Professor: Lawler Course format: Lecture w/lab Number of respondents: 19 Total Enrollment: 26 Class Composition: Froshs: 0 Sophs: 2 Jrs: 9 Srs: 13 Concs: 14 Non-Concs: 5 Don't Know: 0

Instructor Average: 1.87 Course Average: 1.77

'Physical Chemistry' is a course which combines the usual topics of p-chem ­ thermodynamics and equilibrium ­ with a biochemical point of view. Respondents indicated that having both a basic chemistry/physics background in thermodynamics (Chem 21/22 and Physics 3/4) and a biochemical background (Bio 28 or Chem 25/26) were helpful, though not crucial. The course is primarily intended for chemistry and biochemistry concentrators.

Professor Lawler was universally praised as an enthusiastic and engaging lecturer who tried with supreme effort to make the subject matter as interesting as possible. His frequent tangents, though occasionally intrusive, helped provide a real-world aspect to the material. Additionally, his availability and amicability made office hours a treat for both those struggling with the course and those interested in learning more.

Requirements for the course included two mid-terms, one final, and weekly lab reports. The two mid-terms were both open book but respondents still found them challenging. Most spent between five and nine hours a week on the material, citing the lab reports as eating up the most time. Students all felt that this was an appropriate amount of work and that Professor Lawler had a special ability to demystify what would otherwise have been difficult concepts.

Though respondents had mixed feelings on the actual material, most felt that it was important in terms of real-world applications. Many cited the laboratory experiments as time-consuming but very well-suited to what was being learned in class. Most took the class only to satisfy their concentration requirements, but found it to be much more interesting and the professor much more appealing than they had predicted.

This course bands physical chemistry and biochemistry into an interesting mixture of theoretical and bench science. So if you're interested in such an embodiment of the book and the real world, and you can keep up with an energetic and enthusiastic professor, then this course may be a fulfilling choice for you.

View CH/0113 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.