Spring 2027

Physical Chemistry II

Physical Chemistry II covers molecular theory, focusing on quantum chemistry, molecular structure and spectra, statistical mechanics, and the molecular theory of matter in bulk.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Arun Yethiraj

Under one instructor, homework was assigned only the week before exams, and tests contained material unrelated to lectures, readings, or assignments. This resulted in low exam averages, with one student noting a 38% average and another reporting a 40% average.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Describe fundamental quantum mechanics concepts, including operators, wave functions, and uncertainty principle.

  • Use quantum chemistry models to describe translational, rotational, and vibrational motion of particles, the microscopic details of atomic and molecular structures, and the basis of rotational, vibrational, and electronic spectroscopies.

  • Apply quantum chemistry and statistical thermodynamic models to describe bulk thermodynamic properties, chemical equilibrium, and chemical reaction dynamics.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

MATH 222, (PHYSICS 202, 208, or 248), and (CHEM 561, 665,CBE 310, orM S & E 330)

CHEM 562 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

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ARUN YETHIRAJ is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

EDWIN SIBERT is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Fall 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

QIANG CUI is recorded teaching in Fall 2007. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RANDALL GOLDSMITH is recorded teaching in Fall 2011, Fall 2012, 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 / 1200
DIS 401Classroom Instruction0 / 280
DIS 402Classroom Instruction0 / 280
DIS 403Classroom Instruction0 / 280
DIS 404Classroom Instruction0 / 280

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 · Qiang Cui, Randall Goldsmith, Edwin Sibert, Arun Yethiraj

Student feedback for this course is highly polarized, ranging from praise for passionate instruction to severe criticism of unfair assessments and poor communication. Experiences varied significantly by instructor, with some describing superb teaching while others reported learning nothing.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.47 GPA, 64.7% A/AB (n=85 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.10 GPA, 40.5% A/AB (n=42 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.26 GPA, 56.2% A/AB (n=64 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Arun Yethiraj

Under one instructor, homework was assigned only the week before exams, and tests contained material unrelated to lectures, readings, or assignments. This resulted in low exam averages, with one student noting a 38% average and another reporting a 40% average.

Past student reviews · Randall Goldsmith

Students taking the course with Prof. Goldsmith found lectures unnecessarily complex and fast-paced, often relying heavily on the textbook to understand concepts. One student noted that homework was irrelevant to lecture notes and that exams covered material never taught in class.

Topics

  • Quantum chemistry and molecular structure/spectra
  • Statistical mechanics
  • Molecular theory of matter in bulk

Skills

  • Describing fundamental quantum mechanics concepts like operators, wave functions, and the uncertainty principle.
  • Using quantum chemistry models for particle motion, atomic/molecular structures, and spectroscopic bases.
  • Applying quantum chemistry and statistical thermodynamic models to bulk properties, equilibrium, and reaction dynamics.

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · 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 · 0.14 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

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 562 · Spring 2027

Physical Chemistry II

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:224:002781",
    "course_id": "CHEM 562",
    "course_uid": "course_4c0d8abb0c7e295314024163",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "002781",
    "source_subject_id": "224",
    "title": "Physical Chemistry II",
    "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
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

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.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "b2dec7eebc5ad0cdb07c6763d4af86cf6d94a2b6e7247ba2c79af53a833d9443",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}