analvsis: comnuter interfacing and other comnuter-related appll(ittiuns; and the analytirnl mrthod itself', in whirh students arr taught how to define a prohlem hefore heginning the actual analys& itself. Experiments should he redesigned and developed to incorporate new learning objectives related to these trends. New experiments need to be developed in which the student can become involved in the proper sampling of environmental and biological samples. Several questions arise. Will it still he possible to grade students rigorously on the basis of accuracy, so careful analvtical techniaue will not become lost in the interest of relevancy? Will new types of commercial "unknowns" become available to assist with the transition to greater work with clinical and environmental samples? How can the practice of practical "hands-on" student instrumentation experience he continued as instruments become more sophisticated and costlv? What role can educational technologies (videotapes, slideitape cassettes, films, etc.) play in improving the student's understanding of increasingly sophisticated instruments, so they are not merely used as "black boxes"? The future of the analytical laboratory course will hinge on the answers to these questions.
T h e Analytical T e x t b o o k Situation: Can a T e x t b o o k Present Analytical Chemistry
as It Really
IS?
T. R. Williams a n d R. H. Bromund The College of Wooster Wooster, Ohio 44691 A recent resurgence of interest in analytical chemistry is caused in part by the increasing demand for industrial analysis. A new generation of introductory and instrumental methods texts should now he written to reflect the chanees in the discipline. Our comments are directed specifically toward introductory texts but can he applied to both advanced and instrumental analysis text8. Historical ~ersnectivesuggests the directions that such new analytical texts might take:-1n our opinion, the early text by Kolthoff and Sandell1 reflected strongly what analvtical chemists did, and were expected to do, f&a living. The fundamental concepts, the bases for the analyses performed by the student, were rigorously treated. Two other texts did a great deal to train analytical chemists: Laitinen's "Chemical A n a l y ~ i s "for ~ theoretical concepts and Reilley and Sawyer's text for the instrumental analysis l a h ~ r a t o r yA. ~student who had snent a vear with the Kolthoff and Sandell text. and did the work well, was certainly prepared to perform most of the analyses of the chemistry profession. Today we simply cannot make this claim. Since Kolthoff and Sandell, there has been verv little change in format except for an increased emnhasis on statistical work and the intrdduction of instrumenial and chrwnntogrnphic suhjects. CIwwly, thr discipline of analytical chemistry has chnnxed irom that rcprtwnttrl hy the Kolthoffand Sandell text, hut most of t he cmremporarv hooks do not rrflrct these changes. Somr of the concepts which the earlier npprourhes do not cover follow:
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1) Treatment of both qualitative and quantitative aspects of
analysis. Recognition of the broad, interdisciplinarynature of analytical chemistrv. 31 lnrwpcmrion of tmrh simple teat9 and romplpx instrumcntal trrhnqur to s d \ c prd~lems. 4 1 l'rnltniny i>i.malvticalchemists in rhocrsinp. the hest method of analysis from a wider range than were available even ten years ago. 2)
98 I Journal of Chemical Education
If it is possible for a text to give an introductory analytical chemistrv student an annreciation of the diversitv and Dower of analytical methodoioiy and also reveal the analytical approaches to problem solving, then the initial education of the undergraduate would take on a new dimension and would, in effect, redirect the thinking of students and teachers alike. There are two notable examples which indicate that the goal may be attained. The text by Roberts and Caserio4 has had a profound influence on the teaching and practice of organic chemistry and chemists' approaches to the subject. With the advent of that book, spectral techniques became an integral part of the organic chemist's thinking, and mechanisms were made the companion of equation memorization. Samuelson'ss introductory economics text had a similar impact in that quantitative concepts were introduced and used immediately. In order to nroduce a comnarahle change in analvtical chemistry throigh textbooks, radical restrkturing will he required with the adoption of a new attitude toward the teaching of analytical chemistry. An author of a textbook of the new generation should concentrate on the broad, important f(~aturesin a unified presentation. A clear, integrated view is necessary at first wlth fine detaili kft for more specialized study, especially in such suhjects as spectroscopymd chromatography. A new text should include material to familiarize students with the problem solving approach to analytical chemistry similar to Siggia's%arlier text, "An Introduction to Modern Organic Analysis." Texts should introduce solved and unsolved problems which require the student to take a broad view of analysis. These problems could serve as an introduction to the literature and could heln to disnel the student's idea that a given problem can be solved in only one way. Examples might be produced hv a cooperative effort of industrial and academic chemists. The continuing development of modern instrumentation and its increasing compl&ity make it essential that procedures for calibration and performance checks he incorporated in current textbooks as the modern counterparts of balance and volumetric glassware calihration. A new text must help to make students aware of the interdisciplinary nature of analytical chemistry. Biochemical, organic, and geochemical examples might he utilized in the treatment of such areas as solubility product or pH. Laboratory experiments should seek to have students employ a wide range of tools to solve problems. Other topics to be included in a new analvtical text are proper met hods for silmpl6~preparation and &age, updated %tatisticalmethods retlrcting thv u a . ~ , hand.held f cnlculntors. and theoretical and practical methods for assessing reagent
a
""...,,.
n,,*itr,
Some tmdititmal matt:rial will have to he deleted. Treatments of rirrations and reagcnts muld he generaliled and ihortcned. Equilihria could healsotreared hrondlyand with fewer examples. It is clear that no one text can do the whole job we suggest. Indeed, several stages may he required. New texts face two main harriers. First, publishers must he willing to invest in new ideas. Second, academic people must he willing to give
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Kolthoff,I. M., and Sandell, E. B., "Textbook of Quantitative Inorganic Analysis," MacMillan Co., New York, 1936. Laitinen, H. A., "Chemical Analysis-An Advanced Teat and Reference." MeGraw-Hill. New York. 1960. ~eiile;, C. N., and sawyer, D., "~xperimentsfor Instrumental Methods," McGraw-Hill,New York, 1961. Roberts, J. D., and Caserio, M. C., "Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry," W. A. Benjamin, New York, 1964. 5Samuelson, P. A., "Economics." McGraw-Hill, New York. 1948. fi Siggia, S., and Stolten, H., "An Introduction to Modern Organic Analysis," Interscience, New York, 1956.
new texts fair readings both in the review phase and a t adoption time. In other words, we must be receptive to thinking about our discipline in ways very different from those of the past, ways which reflect broader ranges of experience as even the perfect text will fail if it is not adopted by the academic analytical community.
The Graduate Level Analytical Chemistry Teaching Program at the University of Massachusetts P e t e r C. Uden, Ramon M. Barnes, David J. C u r r a n , J o h n E. Roberts, a n d Sidney Siggia University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 Although it has been asserted often (perhaps most often by analytical chemists) that analytical chemistry holds a central position in the chemical sciences, advanced level analytical courses are not universally found in major chemistry graduate curricula in the United States and Great Britain. Whatever the reasons for this lack, the practical result in many laboratories needing the application of analytical techniques is that scientists from other chemical disciplines must undergo rapid transformation with dubious consequences. The existing graduate level analytical programs, which are attracting increasing numbers of students, need reconsideration of their structure and rationale to maintain relevance to a rapidly expanding field and to answer criticisms of scientific integrity. These programs must accentuate both chemical fundamentals and physical principles, including problem solving, data treatment and a balance of both classical and modern instrumental and electronic techniques. Evaluation of graduate student needs is of prime importance. Career nrosnects .. . exist in verv diverse areas rewiring.appropriate training; industrial, clinical, environmental, governmental research and regulation, instrumental development and application, or even professional management jobs are available for analvtical chemists today. Non-analytical graduates also needan appreciation of analytical principles, requirements and methods. At the University of Massachusetts, we have developed an admittedly taxing graduate course program but one which produces strong, well-prepared analytical chemists able to undertake rigorous graduate research programs and move competitively into professional positions. The first stage, which often has non-analytical graduate and upperclass undermaduate enrollments as well, is a series of courses stressing of Analytical processes, funldamentals, such as the Instrumental Analysis (lecture and laboratory) and Electronics for Scientists. Changes in structure of these courses have been dictated currently by the wide range of students. For example, the Instrumental Analysis segment now contains one course specifically developed for non-analytical graduate students and a more rigorous one for the analytical specialists which focuses on the basics of chemical measurement. A eraduate core nromam now includes the theow and electronics coursri noted above and the more rigorous analysis nurst!. Students comnletine the initinl stage continue taking at least a majority of the more advanced specialized coursesoffered combined with an increasing research commitment over a period of two years. All of these courses, which include Chemical Microscopy, Electroanalytical Chemistry, Spectroanalytical Chemistry, and Chemical Separation Methods (primarily chromatography), have laboratory sections covering current research methodology and practice. In addition to these established courses, a series of Special Topics courses,
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heo or^
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given at less regular intewals basrd on student demand, has included lnorranic Reactions of Analytical Significance; Organic ~ e a c t i o kof Analytical Significance (both serving to reinforce the rigor of chemical basics); Thermal Methods of Analysis; Metal Complexes in Analytical Chemistry; Analytical Mass Spectrometry; Analytical Titrimetry; and Minicomputer and Microprocessor Data Handling in Analysis. Another well-received advanced course is Applied Analytical Chemistry which introduces actual analyti& problrms, case histories and induqtrial situations. Students are ass1!2ned a research level laboratory problem and collaborate with facultv exnerts in areas soanning fields from food science to anthropo
