DESCRIPTION
CHEM 209L is a one-credit laboratory course covering
basic experimental techniques, quantitative analysis, acid base chemistry,
electrochemistry, qualitative analysis, synthesis, kinetics, equilibrium and
spectrophotometry.
This course, along with CHEM 207, CHEM 209, and CHEM
207L will fulfill the Shepherd University General Studies requirement for eight
credits in the Life or Physical Sciences.
Specifically this course addresses the following General Studies
intended student outcomes:
2.3 Understand cause and effect relationships
2.4 Understand basic scientific concepts and methods
3.5 Utilize tools such as charts, graphs, and equations
to represent functional relationships and explain their meaning.
TEXT
Lab manual available at bookstore
(required).
OFFICE HOURS
MWF 10:10-11:00, MW 3:10-4:00, R 1:10-2:00, F 12:10 – 1:00 or by appointment
Office
: Byrd Center 315
304-876-5430 ddilella@shepherd.edu
web
page: http://WEBPAGES.SHEPHERD.EDU/DDILELLA/
CLASS HOURS
Tues 2:10 - 5:00
PREREQUISITES
CHEM 207, CHEM 207L, CHEM 209 should be taken
concurrently.
SAFETY
The
experiments have been designed with safety as a major consideration. However,
the equipment and procedures will be unfamiliar to you and mistakes can and
will happen. Be sure that you understand
the hazards associated with the equipment and reagents before starting an
experiment. Do not be afraid to ask
questions. SAFETY GOGGLES OR GLASSES MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES. STUDENTS MAY NEVER WORK ALONE IN A LAB.
PREPARATION BEFORE THE LABORATORY
You
will be able to work much more efficiently in the lab if you understand what it
is you are trying to do. Read the lab
before the experiment. Be prepared. The
time spent in preparation is time that you won't have to spend in the lab.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Students
are expected to attend all laboratory sessions.
Makeup labs will not be available without a valid written excuse. Labs that are missed with a valid excuse may
be made up at a time determined by the instructor. Students may NEVER work in a lab without
permission of the instructor. Students
may never work alone in a laboratory.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Cheating in all
its forms, including plagiarism and cheating on visual work, is considered an
academic matter and will result in automatic dismissal from the course and will
be recorded on the official transcript.
LAB NOTEBOOK
The primary purpose
of a lab notebook is to have a complete record of what you did in lab. In principle, you should be able to use the
combination of the written lab procedure and the lab notebook to figure out
exactly what happened in an experiment.
The notebook entries need to be complete enough so that another person
should be able to reproduce your work using this information. If you were to lose a lab report you should
be able to completely reproduce it based on the information in the notebook. The notebook is placed where you first write
all data and record all observations.
Format
The lab notebook
should be a bound notebook, not a loose-leaf binder or a ring binder. When you start a new notebook, use a pen
to number each page from the first page through about fifty pages. Put the number in the upper, outside corner
of each page. Never remove pages from
this notebook. All entries should be in pen. All entries should start on the first page
and then continue on consecutive pages.
On the first page,
put your name and course number . You
may want to put you address and/or phone number here in case your book is lost.
In your notebook, each lab exercise
should start on a new page. The first
page for each experiment in the notebook should have the following at the top
of the page:
Title of experiment, date,
partners names (if applicable).
Each addition page used should have the date and the title.
Always write in
pen. If you have mistakes put a single
line through the part in error. You
should still be able to read the original entry since people sometimes cross
out things that they later realize were correct. All data collected in the experiment should
be written first in the notebook.
Don’t worry about having a perfectly neat and clean notebook. A real lab notebook never looks impeccably
neat and clean because, if it is used correctly, it will probably be stained
and have a fair amount of crossed-out data.
All
data should have appropriate units and an appropriate number of significant
figures. For example, the weight of a penny
on an analytical balance should be reported as 2.5345 g. If the weight had been 2.5000 g it should be
entered with four decimal places. 2.5 g
does not mean the same thing. It is
usually best to organized data into a table if possible. In that case the units can be placed at the
top of the column.
You
do not have to write the complete procedure for every part of the
experiment. You can assume that the
details are in the lab manual. However, any changes in procedure from those in
the manual should be indicated. All data
and observations should be written directly into the notebook. This information should be easily correlated
with the lab procedure as written in the manual. It is often easiest to organize data if you
prepare a table in the notebook before starting the experimental work.
Although not
required, it is good practice to include some sample calculations in the
notebook.
Graphs and Charts etc.
The graphs or
charts that you include in your reports can be duplicated and included in the
notebook if you want. Do not staple the
report sheets into the notebook. All of
the information on the report sheet should already be in the notebook.
You may
include answers to questions for the lab report in the notebook but this is not
required.
REPORT SHEETS
The report
sheets that can be torn out of the lab manual will be used as lab reports. All parts of the report sheet should be
filled out unless you are told otherwise.
Many reports include questions to be answered.
The report
sheets are due one week after the completion of the experiment. There will a 2 point deduction for per day
for late reports. Even if you finish the
lab procedure early it is a good idea to stick around and finish as much of the
report as possible. The material will be
fresh in your mind and the instructor will be available for assistance.
GRADING
Reports
+ Unknowns 90
Notebook 10
There
are no quizzes or tests in this course.
The grade is based on the lab reports, notebooks and unknowns as
described above.
FINAL GRADE
The final grade will be based on the
following scale
A 90
% to 100 % B 80
% to
89+ % C 70 %
to 79+ % D 60
% to
69+ %