Class record · CHEM · MCAS

CHEM 5579

Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics · 1 instructor on record · 3 sections

What the course score is made of

81BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2023 – Fall 2025

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

29thMore challenging than 29% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

87BC — “Intellectually Challenging”3 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

60BC — “Workload”3 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

This course provides a rigorous foundation connecting the microscopic behavior of particles to macroscopic observables in chemistry. Core topics include classical Hamiltonian mechanics, distribution functions, and both classical and quantum equilibrium statistical mechanics. These principles are applied to gases, materials, spectroscopy, and chemical reactivity. Advanced topics, such as path integral formalism, statistical field theory in phase transitions, and nonequilibrium systems, are introduced as time permits.

The only instructor on record

3 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge
Udayan MohantyChemistry	883 records	78th	29th

There is no ranking to read here: Udayan Mohanty is the only instructor with evaluation records for CHEM 5579, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Udayan Mohanty

3 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
CHEM 4473Physical Chemistry (Biochemistry Majors)	59 records	58
CHEM 4476Physical Chemistry II	47 records	50
CHEM 4475Physical Chemistry I	46 records	75

Other CHEM classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
CHEM 1110General Chemistry II	33131 records	65
CHEM 1109General Chemistry I	2494 records	67
CHEM 2232Organic Chemistry II	2879 records	76
CHEM 2231Organic Chemistry I	1947 records	74
CHEM 1128Gateway: General Chemistry Discussion II	518 records	76
CHEM 2241Honors Organic Chemistry I	1015 records	76

The line

All 13 items · means across 3 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

9239th pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9238th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

9351st pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

9025th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8834th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8725th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

8824th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

9891st pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

9253rd pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9251st pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

6078th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

8729th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

8521st pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

3 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Udayan Mohanty	Fall 2025	01	87	83	60
Udayan Mohanty	Fall 2024	01	90	80	—
Udayan Mohanty	Fall 2023	01	87	80	—

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.