In-class announcements:
    None so far

Class syllabus (download the PDF version here)

CHEMISTRY 425, Analytical chemistry II.  Spring 2009
8:00-9:15 Tuesday and Thursday
Faraday West 201

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Petr Vanýsek; Office, Faraday West 418

Meeting place for all sections: Faraday West 201 at 8:00-9:15 Tuesdays and Thursdays

OFFICE HOURS: 9:30 – 10:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other times by appointment only. I will help you with your problems, but when you come to see me, have your questions and problems already at least partially prepared. Bring your class notes along; I will want to see what you write down. Do not expect the instructor to give you your own private make-up class. When coming to the office hours, be prepared to share the office or the time with other students.

Laboratory sections (all meet in Faraday West 304)

          A          Tuesday       17:30-21:20            TA: Courtney Cherok
          B          Thursday     13:00-16:50             TA: Hadi Tavassol
          C          Thursday     17:30-21:20             TA: Michael Zickus

TEXTBOOK: D. A. Skoog, F. J. Holler and S. R. Crouch: Principles of Instrumental Analysis, 6th Ed. Thompson Brooks/Cole, Belmont, CA 2007. ISBN: 0-495-01201-7.

Recommended material: H. M. Kanare: Writing the laboratory notebook. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. 1985.

Recommended material: 1. H. F. Ebel, C. Bliefert and W. E. Russey, "The Art of Scientific Writing", VCH Publishers, New York 1987. 2. J. S. Dodd, Editor: The ACS Style Guide, ACS, Washington, 1986.

http://www.vanysek.com/electrochem/

Tests

Laboratory: 280 points as described in the laboratory handout

Grading: Total of 780 points is possible. Percent average (earned points divided by 7.8) will be used for determining the final grade. The following is a tentative scale: 85% A, 75% B, 65% C, 55% D, less than 55% F. Note however, that you have to complete all the laboratory assignments to get a passing grade.

Laboratory syllabus

LABORATORY  EXPERIMENTS            

Material needed: Your textbook, handouts, bound a page-numbered laboratory notebook. The TA will specify protective gear and any other safety related matters. Necessary handouts  will be available on the web: http://www.vanysek.com/electrochem/ Some may be available also in class before the laboratory.

For writing the laboratory reports consult the specific handout.

The experiment is completed by submitting a laboratory report to the teaching assistant. Laboratory reports are due on Thursday at 5:00 P.M. the week following the week during which the laboratory work is supposed to be finished. The experiment, which would be due during the spring break, is due one week later. No exceptions! Note though, that groups may be assigned to two separate experiments on a particular day another experiment, different from the scheduled experiment may be performed on a particular day. This will of course change the lab numbers which will be due, but not the due date. There is a late penalty of two points for each day the report is late. (Each day counts, including weekends and there is no limit -- negative scores are possible.)

Each laboratory report is worth 20 points. You have to finish all the 12 laboratories to pass. The quality of your laboratory notebook and timely note taking is worth 40 points. From these points the teaching assistants may subtract demerit points for safety violations, tardiness, sloppiness and other breach of common sense and good manners. There is 280 points total in the labs.

FORMAT  FOR  LABORATORY  REPORTS

 (Note that additional requirements and due-dates will be specified by the teaching assistants).

Additional material can be downloaded here.

Word processed reports are required. The format should be a maximum of 4 pages, according to the following section. Standard font (10 or 12 pitch, 12 is preferred) and single spacing should be used. The page format limit cannot be achieved by judicious adjustment of font sizes and margins.

Section I NAME. Give your name, date(s) the experiment was performed and the date submitted, course number (CHEM425), section (day of the week), full name of the TA in charge, name of partners, if you were split into groups.

Section II TITLE. Experiment title and number (from the syllabus), identification number of the unknown and what concentration was determined for the unknown (with units and standard deviation).

Section III OBJECTIVE. Give a brief statement of the problem or experiment. State the parameter(s) to be determined.

Section IV METHOD. Describe the method to be used and the basic principle of the method. Write in your words a brief synopsis of the experiment, following the handout, but omit procedural details unless there is a difference from those given.

Section V CALCULATIONS. Write all the calculations in a neat way here. Write first a general formula, using formal variables. Define the variables. Only then show a numerical calculation. (If particular tricky equation is used you may insert it by hand. However, learning how to do it on a word processor is a skill that will take you long way).

Section VI DATA. Set the table conveniently to record all obtained data.

Section VII RESULTS & ERROR. Write the results from section  V  here. Remember to identify the unknown sample by its number or letter.

Section VIII GRAPHS, DISCUSSIONS, QUESTIONS, PROBLEMS. Report what you have learned, provide interpretation of the results. Compare with literature values of expected values. Point out accuracy and precision, possible sources of error, unusual aspects encountered and their possible effects on results, advantages and disadvantages (or limitations) of the technique, ideas for further work. Include here also answers to specific questions and exercises posed in the instructions that accompanied the assignment. This is where a graph imported into the wordprocessor should fit.

From the report itself, the significance as well as the eventual use of the data should be clear to a knowledgeable reader who has not read the experimental procedure. A good two-step test is: 1) Do the plots and tables stand alone? Are all the units and their symbols included (use SI units) and do the titles clearly state the data contained? As an example, scan an issue of Analytical Chemistry. 2) Does the text adequately explain the data and point out important values? Is the language correct?

Adherence to the above requirements as well as neatness and legibility of the work will be graded in addition to the correct value of unknown and sound discussion of results. Some of common errors include omission of units, reporting in wrong units (Do not forget any dilution you may have done. Typically, if an unknown is issued in a volumetric flask, report concentration when diluted to the mark.), omission of standard deviation (Make enough experiments to be able to calculate it!), too few or too many (usually) significant figures and careless graphs.

Note on academic integrity

    In general, any graded work is to be performed by the student who is being graded, with the help of only such tools that are specifically allowed. For tests, your personal knowledge, pen and a calculator are specifically allowed tools. Books, notes, or other data storage devices are not allowed. Simple scientific calculators are preferred, although more advanced calculators are permissible as long as you honestly refrain from storing and retrieving substantial information such as equations or course material. Notebooks, laptops etc., with sizable storage space and a keyboard should not be used. No devices allowing communication with other people or storage media will be used. Cell phones, pagers, etc. must be turned off.

    Laboratory work is done in groups and discussion on solving the problems with others in the group is encouraged. However, the laboratory reports must be written individually. Substantial similarity of reports is cheating; in general, both involved parties are guilty. (Note for industrious students: Do not loan your finished reports to anyone.) Resist temptation to reuse old reports, reports found on the web and be careful not to copy the text from the lab handouts. I consider cheating to be the gravest academic offense and usually seek academic dismissal.  

Other issues:

Inception: 12 December 2006 (modeled after the syllabus from 1999) 
Last revised: 13 April 2009 15:30
© Petr Vanýsek
^{No new electrons were used while creating this page.}