Hello folks!
Welcome to my little site about chemistry! The Pchem Academy is a series of chemistry courses that are meant to make up a fairly rigorous program of study taking a scholar from a basic introductory level of chemistry to some graduate level topics in chemical physics. I tried to come up with a very snappy name for the site, but gave up, because, to be honest, what I will offer is more about how I think about chemistry, which by definition will be a fairly narrow and personal interpretation of the science. My background is physical chemistry (Pchem), so the program of study tends to be very physics based and mathematical, focusing on fundamental principles of chemistry derived from thermodynamics, kinetics, statistical mechanics, and quantum chemistry.
The challenge and goal of the YouTube channel and the Pchem Academy is to see if I can offer necessary fundamental knowledge I have gathered in my years of going to college and graduate school and add that to what I’ve learned these past decades as I’ve taught chemistry at the college level. I hope to start from the very beginning, how I think about chemistry at the fundamental level, and follow a path through to the graduate level topics that I use in my research.
The beginning course and YouTube playlist is called Introductory Chemistry. It is a series of 57 video/lessons that establish the fundamental base of knowledge and outline the basic structure of how I think about chemistry. Because I believe that chemistry is something we do, an active exercise, I included some practice problems within the videos. The answers and solutions to the problems can be found on the website page called Introductory Chemistry Series. But more important than that, I also included on the website a complete Introductory Chemistry course, complete with quizzes and more practice problems. The idea is that if you complete the course you would have the competencies that I would expect of someone who signed up for my general chemistry course in college.
I actually believe that in the future, self-credentialing and folks gaining skills al a carte through quality teaching on the web, will be just as common as folks getting specific degrees from schools. So, take on the challenge to take the Introductory Chemistry course and basically have a course that will set you up for success when you take a more rigorous general chemistry course.
Here is a diagram of the other courses that I hope to build in this journey I have planned for us. This list also outlines the order of priority I will use in production, though I imagine that I will be adding lectures to all these series as I go.
Introductory Chemistry Series: This little course is to help you learn or review your mathematical skills, nomenclature, stoichiometry, reactions, atomic structure and periodicity, chemical bonding, and the properties of gases, liquids, solids and solutions for the study of chemistry. It is designed for those who desire to continue in the study of chemistry past the basic high school level or those who require a rigorous review of their foundational knowledge before beginning their studies in a more rigorous and accelerated college level general chemistry course. This course is almost complete. The YouTube video series is complete and the online course lectures are 80% complete. Look for new lessons on the Introductory Chemistry Series page often… I’m adding to it all the time!
Chemical Principles : This series is a deeper dive into all things chemistry. This would be similar to a two-semester advanced general chemistry course, building directly from and on top of the foundation laid by the Introductory Chemistry series. Scripts are being written, animations are being produced, and videos production will begin sometime around November.
Thermodynamics : This will be a college level course, requiring some multivariable calculus and basic physics. We will take the language of the laws of thermodynamics and produce the useful quantities that drive physical and chemical changes. Writing scripts when I can.
Kinetics: Kinetics is powerful, in that it helps us generate the mechanisms that govern how a chemical reaction really runs. Again, we will lean on the language of calculus and delve into topics at the end that will require us to introduce some differential equations.
Quantum Mechanics: In this series we delve into the wonderful, quirky world of the tiny. The fundamental postulates of quantum mechanics will be unveiled leading us to outlining atomic theory and molecular theory. Multivariable calculus, physics, and some differential equations will be part and parcel in this course.
From here it will become fuzzy where I might go.
The logical choice is to tie all of it together by Statistical Mechanics and demonstrate everything using the measurements of Spectroscopy. One of my favorite courses that transformed how I look at science is Group Theory, so I’m eager to get here. The course I wish I could have took, but kind of learned on my own will be called the fairly ambiguous name of Applied Quantum Chemistry.
Have you noticed what is missing yet? Yep… very little analytical, organic, or biochemistry is specifically highlighted. There will be bits and pieces of it present, but not separate courses unto themselves. Welcome to the world of a physical chemist!
Hey! There is a whole web out there where you can fill those gaps! I did tell you this would be a fairly narrow and personal journey, didn’t I?
Anyway, along with the chemistry, I’ll probably sprinkle in some music too!
See you in the videos!