Musings on Maxwell Relations

I almost forgot about the Maxwell Relations. If it weren't for the UP Diliman Institute of Chemistry Alumni homecoming which I attended yesterday, I wouldn't have mentioned the term again. You see, in my line of work looking out for any semblance of the Maxwell Relations would be deemed too mundane. I work in an analytical testing laboratory where I mostly deal with analytical instruments which I usually use to generate quantitative analytical reports for clinical diagnosis.

It was Mr. Janir Datukan (Batch 1999), a fellow alumnus who talked about missing some chemistry action. And so he started talking about some chemistry topics off his head. He talked about the old curriculum they had and how it has changed during the past twelve years since he graduated. Mr. Christian Dela Cruz (Batch 2003) agreed that there were a lot of changes in the curriculum, how the students don't have Chem 121 anymore. Mr. Patrick Fernandez (Batch 2007) emphasized that the laboratory classes are now actually integrated. Then we were soon talking about how difficult Physical Chemistry has been for most of us and how many passed Quantum Chemistry without having a clear grasp of the topics discussed there. Of course, Maxwell Relations was mentioned and this triggered memories of inferiority.

Admittedly, I was never fond of solving calculus problems. And while most mathematical operations in calculus can be mastered by solving practices, using calculus in chemistry opens a window of misery for most of chemistry students. Of course, I couldn't pass off the topic without talking about how I failed Chem 153 the first time I took it. This Chemistry touches on the thermodynamics of chemical reactions.

It was Dr. Leny Quirit who gave me my first lessons on Chem 153. I flunked it. I just didn't give enough effort to make good grades. First off, I didn't attend classes and so I missed on several seat works which could have helped me secure good grades with minimal efforts. The seat works were done as a group assignment. Of course, this didn't occur to me until it was too late. Second, I didn't even bother memorizing the mnemonic for the Maxwell Relations: Valid Facts and Theoretical Understanding Generate Solutions to Hard Problems. Lastly, I'm just not that good at calculus.

The second time I took Chem 153, it was Dr. Claro Llaguno who scared me into learning the subject. I was also enrolled in Chem 156 that time. So I had to study for two Physical Chemistry subjects during exam periods. What was more challenging was that Dr. Llaguno schedules his exams on the same day, one after the other. But I guess, it was the fact that I begin to truly appreciate the importance of calculus in chemistry which paved way to my passing both subjects.

I was finally done with Maxwell Relations. And what a relief that was.

If you want to view the pictures from the alumni homecoming, you may view them by clicking here.