Chemistry 332W

Analytical Chemistry

Course Description

The material presented in this course covers the basic principles of analytical chemistry, including measurement statistics, equilibrium, acid-base chemistry, and buffer systems.  Additionally, the course will cover an introduction to the major areas of chemical analysis.

Along with the standard lecture and laboratory portions of the course, Chemistry 332 is a writing intensive course and will count toward your writing across the curriculum requirements.  The assignments will include a minimum of 10 pages of formal writing (research paper, instructions, statement of career goals) and 15 pages of informal writing (notebook entries and laboratory reports).

Philosophy of Instruction

Ultimately, the purpose of this course is for you to learn the fundamentals of analytical chemistry and to be exposed to the foundations of modern instrumental analysis.  In my opinion, grades are secondary to your understanding of the subject, and ideally, I am willing to present each of you with an A.  In reality, some students will be more/less motivated or be more/less inclined toward the material.  These differences will lead to differences in performance.  My goal is to see each student achieve mastery of the subject and I am dedicated to reaching this goal.  The motivation, however, must begin with you.  Please take advantage of each and every opportunity that you have and we will both achieve the goals that we have for the semester.

Prerequisites

• Chemistry 111 or permission of instructor

• Knowledge of chemical reaction stoichiometry and equilibrium (Quiz/Pretest on Friday)

Meeting Times

                Lecture                  MWF                                      10:15-11:05 am                  215 Heim

                Laboratory           TTh                                        2:00-4:50 pm                       207 Heim

Required Course Materials

• Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 6^th edition; Daniel C. Harris (5^th edition will be fine)

• Bound laboratory notebook

• Safety Glasses

• Calculator capable of performing logarithmic, exponential, and statistical functions

Office Hours

Office hours are for the purpose of walk in instruction or for discussing any aspect of the course.  Unless otherwise announced, I will be available during my office hours, but I encourage you to stop by my office at any time.  Additionally, individual appointments can be made in advance.   My current class schedule will be posted on my office door for reference.  The best advice that I can give you for success is to get help before you are well behind.

MTWF   8:30-9:30 am                       232 Heim

F              2:00-3:00 pm                       232 Heim

Grading

• Percentage grades will be scaled to the number of points indicated above.

• Examination grades may be adjusted to account for the class performance.  Relax, this will help your grade!!  Ask me how.

• The grading scale will be as follows.  Adjustments to this scale are possible, but unlikely.

³ 90%                    A

80-89%                  B

70-79%                  C

60-69%                  D

£60%                     F

• There will be no makeup examinations or quizzes.  One legitimate exam absence (for instance, an illness or a funeral) can be replaced by the average exam score for the semester.  One quiz grade will also be dropped.

• Makeup laboratory experiments will be difficult, if not impossible, and will only be permitted for legitimate reasons.  Attendance in laboratory is expected especially since we will often be working in groups.

Quizzes

Although they will normally be announced, quizzes may be unannounced and can be given in either laboratory or lecture class periods.  The purpose of these quizzes is to provide you with an opportunity to determine where your deficiencies may be and to provide a “gentle” reminder of how important it is to stay current with the progress of the course.  As with the examinations, quizzes should be considered cumulative and may contain information from the laboratory or lecture portion of the course.

Homework

In this course, homework assignments will not be collected, but it is strongly suggested that you attempt them.  The selected homework problems provide an indication of the topics that I think are important.  This makes solving them of utmost importance to your grade and your performance in the course will likely correlate with the amount of time spent solving problems.  Because learning can be much more efficient through failure, I feel strongly that should be attempted individually before seeking help from others.  Answers can be checked with the solutions manual (a copy will be on reserve in the library and one will be available in my office).  Please feel free to stop by my office to discuss any difficulties you may have with any of the suggested problems.

Examinations

Examinations will be given during laboratory sessions and will be administered on the following dates.  Because the material presented later in the class builds upon concepts presented earlier, all exams should be considered cumulative.  Changes to the exam schedule will be made only with unanimous consent of the class and must be made prior to September 8.

** The final examination time and date is established by the registrar.  It cannot be changed.

Safety

Safe laboratory practices, including proper attire, will be expected at all times.  Long pants are required as well as closed toe shoes (no sandals).  Wearing contact lenses during laboratory session is strongly discouraged, but may be tolerated with prior approval.  You will not be permitted to begin any experimental procedures until all safety concerns have been addressed.  Repeated safety violations will cause a zero to be rewarded for the experiment.

Lab Reports

Lab reports are due one week (7 days) following completion of the experiment, unless otherwise informed by the instructor.  Grades on late lab reports will be reduced by 10% plus 5% per calendar day beyond the due date.  The format of the reports will be covered prior to the first, active laboratory period.

Writing Projects

The writing projects are designed to enrich not just your knowledge of chemistry, but also of the ubiquity of analytical measurement.  The major semester project will require you to write a research paper describing a topic in chemistry (or science) that involves analytical chemistry.  The paper should describe in detail the topic chosen, the methodology utilized for chemical analysis, and analysis of the results presented.  A draft of the paper will be submitted and will be reviewed by a fellow student, the instructor (me!), and an outside reviewer.  This is meant to simulate the process used for the submittal of a manuscript to a professional journal.  Using the reviewer comments, you will revise the manuscript and resubmit it for a final project grade.  A number of smaller projects will also be required, including a statement of career intent and a set of activities involving descriptive or instructional writing.  A list of the projects and the grading scale is contained in the grading section.

The writing projects will involve a significant amount of library research.  I have made arrangements with the research staff at Snowden library to provide us with an overview of their facilities as well as to provide support during the research of our projects.  Likewise, the staff at the Academic Resource Center (ARC) is available to help you with your writing (Jane Keller x4392).  You should seriously consider beginning the library research NOW!.  Late assignments will be penalized 10% plus 5% from each day past the due date.

Topic Schedule

The class schedule presented here is tentative and can (will!) change during the semester.

Laboratory Rotation 1

Titrimetric Analysis of Chloride

Potentiometric Acid-Base Titration

Spectrophotometric Analysis of Chloride

Laboratory Rotation 2

Titrimetric Determination of Calcium in Milk

Determination of Sodium by Ion Selective Electrode

Spectrophotometric Analysis of Aspirin

Chromatography of Amino Acids and Artificial Sweeteners