Adjunct Instructors - Physical Chemistry
Posted May 12, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about your experience teaching physical chemistry or a related course to undergraduates.
What they are checking: Whether they have real classroom experience, since the posting prefers it and considers ABD candidates only with some teaching.
What research, publications or professional work have you done in chemistry in the last five years?
What they are checking: Whether they meet the college's requirement for current activity in the field at the time of appointment.
What would you do
If you were brought in mid-planning to cover a section because another instructor left, how would you get up to speed on what the students already learned?
What they are checking: Whether they can handle the last-minute openings the posting describes without losing continuity for students.
A student who has done well in general chemistry is failing your first physical chemistry exam. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they reach out early and diagnose the gap, rather than letting a capable student quietly drop.
How would you handle a class where half the students are chemistry majors and half are from biology or physics?
What they are checking: Whether they can teach to a mixed background without losing either group.
About the work
Physical chemistry covers thermodynamics, equilibrium, electrochemistry, quantum mechanics, spectroscopy and kinetics. If you had to cut time from one of those topics in a semester, which would it be and why?
What they are checking: Whether they can make reasoned curriculum tradeoffs instead of trying to cover everything at the same depth.
How would you explain the difference between Gibbs free energy and enthalpy to a student who keeps confusing them?
What they are checking: Whether they can explain core thermodynamics clearly at the undergraduate level, not just state the equations.
Students often hit a wall with the math in quantum mechanics. How do you help them get through the particle-in-a-box and harmonic oscillator material?
What they are checking: Whether they can support students whose calculus and linear algebra are weaker than the course assumes.
How do you connect electrochemistry or spectroscopy to something students will actually use in a lab or a career?
What they are checking: Whether they can make abstract physical chemistry feel relevant to chemistry, biochemistry and pre-med students.
How do you write exam problems that test understanding of equilibrium rather than plugging numbers into a formula?
What they are checking: Whether their assessments measure conceptual understanding, which shows how seriously they think about learning.
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As published by St. Norbert College.