(Each question is worth 50 points for scientific analysis, and 17 points for grammer/style/ability to be concise! Don't feel compelles to use both pages unless you have large handwriting...)
Note: The test is based on a literature analysis of French and Dowd J. Comp. Chem. 15 (1994) 561 and Dory et al. JACS 117 (1995) 518.
1. French and Dowd employ melecular mechanics to study psicose, and Dory et al. use semiempirical MO theory to examine pericyclic reactions. Explain why each set of authors chose the level of theory they did. Would the other level of theory have been appropriate? Why or why not?
2. How do the two sets of authors judge the quality of their theoretical predictions? What results do they derive from computation that were either not known or incorrectly known from experiment (if any)?
3. What are the imprtant implications, if any, for future computational studies that arise from the results of the two sets of authors? That is, how have they added (or not) to the body of knowledge about these computational methods in terms of strengths and weaknesses in application?