Neil Fitzgerald

Analytical Chemistry, Chem355, Fall 2008

Lecture: T, F 9.30 – 10.45 (DN 236A)

Lab: M 9.30 – 12.15 (DN 229)

 

 

Availability

 

The easiest way to contact me with a simple question is by email.  My email is neil.fitzgerald@marist.edu.  For other questions, drop by my office at Donnelly DN235D.  My rule for office visits is that all work (e.g. lab reports or homework) must be kept out of the office.  In other words, don’t show me your work and ask me if it is correct.  Plan your questions before you visit me, keep them general, or find a similar question that we can work through.  You can also phone me at ext. 2491 if necessary.  My office hours will be posted on the notice board outside my office.

Course Description

 

An introduction to the theory and application of analytical chemistry. The course will introduce concepts of sampling, sample preparation, classical and instrumental methods of analysis, statistical analysis of data, and communication skills. The theory of analytical methods will apply and extend general chemistry knowledge while instrumental methods and concepts will be introduced. The laboratory component will focus on good laboratory techniques, achievement of good accuracy and precision, correct procedure for maintaining a notebook, data analysis, and communication of results through report writing.

Purpose

 

The purpose of this course is to introduce the subject of analytical chemistry.  The course will attempt to answer the questions: what is analytical chemistry?  Where is analytical chemistry used?  What do analytical chemists do? And what are the basic principles of analytical chemistry techniques?  The course will use general chemistry principles to solve the question of “how much of this is there in that?”  In order to answer this simple question, we need to know how to collect and treat a sample, choose the correct analytical technique, understand the theoretical principle of the method, obtain reasonable values and treat the values we obtain to provide a sensible and reliable result.

The schedule for the course is:

Date

Topic

Relevant Chapters

9/2 to 9/12

The Analytical Process

1, 4

9/16 to 9/26

Basic Statistics and Calibration

5, 6, 7, 8

9/30

Sample Preparation

36

October 3

Exam 1

 

10/7

Gravimetric and Volumetric Analysis

12 and 13

10/10 to 10/14

Acid-base Neutralization

14, 15, 16

10/21

Precipitation Reactions

13

10/24

Complex Formation

17

10/28

Electrochemical Analysis

18, 19, 20

October 31st

Exam 2

 

11/4 to 11/21

Spectroscopic Methods

24, 25, 26, 28

11/25 to 12/9

Chromatography

30, 31 and 32

12/11

Review

 

Friday Dec 19 (8am)

Final

Comprehensive


 

Text

 

The text for this course is,

Skoog, West, Holler and Crouch, Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry, 8th Ed., Thomson Brookscole.

 

Other useful, but not required, texts include:

Harris, Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 7th Ed., Freeman.

Skoog, Holler, Nieman, Principles of Instrumental Analysis 5th Ed., Saunders College Publishing

Miller and Miller, Statistics for Analytical Chemistry 2nd Ed., Ellis Harwood.

 

Information and lab procedures for the course can also be found at http://www.academic.marist.edu/~jfjp (click on ‘courses’).

 

 

Goals and Assessment

The goals, and assessment methods, of the course are:

·         to familiarize students with the theory and implementation of some quantitative analytical methods.  Assessed by examination and laboratory report questions.

·         to improve laboratory and data treatment skills.  Assessed by examination, and grading of laboratory results.

·         to reinforce and extend the general chemistry material and apply it to analytical chemistry.  Assessed by examination and class assignments.

·         to gain experience in maintaining a proper laboratory notebook.  Assessed by grading of laboratory notebooks.

·          to become proficient in report writing in an acceptable format (e.g. Analytical Chemistry format).  Assessed by grading of reports.

·         to improve scientific thinking, and problem solving ability.  Assessed by participation in problem solving exercise, class assignments and examination.

·         to improve communication skills, both written and oral.  Assessed by journal article reports, laboratory reports and oral presentation.

 

Be aware that my examinations often include a mixture of short essay questions, which can require some memorization, as well as problem solving exercises.

Students with documented learning disabilities or physical disabilities that will require special accommodations must register with the Office of Special Services and should let the instructor know as soon as possible about the accommodations they will need.  Note that this is the responsibility of the student, not the Office of Special Services.

 

 

Laboratory

 

Analytical chemistry is by its nature a subject that requires good laboratory technique and results.  Experimental work is, therefore, an important part of the course and the accuracy and precision of your results will be a significant portion of your grade.  The laboratory component of the course is split into two parts: traditional non-instrumental experiments and instrumental based experiments. The non-instrumental experiments have been chosen to demonstrate each of the major analytical techniques discussed in class.   These experiments will be run by students individually during the same class period and provide practice of some specific laboratory skills (such as titration and filtration techniques) as well as important general lab skills (such as solution preparation, and careful and safe laboratory procedure) which are necessary for most types of lab work. The instrumental experiments will be performed by students in small groups.  Available experiments (subject to change) are:

 

HPLC analysis of an analgesic tablet (2 week)

Introduction to Atomic Spectrometry (1 week)

GC analysis of pesticides in fruit (2 week)

Determination of Manganese in steel by visible spectrometry (2 week)

UV spectrometry of a pharmaceutical mixture (1 week)

Graphite Furnace analysis of lead in water (1 week).

 

Students should pick 2 of the 2 week experiments to be written up as full journal articles and 2 of the 1 week labs to be written up as lab notebook reports.  Be aware delays can be unavoidable (instruments sometimes break down) so be prepared to stay late or make up at a time acceptable to your instructor when necessary.  The problem solving session will be a class activity involving the analysis of an analytical problem and presentation of the solution.  For all laboratory experiments, the purpose and procedure sections should be written in your lab notebook prior to starting the experiment.  The results, observations and any changes to the procedure should be written as you do the experiment.  The given experimental procedure should not be taken to the lab so that you will be expected to work from your own procedure (this should not be an exact copy of the given procedure).  Your lab notebook including calculations, discussion, conclusions and answers to any questions must be handed in to me by the Tuesday class period and will be returned before the next lab experiment.  If you are uncertain about the acceptable format for notebooks and written reports please ask.

 

 

Laboratory schedule (subject to change):

 

DATE                                    EXPERIMENT

Sept 8                                     Back titration of an antacid tablet

Sept 15                                  Titration of chloride in river water

Sept 22                                  Determination of the hardness of water by EDTA titration

Sept 29                                  Determination of iron in a vitamin tablet

Oct 6                                      Gravimetric analysis of calcium – Part 1

Oct 13                                    Gravimetric analysis of calcium – Part 2 (Thursday Oct 16th deadline for handing in lab notebook, no grade for these experiments after this date)

Oct 20                                    Instrumental Experiments (see above)

Oct 27                                    Instrumental Experiments (see above)

Nov 3                                     Instrumental Experiments (see above)

Nov 10                                   Instrumental Experiments (see above)

Nov 17                                   Instrumental Experiments (see above)

Nov 24                                   Instrumental Experiments (see above)

Dec 1                                      Problem Solving Exercise (DN101A)

Dec 8                                      Problem Solving Exercise (DN101A) (deadline for handing in all laboratory work, no grade for lab work handed in after this date)

 

 

Attendance

 

There is no specific number of “legal” absences allowed.  You should plan to attend all lectures.  The lectures are the only reliable way to obtain the information you will need to pass the course.  If you do miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out the material that you missed.   Problem sets will be assigned and discussed in class.  These are provided to give you practice at problem solving that will help you in exams.  There will be two hourly exams and a final. The final will be comprehensive with a greater emphasis given to material not covered in the hourly exams.  Permission to miss a lab or examination will only be given for unavoidable documented reasons (such as illness or a death in the family). 

 

 

Academic and Scientific Honesty

Academic and scientific honesty is expected.  Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism of work, and cheating in quizzes will result in a zero grade for the work and could result in failure in the course or dismissal from the college.  In submitted written work, all sources of information should be referenced and the wording either rephrased or placed within quotations.  Scientific dishonesty is treated very seriously in many professions (e.g. it could lead to job dismissal, the acquittal of a guilty criminal or being ostracized by the scientific community).  Examples of scientific dishonesty include copying someone else’s results, fabricating or changing results to get the expected value (note that the expected result may well be incorrect) or erasing mistakes from a notebook (they should be crossed out, initialed and a brief explanation added).  Your notebook will be inspected periodically to check for scientific dishonesty.  Anyone found to have been scientifically dishonest will be asked to repeat the work or given a zero grade.

 

Grading

 

 All work should be handed in on time.  A 10% per week deduction will be made for any late work.  Your final grade will be calculated using the following formula:

               

                Journal article reports                                     10% (5% each)

Lab reports                                                          20% (10% report, 10% results)

                Class assignments                                              15%

                Problem solving lab exercise                          5% (2% presentation, 3% participation)

                Hourly exams                                                     30% (2 at 15% each)

                Final exam                                                           20%

 

Your grade will be determined by calculating the percentage of points you have earned out of all available points, and comparing your percentage to the standard grading scale (A= >90.00%, B=80.00-89.99%, etc.) with appropriate adjustments made for + and - grades.

The instructor reserves the right to use subjective evaluations to elevate any student’s grade at the end of the semester, but I will not do this to lower any student’s grade.  I will make every effort to ensure that your final grade corresponds to the Grading System as described in the program catalog.  No grades will be dropped.

Please note that due to Federal regulations, grades cannot be sent via email.  This includes explanations of how grades are calculated.  If you wish to discuss grades you need to see me in person.