This is a seven session chemistry laboratory course that is designed to introduce students to some basic laboratory skills, techniques, and equipment commonly used in experimental scientific investigations. Experiments include: (1) An organic synthesis (the preparation and purification of aspirin), (2) Quantitative determination of aspirin by a Beer's Law analysis and a chromatographic (TLC) analysis of the ingredients in nonprescription medications, (3) Kinetics (determining the order and reaction rate constant for a reaction) , (4) An acid-base titration analysis (including the identification of an unknown organic acid), (5) Transition Metal Complexes (synthesis and color study of a coordination compound and a thermochemical study of a ligand replacement reaction of transition metal complexes using a temperature data acquisition/analysis device (Labworks II or CBL), (6) Polymers (determining the molecular weight of a polymer by an end-group analysis), and (7) Biochemistry (total iron content, iron release properties, and structure of ferritin, the iron storage protein). 1 hr. lec., 3 hrs. lab.
