Assessment Outcomes Data Report
CHEM 5070
– FALL 2006
Instructor: Steve
Scheiner
Course Description:
biophysical chemistry. examines the applications of physical
chemistry to biochemical processes
Enrollment: 19
Assessment method:
gain-score exam
Outcomes Data:
Biophysical Chemistry 5070
Gain-Score Exam
Fall, 2006
Answer all questions on the
scantron sheet. The exam is anonymous so please do not make any
identifying marks on the scantron. Return this question sheet,
and the scantron, to class on Weds, Aug 30.
1. Which statement below is correct?
a) The total energy of any system always increases
b) The enthalpy of formation describes how much energy is required to form a molecule from its constituent atoms
c) The total enthalpy of any reaction can be evaluated as the sum of two or more other reactions
d) The enthalpy of any reaction increases as the temperature rises
e) Enthalpy is another name
for energy
2. Which statement below is correct?
a) The entropy decreases in any spontaneous reaction
b) Entropy is equal to the difference between Gibbs free energy and enthalpy
c) Enthalpy increases in any spontaneous reaction
d) A spontaneous reaction occurs if the Gibbs free energy decreases
e) The entropy of any element
in its standard state is zero
3. Which statement below is correct?
a) The boiling point of any pure liquid rises when a solid is dissolved in the liquid
b) Osmosis occurs when two gases are placed in the same container
c) It is never possible to have all three phases of a substance present at the same time
d) The melting point of every solid rises as the pressure goes up.
e) Gibbs free energy was named
after a coach of the Washington Redskins
4. Which statement below is correct?
a) Equilibrium of a chemical reaction occurs when the Gibbs free energy is minimized
b) At equilibrium, the concentrations of all reactants and products are equal
c) A diprotic acid is stronger than monoprotic
d) A catalyst speeds up a reaction by lowering the Gibbs free energy of the products
e) A reaction that generates
heat will occur more quickly at high pressure
5. Which statement below is correct?
a) An electrochemical cell will have a higher electromotive force when the liquid is more acidic
b) The term “oxidation” refers to reaction of any element with oxygen
c) The term “reduction” refers to the diminution of the amount of a substance
d) Metals are the most difficult materials to oxidize
e) The electromotive force
of a cell is affected by the concentrations of reactants
6. Which statement below is correct?
a) The speed with which a reaction occurs is equal to the rate constant for that reaction
b) Any reaction will speed up by a factor of 2 if the concentration of one reactant is doubled
c) Any reaction will speed up by a factor of 4 if the concentration of one reactant is doubled
d) The sensitivity of the speed of a reaction to the concentration of a reactant depends upon the mechanism of the reaction
e) A reaction that occurs in
a salt solution will not be affected by the concentration of salt
7. Which statement below is correct?
a) Cell membranes have no effect upon biological processes
b) Enzymes speed up biological reactions by lowering the energy barrier
c) Enzymes always speed up chemical reactions
d) Biological reactions are too complex to be broken down into elementary steps
e) Because of their simplicity,
electron transfers are not part of biological processes
8. Which statement below is correct?
a) A wavelength can be associated with any particle
b) The uncertainty principle applies only to electrons
c) Tunneling refers to the ability of a small object to embed itself in a large one
d) The total energy of any particle is quantized, but its rotational energy is not
e) Atoms of a diatomic molecule
are at rest when the vibrational energy is zero
9. Which statement below is correct?
a) The ionization energy of an atom is equal to the negative of its electron affinity
b) A positively charged ion is smaller than the uncharged atom
c) Core electrons are located within the nucleus of an atom
d) d-electrons have no angular momentum
e) There has never been a comic
book superhero known as “The Atom”
10. Which statement below is correct?
a) Atoms are held together within a molecule by ionic forces
b) A covalent bond is strengthened when electrons are added to an antibonding molecular orbital
c) Bonding orbitals are usually of lower energy than antibonding orbitals
d) A C-H bond is more polar than a C-F bond
e) Resonance refers to the
sound made by a covalent bond when it is plucked
11. Which statement below is correct?
a) X-ray crystallography is used to determine the number of molecules in a crystal
b) The diffraction pattern emerging from a crystal can be used to determine the structure of molecules contained within
c) X-ray diffraction cannot be used to analyze molecules with a zero dipole moment
d) Dipole-dipole forces are always attractive in nature
e) Dispersion forces keep molecules
from collapsing into one another
12. Which statement below is correct?
a) The likelihood of finding a system in a given state diminishes as the energy of that state rises
b) The number of systems in any state is independent of the temperature
c) The partition function allows one to evaluate the number of gas molecules on either side of a partition
d) There is no relationship between the equilibrium constant of a given chemical reaction and the states available to reactants and products
e) Biological molecules are
too large and complex to be considered via statistical methods
13. Which statement below is correct?
a) Vibrational spectra are related to the available electronic states
b) High vibrational frequencies are associated with weak bonds
c) The frequency at which a particular bond stretch is observed is unaffected by isotopic substitution
d) There is a one-to-one correspondence between the number of vibrational modes and the number of bands that are observed in the spectrum
e) The intensity of a vibrational
band is related to the variation of the molecule’s dipole moment
14. Which statement below is correct?
a) Fluorescence and phosphorescence are synonymous
b) UV-vis spectroscopy can be used to study electronic transitions
c) Raman spectra help to understand molecular rotations
d) Microwave spectra detect small changes in electronic levels
e) The Franck-Condon principle
relates the federal interest rate to the international deficit
15. Which statement below is correct?
a) Biological systems differ from simpler chemical systems in that the first law of thermodynamics does not apply to the former
b) Enthalpy is equivalent to energy in biological systems
c) Whereas entropy can either increase or decrease in a simple chemical system, it always increases in a biological system
d) The entropy change in any spontaneous process occurring within a cell is always positive
e) Enzymes have no effect upon
the overall energetics of a biological reaction
16. Which statement below is correct?
a) The second pKa of a diprotic acid is always larger than the first
b) Biological systems do not undergo phase transitions
c) The reaction that converts ATP to ADP neither requires nor releases energy
d) Even when coupled together, each reaction of the pair must be exothermic for the process to occur spontaneously
e) The full oxidation of glucose
within a cell releases more energy than if the same process occurs in
a calorimeter
17. Which of the following does Marcus theory apply to?
a) electron transfer processes
b) the relation between the first and second laws of thermodynamics
c) the likelihood of finding an electron in a particular region of space
d) the relationship between the entropy of a chemical reaction and its exothermicity
e) the idea that the former
dictator of the Philippines will be resurrected and serve as that country’s
president once again.
18. What is meant by the Uncertainty Principle?
a) that the chemical nature of any substance can never be known with certainty
b) the intrinsic inability to measure the number of atoms in a molecule
c) the inability to know precisely both the position and momentum of any particle
d) the uncertainty regarding the number of amino acids in a protein
e) the likelihood that you
will never find matched pairs of socks when you are done with your laundry
19. Which statement is true concerning atomic orbitals?
a) p-orbitals can only form π bonds
b) an electron in an s-orbital has no angular momentum
c) there is no such thing as a 9d orbital
d) d-orbitals can only form δ bonds
e) an s-orbital of one atom
cannot form a bond with the p-orbital of another atom
20. Which is the best statement of Bragg’s law?
a) protein molecules can never touch one another
b) biological membranes are impervious to large ions
c) the diffraction pattern of reflected X-rays reveals the distance between groups of atoms in a crystal
d) the rate of an enzymatic reaction can be related to the concentration of substrate
e) the more you talk about yourself, the more tedious you are to others
Q# beginning end
Thermodynamics
1 33 21
2 39 50
15 44 57
16 50 93
Phases
3 61 64
Equilibrium
4 22 71
Redox
5 78 79
Kinetics
6 72 71
7 94 100
17 28 64
Quantum Mechanics
8 72 100
18 94 100
Atomic Properties
9 78 93
19 33 79
Chemical Bonding
10 94 100
Statistical Mechanics
12 28 86
Spectroscopy
13 22 14
14 56 57
X-ray diffraction
11 78 100
20 28 100
MEAN SCORES
55 75
Summary:
A gain score exam was written which consisted of 20 multiple choice
questions. The exam was administered in both the first and last
weeks of the course, and the results were compared. Questions
were identified with specific topics, so that the amount of material
gain could be elucidated for each topic.
Overall,
the mean score increased from 55% in Week 1 to 75% in Week 15, an increase
of 20 points. Topics which showed the largest net gain from beginning
to end were chemical equilibrium, atomic properties, statistical mechanics,
and X-ray diffraction. The areas showing less of a net gain were
thermodynamics, phases, redox reactions, kinetics and spectroscopy.
Coverage of the latter topics will hence be modified the next time this
course is taught. More time will be spent on each, and there will
be more quizzes and homeworks devoted to these areas.
The standard teaching evaluation forms provided another means of assessment. The 16 respondents rated the overall quality of the course at 4.7 and the instructor effectiveness at 4.9. Particularly high scores were associated with instructor preparation, and apt answers to questions in class, as well as instructor enthusiasm. There was a lower score associated with the choice of text. Written comments from students reinforced a certain level of dissatisfaction with the text, so some consideration will be given to changing this text. Some students requested more sample tests prior to real exams, so such exams will be provided next time. There was some sentiment that the course should have a more biological flavor - this orientation will be augmented next time.