ERIC Number: EJ939007
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jul
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Quantitative Analysis in the General Chemistry Laboratory: Training Students to Analyze Individual Results in the Context of Collective Data
Ling, Chris D.; Bridgeman, Adam J.
Journal of Chemical Education, v88 n7 p979-982 Jul 2011
Titration experiments are ideal for generating large data sets for use in quantitative-analysis activities that are meaningful and transparent to general chemistry students. We report the successful implementation of a sophisticated quantitative exercise in which the students identify a series of unknown acids by determining their molar masses following a simple standardization exercise. The activity involves the collection and analysis of data from the entire class using standard spreadsheet software. Students deal with outliers, plot the results as a frequency histogram, and fit these histograms to normal distributions using least-squares minimization algorithms. The data-analysis skills and appreciation that are developed through the addition of this activity to a standard titration experiment can then be developed in more complex upper-level experiments for science majors. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)
Descriptors: Chemistry, Statistical Analysis, Science Experiments, Laboratory Experiments, Data Analysis, Data Collection, Spreadsheets, College Science, Science Instruction, Undergraduate Students, Cooperative Learning
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A