Spring 2027

Physical Chemistry I

Physical Chemistry I covers macroscopic theory including laws and equations of thermodynamics, chemical and phase equilibria, and kinetic theory of gases.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Arun Yethiraj3.0/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Arun Yethiraj

Students noted the curriculum was difficult and recommended taking notes and forming discussion groups to keep up with the proof-based lectures.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Derive, interpret, and explain important thermodynamic relationships from the three laws of thermodynamics.

  • Explain how thermodynamics and kinetics govern observable physical and chemical properties of matter and their transformations.

  • Apply the laws of thermodynamics and kinetic theories to solve quantitative problems involving chemical and physical processes.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

(CHEM 116, 327, or 329),MATH 222, and (PHYSICS 201, 207, or 247), or graduate/professional standing. Not open to students with credit for CHEM 565 or 665.

CHEM 561 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

Professors

Spring 2027

Arun Yethiraj

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.32/5 from 19 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: 3.0/5 raw quality · 4.5/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Arun Yethiraj

Arun Yethiraj was described as inaccessible and unwilling to provide study materials, with one student finding the curriculum needlessly difficult.

Conversely, another student found Arun Yethiraj extremely accessible and supportive of discussion, noting that the proof-based lectures were challenging but rewarding.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2011: 3.06 GPA, 44.4% A/AB (n=36 letter grades); Fall 2021: 3.03 GPA, 41.2% A/AB (n=34 letter grades); Fall 2022: 3.41 GPA, 66.7% A/AB (n=27 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Mark Ediger

Mark Ediger made difficult material easier by clarifying exam expectations without giving away specific content. Students found his chalkboard lectures vivid and well-paced, noting that homework was extremely beneficial for class understanding. One student appreciated his approachability at office hours and his willingness to look past a poor first exam grade when calculating the final score.

ARUN YETHIRAJ is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Fall 2021, Fall 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

GILBERT NATHANSON is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2016, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MAHESH MAHANTHAPPA is recorded teaching in Spring 2012, Spring 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARK EDIGER is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SILVIA CAVAGNERO is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ZOE TODD is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. 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

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 500
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 240
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 240

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

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Arun Yethiraj

Students described the class as challenging but rewarding, with lectures focused on proofs that covered the textbook material.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.23 GPA, 50.0% A/AB (n=26 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.38 GPA, 61.5% A/AB (n=26 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.27 GPA, 54.8% A/AB (n=42 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Arun Yethiraj

Students noted the curriculum was difficult and recommended taking notes and forming discussion groups to keep up with the proof-based lectures.

Past student reviews · Arun Yethiraj

One student found the professor inaccessible and frustrated by the lack of study materials, while another reported a supportive environment where the instructor welcomed feedback.

Topics

  • Laws and fundamental equations of thermodynamics
  • Chemical equilibria
  • Phase equilibria
  • Kinetic theory of gases

Skills

  • Deriving and interpreting thermodynamic relationships
  • Solving quantitative problems using thermodynamics and kinetic theories
  • Explaining how thermodynamics and kinetics govern physical and chemical properties

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 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

1280 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.

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Selected offering source records
CHEM 561 · Spring 2027

Physical Chemistry I

Recorded 2026-10-29
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261029T213040-0fa85c20",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-29 21:30:40.248904+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:224:002780",
    "course_id": "CHEM 561",
    "course_uid": "course_6c23abb86fb1851e6a100c80",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "002780",
    "source_subject_id": "224",
    "title": "Physical Chemistry I",
    "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
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-29

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "cecc7798bd5b5c60cca0d6c3ef448f5181bb811a68a6441218acc01a96e1d457",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "c9cd06eaa45f9ddf7e69faa38b89ff3d3dd995dd",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-29 21:30:40.248904+00:00"
}