Physical Chemistry Lab for Data Analysis of COVID-19 Spreading Kinetics in Different Countries

Area of Science:

• Physical Chemistry
• Chemical Kinetics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique, real-world application for teaching kinetic data analysis.
• Connecting theoretical kinetic concepts to practical, large-scale phenomena enhances student understanding.
• Undergraduate physical chemistry curricula can benefit from integrating contemporary scientific events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To utilize COVID-19 pandemic data as a practical exercise in kinetic data analysis for undergraduate physical chemistry.
• To bridge the gap between lecture-based kinetic theories and real-world applications.
• To engage students with contemporary scientific challenges within a laboratory setting.

Main Methods:

• Collected COVID-19 kinetic data from the "Our World in Data" database.
• Applied the susceptible-infectious-recovered-vaccinated (SIR-V) mathematical model to analyze spreading kinetics.
• Calculated effective rate constants using real-time reproduction numbers.

Main Results:

• The SIR-V model was employed to analyze the effective spreading kinetics of COVID-19.
• Effective rate constants, represented by real-time reproduction numbers, were compared across different countries.
• The analysis provided insights into the practical application of kinetic theories to epidemiological data.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 pandemic serves as an effective real-world example for practicing kinetic data analysis in physical chemistry.
• The study demonstrated the utility of the SIR-V model in understanding disease spread dynamics.
• Discussions on the results and model limitations enhanced students' critical thinking and understanding of scientific models.