Chem 0250: Introduction to Analytical Chemistry

Fall Semester 2014 (2151)

Class number: 11634
Course Description:
This course is concerned with introductory statistics, the rigorous treatment of equilibria that are
of analytical importance, electroanalytical methods, emission and absorption spectrophotometry,
and modern methods of chemical separations, particularly chromatography.
Instructor:
Prof. Adrian C. Michael
Office: Room 901 Chevron
Email: amichael@pitt.edu (use Chem 250 in the subject line)
To contact Dr. Michael outside of class or recitation, the best thing to do is send me an email
listing 2 or 3 times that would be convenient for you to stop by the office for a meeting. I will
make every effort to see you as soon as possible once you have asked for an appointment.
However, I usually check email only once or twice a day (and almost never at night or over the
weekend), so please plan accordingly.
When sending me an email, please make sure to use Chem 0250 in the subject line: this will
clearly identify your message as being from a student: if you do not receive a reply, please do not
assume that I have received your message I reply to all emails from students if you do not
receive an acknowledgement, resend the message.
Please do not ask chemistry questions via email: I do not teach or tutor via email (in my
experience, it is simply not a good way to teach). If you have chemistry questions, please ask
them in class, in recitation, or during your office visit (by asking in class or during recitation the
answer benefits the entire class).
You are always welcome to stop by the office without an appointment but please understand that
I may not be able to see right away (it depends on what Im doing when you arrive).
Textbook:
Quantitative Chemical Analysis, Eighth Edition by Daniel C. Harris
The solutions manual is optional but highly recommended.
Course Outline and Schedule:
Week

Day/Date

Topic

Reading

Week 1

Mon, Aug 25
Wed, Aug 27

Course Intro/Math

Chaps 4, 5

Week 2

Mon, Sept 1
Wed, Sept 3

Labor Day, no class

Chemical Equilibrium

Chap 6

Week 3

Mon, Sept 8
Wed, Sept 10

Activity, Systematic Equilibrium

Monoprotic acids and bases
Quiz 1

Chap 7
Chap 8

Week 4

Mon, Sept 15
Wed, Sept 17

Acid-base titrations
Polyprotic acids and bases

Chap 9
Chap 10

Week 5

Mon, Sept 22
Wed, Sept 24

First Exam: Chaps 4-8

Week 6

Mon, Sept 29
Wed, Oct 1

EDTA titrations
Advanced Topics

Chap 11
Chap 12

Week 7

Mon, Oct 6
Wed, Oct 8

Fundamentals of Electrochemistry
Quiz 2

Chap 13

Week 8

Tues, Oct 14
Wed, Oct 15

Electrodes and Potentiometry

Chap 14

Week 9

Mon, Oct 20
Wed, Oct 22

Redox titrations
Electroanalysis

Chap 15
Chap 16

Week 10

Mon, Oct 27
Wed, Oct 29

Second Exam: Chaps 9-14

Spectrophotometry

Chap 17,18

Week 11

Mon, Nov 3
Wed, Nov 5

Spectrophotometers
Atomic Spect

Chap 19
Chap 20

Week 12

Mon, Nov 10
Wed, Nov 12

Intro to Separations
Quiz 3

Chap 22

Week 13

Mon, Nov 17
Wed, Nov 19

GC
HPLC

Chap 23
Chap 24

Week 14

Mon, Nov 24
Wed, Nov 26

Third Quiz: Chaps 15-20

Thanksgiving - no class

Week 15

Mon, Dec 1
Wed, Dec 3

CE

Finals

TBD

Final Exam (Comprehensive)

Chap 25

Policy on Exams and Quizzes:

All work on the exams and quizzes is to be your own. No assistance is permitted from any
source, including but not limited to classmates, books, notes, etc. Only hand-held calculators
may be used: all other electronics (PDA, cell phone, laptop, etc.) must be turned off and put
away if you need to have them with you. The University of Pittsburghs policy on Academic
Integrity applies during all quizzes and exams.

All quizzes and exams must be taken during regular class hours on the dates listed in the
schedule, above, unless prior arrangements are made. Quizzes and exams will be rescheduled
in advance only for reasons deemed valid (e.g. job/school interviews, medical crises: sorry but
family/social events are not valid reasons). If you are ill or face unforeseen circumstances on the
day of the exam, if possible please notify me by email or phone (412-624-8560, or 4-8560 from a
campus phone) before the exam starts. Normally, make-up exams must be taken within one
week of the scheduled exam date. Requests for make-up exams should include documentation
for the reason the exam was missed.
The Exams:
Each exam will take place during the regular class hours on the dates indicated in the schedule,
above. Each exam will be weighted to be worth 100 points each. No multiple choice questions.
All work must be shown on the exam in order to receive a score, even if the answer is correct.
There will be three quizzes given during recitations on the dates indicated in the schedules,
above. These quizzes will be 15-20 minutes and consist, typically, of 1 question probably with
multiple parts. The quizzes will be worth a total of 100 points. Details will be available closer
to the time.
The Final Exam:
The Final Exam will be divided into two parts. Part One will cover questions relating to
statistics and chemical equilibria. Part Two will cover Electrochemistry, Spectrophotometry and
Separations. Each part will be worth 100 points.
Homework/Recitation:
Recommended exercises and problems from the textbook will be posted on CourseWeb as the
term progresses. Homework will not be collected. Homework and additional problems will be
reviewed during recitation. Students are encouraged to use Excel spreadsheets, when
appropriate, for homework exercises.
Preparation for and participation in recitation is strongly encouraged: you may earn up to 50
bonus points in recitation by working problems (correctly!) on the blackboard for the group:
problems will be ranked between 5 and 10 points, according to difficulty, by the instructor.
Grading:
Hour Exams:
Recitation Quizzes:
Final exam:

300 points (100 each)

100 points (total)
200 points

Assignment of final grades: The final grade for the course will be based on the total of points
earned out of 600. The class average or 450 points (75%), whichever is higher, will serve as the
cutoff between a B- and B.

Another way to earn bonus points: You may earn up to 50 bonus points by attending seminars
(details on the seminars available can be found on the departments web site as well as the SACP
and SSP web sites). You must attend the seminar and then turn in a page report on what you
learned (you must learn something, not just show up). Each seminar will earn 5-10 points (5 if
you attended but didnt seem to learn much: 10 if you convince me you learned something).
The maximum number of bonus points you can earn is 50 in any combination of recitation
problems and seminar reports.