CHEM13083 - Physical Chemistry

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit you will develop advanced understanding of the core areas of physical chemistry, based around the themes of systems, states and processes. You will study mixtures and phases, spectroscopy, molecular motion and ionic conductance. This unit will extend your theoretical knowledge to complex mixtures encountered in environmental studies and vibrational spectroscopy, which is rapidly emerging as a core analytical tool for screening and quantification of species in a myriad of disciplines.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite:

CHEM19085 OR CHEM12077 OR CHEM12079 OR CHEM12080

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Mixed Mode

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 20%
2. Report 50%
3. Online Test 30%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 33.33% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 37.5% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student emails
Feedback
The textbook has errors
Recommendation
Review the current textbook and consider replacing with a new text from a different publisher.
Action Taken
The textbook was reviewed.
Source: Reflective practice
Feedback
Content is heavily based on traditional chemistry and could benefit from modern concepts like materials science
Recommendation
Review content to ensure that more materials chemistry-based concepts are included.
Action Taken
Content updates were not made in 2025 and should be considered for future.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
No prior unit prepared students for the high level of maths, and some examinable topics were not covered before assessment deadlines.
Recommendation
Ensure students are prepared for the unit’s mathematical requirements and that weekly content, resources, and assessments are sequenced logically.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Lecture videos and PowerPoints were outdated, and lab manual instructions were unclear or incorrect.
Recommendation
Update and improve teaching materials (videos, PowerPoints, lab manuals) for accuracy, currency, clarity, and audio/visual quality.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Assessment 2 feedback was not returned before Assessment 3 was due.
Recommendation
Align assessment timing with content delivery and return feedback before subsequent assessments.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE and staff reflections
Feedback
The AI-critique assignment lacked a clear rubric and relied on outdated instructions.
Recommendation
Provide clear, detailed instructions and marking rubrics; review the design of less well-received tasks.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Evaluate the properties of mixtures
  2. Predict the types of molecular motion in fluids and mixtures
  3. Design and conduct practical assessments of molar conductance and conductivity
  4. Assess the kinetics and determine the mass transfer process of various chemical reactions.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Report • • • •
3 - Online Test • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
2 - Problem Solving • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment • • •
2 - Report • • • •
3 - Online Test • •