CHM 4411L
Physical Chemistry Laboratory
Fall 2000
Instructor: P.J. Brucat / CLB311E / brucat@ufl.edu
/ 392-2006
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Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 7:30- 8:20AM or by appointment
Teaching Assistants: Keith Zientek
(kzientek@chem.ufl.edu)
and Jason Fuller (fuller@chem.ufl.edu)
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Contact these individuals for their office locations and hours
Laboratory Assistant: Oleg Matveev
Laboratory Supervisor: Dr. K.R. Williams
Laboratory Sessions: Leigh Hall Room 248 12:50 - 6:00PM (periods
6-10)
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Tuesdays (sec 0821), and Thursdays (sec 0822)
Lecture: CLB 313, 9:35 - 10:25AM (period 3) Tuesdays
Required Materials:
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Laboratory notebook with duplicate pre-numbered pages
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Safety glasses, long pants, covered-toe shoes, etc.
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Diskettes, calculator, pen, rule, etc.
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Subscription to this course website (near):
<
http://www.chem.ufl.edu/~itl/ >
Reference Texts (optional):
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"Error Analysis in Physical and Analytical Chemistry", Williams, K.R.
(Copyright
1990) (University Copy Center).
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"Experiments in Physical Chemistry" Shoemaker, D.P.; Garland, C.W.; Nibler,
J.W.
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(or any comparable text), Any edition., (McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, 1989.)
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[Marston Science Library].
The Experiments:
We will perform 11 experiments in physical chemistry covering some of the major
topics in that discipline. The beginning of the semester will address
questions in Thermodynamics and Kinetics and the latter part will develop
an understanding of basic Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy. Students in the laboratory course
will rotate through the list of experiments (tentatively provided below; Please check the on-line
Lab Schedule for revisions) in 3 groups, designated I, II, and III
to best utilize our available equipment. You will be assigned a group designation during
the first lecture
session on 8/29/00. All experiments will be performed in LEI 248 unless otherwise noted. For a complete description of the laboratory experiments and the laboratory protocol pages, see the course website at http://www.chem.ufl.edu/~itl/4411L_f00/Welcome.html
1 This week has no class on Monday due to Labor Day. This
has no effect on any lab session.
2 This week has no classes Friday (Homecoming). This has
no effect on any lab session.
3 This week has no classes on Friday due to Veterans
Day.
4 This week has no classes on Thursday and Friday (Thanksgiving).
So, we take the week off and write papers instead of lab work.
Course Quizzes, Announcements, and Other Functions:
We will be utilizing the Internet for most of the routine functions of the course,
through a methodology called WebCT. You MUST subscribe to the course through our
WebCT site. See the course
homepage for instructions on how to do this.
The 'Product':
An experiment is not complete until the results are analysed and the
conclusions are presented in an original
composition (paper). You will write about each experiment as if it were
original work without exact precedent. (Feel free to have fun with this
anachronistic concept). The form, length and style are to be that consistent
with papers to be submitted for publication to the journal: "Chemical Physics
Letters". You will need to peruse this journal for examples and the instructions
to authors. Because we perform more experiments than it would be possible to write
good papers for, we will only expect a subset of the experiemts performed to have
writeups. You may omit three writeups of the following pairs meaning that you are
responsible for a total of 8 (eight) papers for the term.
You may omit the writeup for ONE of each of the following PAIRS
of experiments
| Kinetics |
-- or -- |
pKa |
| NMR |
-- or -- |
UV/Vis of Dyes |
| HyperChem |
-- or -- |
OH Emission |
Grading: The course grade will be determined from a weighted
average of 20% quiz scores, 60% paper grades, and 20% subjective grade.
Quizzes (20%):
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A brief on-line 'warmup' quiz will be given before each experimental session. The
quiz will become active after lecture on Tuesday and will stay available for you to
complete until lecture the following week. You must take and pass this quiz
BEFORE begining work in the laboratory. You will have a limited time to pass each quiz
but multiple attempts (usually 3) will be allowed.
Subjective Grades (20%):
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Factors affecting the subjective grade will be the student's attendance
record (lecture and lab), laboratory technique, understanding of the experiments,
and general attitude.
Written Reports (60%):
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Papers will be submitted 1 week (7 days) from the completion of the experiment
to the TA of the students' assigned section. Papers submitted after this 7 days period
will suffer a significant reduction in grade. No paper will be accepted
later than two weeks after the experiment is completed; There will be
NO exceptions. All
manuscripts must be submitted before the absolute deadline of High Noon,
Wednesday, December 6, 2000.
SAFETY GLASSES AND PROPER ATTIRE MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES IN THE LABORATORY
Laboratory Practice:
Our laboratory is meant to simulate scientific investigation, but is limited
by the amount of time that you, the students, can spend on a given topic, and
limited too, by the fact that truly new scientific discoveries are
not likely within our course.
What we attempt to do here is bridge the gap between our sterile lecture-based
knowledge of the
details of the workings of the Universe, and the actual Universe, as perceived by
'first-person' observation. You are familiar with 'first person' observation, and
you are familiar with the concepts of Chemistry. Now, we are challenged to make an observation that
quantitatively demonstrates a rigorous concept that you have been taught, but make this concept
'real' for you through personal experimental experience.
No one wants to be a robot, nor do I wish to create one in you. The on-line
protocols for each experiment are there to guide you through your observation are not to be
treated as a list of commands to be executed.
On the other hand, if you went into the laboratory without any instructions
at all, it would
take you too long to get the equipment working, and this detract from the experience
of revealing the secrets of nature.
Treat this course as yours. Your Own Chemistry Laboratory. Be ready to take instruction
and criticism like you have in many other course, but be ready to learn creatively,
with instruments that extend you innate senses. Use your laboratory to See. See molecules. See molecules react.
It's not the Boy Scouts... It's CHM4411L students that say: Be prepared. If you
have not thought about what you are about to do in the lab, you will not be
able to observe anything but confusion. Open your eyes with your brain. Read the lab protocol well before the lab is to occur and ruminate on the experience to come. Take the on-line 'warmup'
quiz. Reread the protocol and predict to yourself what will occur in the lab.
To be proper, all laboratory work must be recorded in ink in a BOUND NOTEBOOK (pretend
you are Leonardo da Vinci; mirror script is optional)
Experimenters sometimes work alone but more often work in small
teams. The teammates that you have in this class are there to share ideas, data,
effort, but not papers. Each of you must ultimately compile your work individually into
something that is publishable. This is just like the real world.
The Scientific Paper: the Intellectual Product
of Chemical Research
Your papers are to be in the format of a manuscript to be submitted
to the journal "Chemical Physics Letters" and are roughtly composed of the following parts (in order):
Ia. Abstract: A one paragraph, single spaced synopsys of the
work performed, including important results and conclusions. This section
should be self contained in terms of references and figures.
Ib. Keywords: A list of words that are deemed subject headings
relevant to the work by the authors to be used for computer searches.
II. Introduction: State purpose and/or problem on which
the experiment is focused. Briefly indicate the theory to be verified.
(Answer the question: Why, in a global perspective, is this paper worth
reading?)
III. Experimental: Briefly describe the procedure used. Include
an illustration or a block diagram of the experimental set-up. Point out
interesting features of the procedure, but don't just simply restate the
protocol that you have been provided (We already know that stuff). In many
cases, this section is a very minor portion of the paper and of little
consequence. Nonetheless, it should be accurate and succinct.
IV. Calculations and Results: Summarize the calculated results,
using tables and graphs. Make it as easy as possible for the reader to
obtain the relevant experimental conclusions and be convinced of the validity
of your results. Describe how the calculations were performed and include
relevant derivations of formulae, particularly theoretical results.
Uncertainties in Results:
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1. Discuss what are the most important sources of random and systematic
errors.
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2. Derive a qualitative estimate of the uncertainty in the experimental
results obtained and describe the meaning of this estimate in terms of
its utility to others.
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3. Indicate uncertainty of calculated results in your tables as X ±
Y and in graphs as error bars or boxes.
V. Discussion: Restate your most important results (and uncertainties).
Compare results with calculated and/or literature values (give references).
Do your results appear to be self-consistent and reliable? Do they agree with literature observation? Do your results support or refute a particular
theoretical understanding of the system? Discuss what could be done to
improve the results, the apparatus, or the theoretical framework in which
they fall. Discuss the impact of the findings in your paper on the human
race.
VI. Conclusion: Restate, in the most succinct form possible,
the major results of your experiment and the conclusion(s) you have drawn
from them. What 'far reaching' conclusions can be drawn from the experiment?
Papers should be legible, typewritten, and strive for creativity and
clarity. All papers are to be
submitted in hard copy (paper) AND in
electronic format (i.e. on a floppy disk or emailed to the TA in Word, WordPerfect, or HTML
format). This is just how Chem Phys Lett. (and many other journals) requires
manuscript submission.
Lab Schedule || WebCT
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TA's || Announcements
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Operations
PJ Brucat || University
of Florida || Chemistry Dept