of general chemistry. Maybe you should look at the syllabus for pchem, because maybe its not the same as pchem at schools that do have a full year of gen chem.

Thanks for the advice! You might be right that it could be somewhat of a general chem II. Here is the description directly from the website. Since I'm not taking calculus-based p. chem, I suppose it is a little different:

Students will be introduced to the physical principles underlying some of the major topics of inorganic and analytical chemistry. These include the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of matter; phase transitions and solutions; electrochemistry and the principles of oxidation-reduction reactions; chemical kinetics and the study of chemical orbitals and chemical bonding; transition metal chemistry and coordination complexes. These topics will be treated from the viewpoint of the experimental scientist, with an emphasis on the application of physical chemical principles to chemical behavior in a broad spectrum of settings.



My friends have said it was the hardest class for them yet!

Do you like chemistry? Do you really, really like chemistry? Even most chemists don't like physical chemistry. It is a very difficult class, and at my school definitely is a class where you feel good to get a C.

I'm not a fan of Chem.. but I really liked organic chem! 🙂

 

[Ativanigans]

are you sure your Gen chem I isnt just considered two gen chems at another school? You should consult your premed advisor to double check

 

[cardinal2010]

Just took pchem and thought it wasn't too bad. Very boring, but not particularly difficult.

Basically was just a more advanced course in kinetics, thermodynamics, and chemical/physical equilibria. At my school, Pchem is a pre-req for biochem, and gen chem is only 1-2 quarters dependig on track, which some med schools view as insufficient as its not a "full year" even though its equivalent in my view.

 

[Dude Man Bro Man]

Thanks for the advice! You might be right that it could be somewhat of a general chem II. Here is the description directly from the website. Since I'm not taking calculus-based p. chem, I suppose it is a little different:

Students will be introduced to the physical principles underlying some of the major topics of inorganic and analytical chemistry. These include the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of matter; phase transitions and solutions; electrochemistry and the principles of oxidation-reduction reactions; chemical kinetics and the study of chemical orbitals and chemical bonding; transition metal chemistry and coordination complexes. These topics will be treated from the viewpoint of the experimental scientist, with an emphasis on the application of physical chemical principles to chemical behavior in a broad spectrum of settings.



My friends have said it was the hardest class for them yet!



I'm not a fan of Chem.. but I really liked organic chem! 🙂

This sounds a lot like the 2nd semester of Gen Chem at my school. True p-chem is more about quantum-level stuff, whereas 2nd semester Gen Chem is about redox, transition states, etc. with only an intro to bonding and orbitals.

 

[silverhorse84]

Thanks for the advice! You might be right that it could be somewhat of a general chem II. Here is the description directly from the website. Since I'm not taking calculus-based p. chem, I suppose it is a little different:

Students will be introduced to the physical principles underlying some of the major topics of inorganic and analytical chemistry. These include the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of matter; phase transitions and solutions; electrochemistry and the principles of oxidation-reduction reactions; chemical kinetics and the study of chemical orbitals and chemical bonding; transition metal chemistry and coordination complexes. These topics will be treated from the viewpoint of the experimental scientist, with an emphasis on the application of physical chemical principles to chemical behavior in a broad spectrum of settings.



My friends have said it was the hardest class for them yet!

yeah, that sounds similar to the second half of gen chem. And some people do struggle with some of those (especially phase transitions and electrochemistry). I would try to get a hold of one of the professors for it; they should have a good idea of where it fits in (better than any student, since a professor would know what they're teaching and what gen chem II is at other schools, therefore they can compare the two).

 

[Iso4ane]

Thanks for the advice! You might be right that it could be somewhat of a general chem II. Here is the description directly from the website. Since I'm not taking calculus-based p. chem, I suppose it is a little different:

Students will be introduced to the physical principles underlying some of the major topics of inorganic and analytical chemistry. These include the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of matter; phase transitions and solutions; electrochemistry and the principles of oxidation-reduction reactions; chemical kinetics and the study of chemical orbitals and chemical bonding; transition metal chemistry and coordination complexes. These topics will be treated from the viewpoint of the experimental scientist, with an emphasis on the application of physical chemical principles to chemical behavior in a broad spectrum of settings.



My friends have said it was the hardest class for them yet!



I'm not a fan of Chem.. but I really liked organic chem! 🙂

NOt to bag on your friends, maybe your friends are that good at Chem. I found P. Chem fairly meh.

 

[FloatOn]

Thanks for the advice! You might be right that it could be somewhat of a general chem II. Here is the description directly from the website. Since I'm not taking calculus-based p. chem, I suppose it is a little different:

Students will be introduced to the physical principles underlying some of the major topics of inorganic and analytical chemistry. These include the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of matter; phase transitions and solutions; electrochemistry and the principles of oxidation-reduction reactions; chemical kinetics and the study of chemical orbitals and chemical bonding; transition metal chemistry and coordination complexes. These topics will be treated from the viewpoint of the experimental scientist, with an emphasis on the application of physical chemical principles to chemical behavior in a broad spectrum of settings.



My friends have said it was the hardest class for them yet!



I'm not a fan of Chem.. but I really liked organic chem! 🙂

Your school's description of PChem seems to cover what my school covers in four separate semesters: 2 semesters of PChem, 1 inorganic, and 1 analytical chemistry. So I'm thinking that your PChem won't be too bad, since it will probably brush the surface on many topics...which kind of sounds like Gen Chem 2 to me. I wonder why your school calls it "physical chemistry," since those words scare the bejesus out of most people.

 

[Omar Gooding]

I took PChem last year and honestly did not find it to be very difficult. In fact, I would describe it as Gen Chem I on steroids. If you did well in Gen Chem I, then you should be fine for PChem, especially since yours is not Calculus based (which I find a little odd).

 

[boaz]

Thanks for the advice! You might be right that it could be somewhat of a general chem II. Here is the description directly from the website. Since I'm not taking calculus-based p. chem, I suppose it is a little different:

Students will be introduced to the physical principles underlying some of the major topics of inorganic and analytical chemistry. These include the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of matter; phase transitions and solutions; electrochemistry and the principles of oxidation-reduction reactions; chemical kinetics and the study of chemical orbitals and chemical bonding; transition metal chemistry and coordination complexes. These topics will be treated from the viewpoint of the experimental scientist, with an emphasis on the application of physical chemical principles to chemical behavior in a broad spectrum of settings.



My friends have said it was the hardest class for them yet!



I'm not a fan of Chem.. but I really liked organic chem! 🙂

That's not really pchem. Just gen chem II.

 

[group_theory]

how can you have pchem without calculus (especially differential calculus) and linear algebra?

My guess is that your school is calling this "physical chemistry" when in reality it's just another gen chem class. But talk to your professor.

Some schools call their gen chem class "inorganic chem" to differentiate from "organic chem" but it's nowhere close to being a real inorganic chem course that chem majors have to take.

 

[amberisma]

I took PChem last year and honestly did not find it to be very difficult. In fact, I would describe it as Gen Chem I on steroids. If you did well in Gen Chem I, then you should be fine for PChem, especially since yours is not Calculus based (which I find a little odd).

It depends on the teacher. I am taking that class right now, and the teacher is absolutely TERRIBLE. He doesn't know how to teach, can't even solve his own problems or the book problems, takes a month to grade our tests, doesn't reply to emails, and then makes you feel ******ed when you go into his office at 8am for office hours to ask a question.

So, our whole class is really struggling because we're not being taught anything at all yet still expected to take exams over this crap.

Pretty sure I got a 40% on my test last week. Oh yeah, he also sat up at the front of the room and laughed at us the whole time because he know we were having trouble with the test. What an a**hole.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

how can you have pchem without calculus (especially differential calculus) and linear algebra?

My guess is that your school is calling this "physical chemistry" when in reality it's just another gen chem class. But talk to your professor.

Some schools call their gen chem class "inorganic chem" to differentiate from "organic chem" but it's nowhere close to being a real inorganic chem course that chem majors have to take.

Yea, I agree with this. OP, I'm pretty sure that this course is not actual PChem. It appears to be just GenChemII and they're calling it PChem for whatever reason.

 

[Tatastrophy]

I took advanced inorganic to replace Gen Chem II
maybe you can do that?

oh and this is a "REAL inorganic course" that our BS majors have to take. 😉

 

[voitokas]

It depends on the teacher. I am taking that class right now, and the teacher is absolutely TERRIBLE. He doesn't know how to teach, can't even solve his own problems or the book problems, takes a month to grade our tests, doesn't reply to emails, and then makes you feel ******ed when you go into his office at 8am for office hours to ask a question.

So, our whole class is really struggling because we're not being taught anything at all yet still expected to take exams over this crap.

Pretty sure I got a 40% on my test last week. Oh yeah, he also sat up at the front of the room and laughed at us the whole time because he know we were having trouble with the test. What an a**hole.

Hahahaha! Do you go to Case Western? They have the worst chemistry professors EVER! Those classes are only hard because some of the teachers in that malignant department are so incredibly incompetent (though apparently well-regarded as researchers). It's weird because the Biology and especially Biochemistry departments are so excellent...

 

[voitokas]

Yea, I agree with this. OP, I'm pretty sure that this course is not actual PChem. It appears to be just GenChemII and they're calling it PChem for whatever reason.

OP, I agree too. I did not find Pchem any more difficult than Gen Chem II, so I wouldn't be too worried about it (but I kind of like calculus and physics, so take that with a grain of salt). This class sounds more like Gen Chem II than Pchem...

 

[packofneurons]

Thanks for all your responses! That is really weird that it's called physical chemistry. I just got an e-mail back from the professor and she said it was a course that helps with the MCAT - so it has to be Gen Chem II pretty much...

I'm just confused my school calls it physical chemistry! 😕

 

[Omar Gooding]

how can you have pchem without calculus (especially differential calculus) and linear algebra?

My guess is that your school is calling this "physical chemistry" when in reality it's just another gen chem class. But talk to your professor.

Some schools call their gen chem class "inorganic chem" to differentiate from "organic chem" but it's nowhere close to being a real inorganic chem course that chem majors have to take.

I agree. At my school, we are required to take a course of linear algebra and differential equations before we're able to enroll in PChem.

Also, don't listen to the person above who said to take inorganic in its place. I've found that inorganic is more difficult than pchem. I'm sure your class is simply gen chem II with pchem as its name though.

 

[UnfeatyOblation]

The school I go has mostly the normal track for pre-meds except when it comes to chemistry. Since my university doesn't offer Gen Chem II, it is required to take p. chem in this sequence: Gen Chem I, O Chem I + II, p. chem.
I have heard many rumors that it is extremely hard... and physics definitely isn't my strongest subject.

That being said, can anyone give me feedback on if they took p. chem? Or should I just take Gen Chem II at some local 4 year university back home?

Yeah, I had to take a year of pchem. The average score on our midterms were like 40% and nobody in the class ever knew what was going on. Its a totally different beast than gen chem.