The material for this course is divided into six broad sections. These are listed below, together with a more detailed description of the lecture content and approximate schedule. There are two 1 hr lectures a week. To aid students during the lectures, handouts will be provided in advance of each section via the course web site; these will include page references and assigned readings in the course text, suggested review problems, background material, essential diagrams and equations from the lecture slides, and additional material not included in the course text. Please note that these handouts are structured to provide a framework for your own notes. They are not intended to be a substitute for your own reading, note taking, or attendance at lectures.
| Section | Subject | Week | Lab Set | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What‘s in a Number? — introduction to measurement | 1 | no lab | |
| 1.1 | The nature and scope of analytical chemistry | |||
| 1.2 | Measurement terminology; errors in measurement | |||
| 1.3 | Error estimates; error distribution | 2 | A | |
| 1.4 | Significance test; calibration & resgression | |||
| 2 | How Pure is Pure? — standards and calibration | 3 | B | |
| 2.1 | Standards and reference materials | |||
| 2.2 | Determining purity – general methodologies | |||
| 2.3 | Volumetric analysis – titrations, complexometry, & gravimetry | 4 | ||
| 3 | All Charged Up! — electroanalytical chemistry | 5 | ||
| 3.1 | Electrochemistry review; Nernst equation | |||
| 3.2 | Potentiometry, reference electrodes | |||
| 3.3 | Membrane electrodes – pH and ISEs | 6 | ||
| 3.4 | Potentiometric titrations | |||
| 4 | Making Light Work — molecular spectroscopy | 7 | C & D | |
| 4.1 | Review of electromagnetic radiation | |||
| 4.2 | Electronic transitions in atoms and molecules | |||
| 4.3 | UV/visible spectrophotometry & Beer‘s Law | 8 | ||
| 4.4 | UV/visible instrumentation | |||
| 4.5 | molecular rovibrational transitions – IR | 9 | ||
| 4.6 | IR & FTIR instrumentation | |||
| 5 | A Bright Spark! — atomic emission and absorption | 10 | ||
| 5.1 | Atomic line spectra & spin multiplicity | |||
| 5.2 | Maxwell–Boltzmann equation in AS | |||
| 5.3 | Atom sources, sample introduction, flame processes | 11 | ||
| 5.4 | Flame atomic absorption & emission | |||
| 5.5 | Interference effects, calibration, standards addition | |||
| 6 | Degrees of Separation — introductory chromatography | 12 | ||
| 6.1 | Description & mechansim of separation | |||
| 6.2 | Definitions – retention & resolution | |||
| 6.3 | Gas & liquid chomaography instruments | |||
| 6.4 | Optimization, resolution, method selection | |||