Physical Chemistry Thermodynamics, Structure, and Change – Peter Atkins, Julio de Paula – 10th Edition

Table of Contents:

It occupies fourteen pages. Here is a succinct overview:

Chemistry is the science of matter and the changes it can

undergo. Physical chemistry is the branch of chemistry that

establishes and develops the principles of the subject in terms

of the underlying concepts of physics and the language of

mathematics. It provides the basis for developing new spectroscopic

techniques and their interpretation, for understanding

the structures of molecules and the details of their electron

distributions, and for relating the bulk properties of matter

to their constituent atoms. Physical chemistry also provides a

window on to the world of chemical reactions, and allows us to

understand in detail how they take place.

A Matter

Throughout the text we draw on a number of concepts that

should already be familiar from introductory chemistry, such

as the 'nuclear model' of the atom, 'Lewis structures' of molecules,

and the 'perfect gas equation'. This Topic reviews these

and other concepts of chemistry that appear at many stages of

the presentation.

B Energy

Because physical chemistry lies at the interface between

physics and chemistry, we also need to review some of the

concepts from elementary physics that we need to draw on in

the text. This Topic begins with a brief summary of 'classical

mechanics', our starting point for discussion of the motion

and energy of particles. Then it reviews concepts of 'thermodynamics'

that should already be part of your chemical

vocabulary. Finally, we introduce the 'Boltzmann distribution'

and the 'equipartition theorem', which help to establish

connections between the bulk and molecular properties of

matter.

C Waves

This Topic describes waves, with a focus on 'harmonic waves',

which form the basis for the classical description of electromagnetic

radiation. The classical ideas of motion, energy, and

waves in this Topic and Topic B are expanded with the principles

of quantum mechanics (Chapter 7), setting the stage for

the treatment of electrons, atoms, and molecules. Quantum

mechanics underlies the discussion of chemical structure

and chemical change, and is the basis of many techniques of

investigation