This exam is to be completed individually. It is due at 10:00 AM on Friday, March 21st. The completed exam should be turned in to me, or Sheryl Frankel (245 Smith), or it can be left in my mailbox if you feel confident about security.

Please double space all responses, and use font sizes no smaller than 12. Handwritten papers will be read, but illegibility will be frowned upon.

1. In what ways are second derivatives of the energy with respect to atomic displacement useful? (300 words maximum, 100 points)

2. Pose a chemical question and propose a computational approach to answering that question. Explain what levels of theory you would employ and also what levels of theory would be inappropriate and justify your selections. Presuming that the experimental answer to the chemical question you posed is not known, how will you evaluate the quality of your prediction? Be realistic about computational resources. (400 words and one figure maximum, 100 points--I will grade this question based on both correctness and creativity).