Volumetric Glassware
To measure volumes accurately and precisely, analytical chemists use volumetric pipets and volumetric flasks. A volumetric pipet is the choice when needing to deliver a specific volume. The photo below shows two […]
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Explore resources, experiments, and teaching materials shared by the analytical sciences community.
How an Electronic Balance Works
An electronic balance is the most common method for determining a sample’s mass. Here is how the electronic balance works. An electromagnet levitates the balance’s sample pan above a permanent cylindrical magnet. […]
p-Function
When the concentration of a species spans many orders of magnitude, it is difficulty to display how that species’ concentration changes during a chemical reaction. Such is the case here for the […]
The Analytical Perspective
What is the analytical perspective? Many analytical chemists describe this perspective as an analytical approach to solving problems. Although there probably are as many descriptions of the analytical perspective as there are analytical […]
Analytical Chemistry vs. Chemical Analysis
One distinction between analytical chemistry and chemical analysis is that analytical chemists work to improve and extend established analytical methods. For example, several factors complicate the quantitative analysis of nickel in ores, […]
An Inexpensive Electrodeposition Device and Its Use in a Quantitative Analysis Laboratory Exercise
This experiment describes the construction of a simple apparatus for effecting the electrodeposition of nickel onto a tared copper electrode. Results are compared to the determination of nickel by the classical gravimetric […]
How Much Cranberry Juice is in Cranberry-Apple Juice?
Students determine the amount of cranberry juice (as a volume percent) in mixtures of cranberry juice and apple juice by measuring the absorption of mixtures and comparing to a calibration curve prepared […]
Leeching of Silver from Silver-Impregnated Food Storage Containers
Food storage containers may contain micro-particles of Ag, which serves as an anti-microbial agent to limit the growth of molds, fungi, and other microorganisms. Students study the leeching ability of three solvents […]
A Comprehensive Enzyme Kinetic Exercise for Biochemistry
The kinetics of the dephosphorylation of sodium p-nitrophenol using the enzyme bovine alkaline phosphatase is studied by measuring the reaction’s velocity spectrophotometrically as a function of the substrate’s concentration. The kinetic parameters […]
Measurement of Solution Viscosity via Diffusion-Ordered NMR Spectrosocpy (DOSY)
In this experiment students use diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) to determine the viscosity of a solution by measuring the diffusion coefficient (D) for a reference compound in solvents of known viscosity (η), […]
Using a Flatbed Scanner to Measure Detergency
Using a flatbed scanner to measure the reflectance from samples of a white polyester fabric impregnated with linseed oil, students determine detergent efficiency. Scans of samples are stored as RGB (red, green, […]
Laboratory Inquiry for Determining the Chemical Composition of a Component in a Laboratory Detergent
Students determine the concentration of sodium sesquicarbonate in an alkaline laundry detergent though a combination of an acid-base titration and thermal gravimetry, both of the thermal decomposition and the decomposition by reaction […]