Summary

Instrumental methods of chemical analysis encompass a wide range of qualitatative and quantitative techniques and methods. The goal of this course is to provide each participant with a sufficient understanding of the design, theory of operation, and practical training on a variety of instruments likely to be encountered in a working laboratory. Laboratory investigations are designed to solve problems suited to each instrumental method introduced in the laboratory or lecture. Some aspects of troubleshooting instrument failure are introduced. A significant goal of this course is for to students develop experience and intuition so as to enable them to successfully analyze real samples using selected instrumental methods and to gain practical knowledge to make method choices beyond their experience. Every student should gain the competence to follow a standard procedure and design their own procedure, operate the instruments in a safe and appropriate manner, collect suitable data, evaluate the reliability of the data collected, and report the results in an appropriate form as would be required of any competent laboratory technician. Micro- and trace- analysis is emphasized.

This course is an extension of skills learned in earlier courses, such as General Chemistry and Quantitative Chemistry and provides additional framework for further studies in chemical analysis and chemical instrumentation. A minimum grade of 'C-' in Chem 340 is required to participate in this course.