Symposium: Present Status of the Teaching of Analytical Chemistry Analytical Chemistry in an Integrated Laboratory Sequence Kyle E. Dolhow College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Virginia 23185 Within the last decade there has been considerable interest within undergraduate chemistry departments in changing from the traditional course-associated laboratories to a separate and integrated lahoratory program, representing all areas of chemistry. The integrated laboratory cuts across the traditional boundaries of the classical subdivisions of chemistry to allow for experimentation which more closely reflects the interdisciplinary nature of current chemical research. Such a program could also eliminate the sometimes trite and selfcontained exneriments often found in the traditional course-associated laboratory, and students could build a more flexible laboratow bv choosing among- advanced . exnerience . experiments in several areas. The role of analvtical chemistrv in a totallv integrated lahoratory is illustrated-by the weli-established proeram at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. chemistry majors complete four semesters of the integrated laboratorv course which begins the first semester of the second year andconsists of five hours a week in the lahoratory. The following three semesters each require ten hours a week. Associated lectures for two hours a week with each lahoratory course cover discussions of general information and explantions of specific points on each experiment. Although a given group of experiments performed in a prescribed order by every student is required in each course, a variety of experiments is offered from which the student can choose several to comnlete the course. Durlng thr four semesters of lahoratory the students perform 3 w~deselection of both class~calwet anslgirnl methods and modern instrumental methods. In the first semester, for examole. the following experiments are performed: the equivalent weight of an unknown carhoxylic acid is determined by acid-base titration with a visual indicator and its pK, determined by potentiometric titration; the amount of cholesterol in a crude solid is determined by derivatization and quantitative visible spectroscopy; the yields of various products produced during the acetylation of ferrocene under different conditions are analyzed by quantitative high pressure liquid chromatography; and the analysis of student-prepared tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride is made for both cobalt, by cation exchange and subsequent acid-base titration, and chloride. hv the Faians ~recipitation titration method. . . . In the succeed& semesters orher annlvtical techniques i n tnxlwed include both qualitative and quantirari\.e uses of ir, nmr, uv and mass spe&oscopy, esr, gas chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, liquid-liquid extraction, spinning band distillation, polarography, cyclic voltammetry, and basic electronics.
From the above listing i t is apparent that there need be no lack of analytical methodology in an integrated lahoratory sequence. The question, then, concerns the exact nature of the way analytical chemistry is presented within such a framework. Mere use of a wide selection of analytical techniques is not trainine for a orosoective analvtical chemist nor does it . . accurately represent what practicing analytical chemists do. Analvtical chemistrv is a orohlem solvine". nrocess which has a definite pattern involving much more than simply pushing a series of buttons in the correct order and copying a number from a digital readout. Important steps along the way in an analysis include, for example, such questions as whether a representative sample has been obtained, and how the sample can he converted to a form susceotible to measurement hv a given technique. I t is probably safe to say that when an analytical chemist is responsihle for the course and associated lecture, the analytical methodology involved in the experiments is emphasized more than when an organic chemist is responsihle. Thus, depending on the individual instructor's emphasis, the integrated lahoratory format could sidestep parts of the analytical procedure or of the analytical prohlem solving approach with cookbook-type directions. On the other hand. the inteerated format does provide an efficient frameworkfor cove;ng a wide variety of analytical techniques in the laboratorv. A wealth of current interdisciplinary analytical problems, including environmental and clinical, can he drawn upon for experiments which exhibit the complete analytical problem solving Whether such experiments are done in a .approach. ~course-associated analytical laboratory or in an integrated lahoratory sequence is not nearly as important in analytical chemical education as the proper treatment of the analytical method.
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Analytical Chemistry at a Community College: A Balance of Wet Chemical Methods and Instrumental Analysis Janan M. Hayes American Riuer College Sacramento, California 95841
Most community colleges offer at most one analytical chemistry course, quantitative analysis, which must he directed toward students w ~ t ha of prof~ssional Although American River Cdlege is rather large, we still have many of the advantages associated with comkmity college Prngrams. Analytical chemistry classes are small (a maximum of 24 in lecture and 12 in lahoratory sections), lab sections are taught by the lecture professor, and instrumentation is totally devoted to instruction. Because students normally will not have an additional inThese papers were at the Division of Chemical Education, Symanalysis course, we must also provide a firm i ~ t i ~ ~strumental l posium on the Present Status of the Teaching o f ~ ~ ~ chernistry, American Chemical Society ~ n n u aMeeting, l Chicago, ~~linois, hackground of instrumental techniques. Two major themes August 28-September 2,1977. have seemed to develop throughout the course. First, the
96 1 Journal of Chemical Education
