This chapter focuses on the units which are fundamental to the understanding and application of physical chemistry. It describes the Système International d'Unités (SI) system of units. This has been in use since 1970 and consists of seven base units, of which six are commonly used in chemistry. These measure mass, length, time, electrical current, temperature, and amount of substance. There is a seventh unit, namely luminous intensity, but this is only rarely relevant in chemistry. The chapter includes activities that determine the derived units for kinetic energy. These activities show that the unit for potential energy is equivalent to that of kinetic energy.
Chapter
Fundamentals
Book
Joanne Elliott and Elizabeth Page
Workbook in Physical Chemistry opens with a chapter on the fundamentals of this field. It then looks at thermodynamics before covering chemical equilibrium. After that, there follows a chapter on phase equilibrium. Towards the end there is a chapter which covers reaction kinetics. The final chapter looks at electrochemistry.
Book
Nathan Lawrence, Jay Wadhawan, and Richard Compton
Foundations of Physical Chemistry presents a grounding in the field of physical chemistry. The early chapters cover the structure of atoms, ions and molecules, reactivity, kinetics, and equilibria. The final chapter gives an insight into more advanced areas, drawing on real-world examples.
