Thermodynamics of Mixtures

CBE 311 covers the thermodynamics of mixtures, focusing on phase equilibria and complex reaction systems.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Reid Van Lehn4.2/5

Summary

1 / 7

The course is described as difficult, with derivation-heavy lectures and tricky homework problems requiring Excel or Matlab. Exams are considered fair, and reviewers note that ample practice problems are provided to aid preparation.

Grade history

average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

CBE 310

  • CBE 310
CBE 311 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • CBE 310

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 13 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 5.0/5 raw quality · 3.5/5 difficulty · 11 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Reid Van Lehn is consistently praised for his deep knowledge, clear lectures, and approachability. Reviewers highlight his engaging teaching style and fairness in grading. While the course is challenging, students feel well-supported by his resources and office hours.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 3.08 GPA, 49.2% A/AB (n=63 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.01 GPA, 53.8% A/AB (n=52 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.01 GPA, 39.3% A/AB (n=56 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Regina Murphy praise her clear, concept-focused lectures and exam-relevant explanations, though her homework is described as time-consuming and difficult.

ERIC SHUSTA is recorded teaching in Fall 2009, Spring 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2018, Fall 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

REGINA MURPHY is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Fall 2010, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Fall 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

REID VAN LEHN is recorded teaching in Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction69 / 730
DIS 302Classroom Instruction34 / 350
DIS 303Classroom Instruction35 / 350

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records

Student experience

the class

Reviewers describe Reid Van Lehn as knowledgeable, approachable, and engaging, noting his clear lectures and fair grading. Students report that while the course is challenging, he provides sufficient resources and support to help them succeed.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.03 GPA, 42.9% A/AB (n=35 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.01 GPA, 34.7% A/AB (n=49 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.66 GPA, 34.0% A/AB (n=47 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course is described as difficult, with derivation-heavy lectures and tricky homework problems requiring Excel or Matlab. Exams are considered fair, and reviewers note that ample practice problems are provided to aid preparation.

Students appreciate Van Lehn’s clear, interesting lectures and supplemental notes. One reviewer found group discussions unhelpful and noted that homework required significant computational work, while others valued the professor's availability and care for student learning.

Topics

  • Properties of ideal and non-ideal vapors and liquids
  • Multicomponent vapor-liquid and liquid-liquid equilibria
  • Complex chemical reaction equilibria
  • Electrolytic solutions
  • Surface thermodynamics
  • Solid phase thermodynamics

Skills

  • Analyzing properties of ideal and non-ideal vapors and liquids.
  • Calculating multicomponent vapor-liquid and liquid-liquid equilibria.
  • Determining complex chemical reaction equilibria.
  • Applying thermodynamics to electrolytic, surface, and solid phases.

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.05 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Selected offering source records
CBE 311 · Fall 2026

Thermodynamics of Mixtures

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:220:002677",
    "course_id": "CBE 311",
    "course_uid": "course_b898f7610d29ecf24f516191",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "002677",
    "source_subject_id": "220",
    "title": "Thermodynamics of Mixtures",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "d0e07d0029b4955e86e42b1514f686679807f091106214d9f7fcf1ecaaa4d8d9",
  "requirements_status": "invalid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}