NOVEMBER, 1948
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS FOR PROSPECTIVE INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTS1 GEORGE CALINGAERT Ethyl Corporation, Detroit, Michigan T H E TEACHING of analytical chemistry, like that of many other subjects, is useful in three ways to the prospective industrial chemist: i t teaches him how to perform some useful operations; it familiarizes the student with the potentialities of applications of such methods; and it constitutes a good exercise in a rigid discipline of scientific reasoning. Of these three, the latter is the most important. Most young graduates have a smattering knowledge' of how to perform some operations, but too fen- have reasoned out rigidly the logical steps involved and understood the limitations of the over-all process. 1
An sbstract.
Regarding quantitative analysis, the elementary part of the course should stress tidiness and accuracy. Chemistry majors should in addition he well grounded in fundamentals, including, for instance, the purification and testing of reagents, calibration of instruments, and elementary statistics. The field is too large to cover completely, and the industrial chemist will readily learn on the job the particular field in which he will be engaged, provided his college training has been truly basic. The student who has been trained to think and understand will, in industry, forge ahead of his schoolmate who has concentrated on accumulating factual knowledge.
