Foundations of Chemistry I Lab

Catalog description

In this laboratory course, students will be familiarized with various techniques, equipment, data analysis skills, best practices in lab safety and ideas common to chemistry laboratories and experimental research. The lab will both introduce and reinforce principles covered in the Foundations of Chemistry Lectures by providing practical applications of chemical theories, including acid-base chemistry, thermodynamics, spectroscopy, chemical kinetics, and buffer solutions, and applying quantitative data analysis in the chemistry lab. In addition, the laboratory will emphasize scientific communication, including scientific writing. As part of the course, students will work on a multi-week project, comparable to a graduate level independent-research project. Previous activities have included studying crystal growth and DNA thermodynamic parameters. With the help of their instructors and peers, students will learn the skills of modern scientific research: proposing a hypothesis, developing a proposal to test the hypothesis, collecting and analyzing data, writing a report, and presenting the findings to the public as a poster or an oral presentation. These skills will help students to develop and build their careers regardless of the major or discipline of study they are seeking. pre-req or co-req: CHEM-SHU 125 Foundations of Chemistry I Fulfillment: Core Curriculum: Experimental Discovery in the Natural World Courses; Major: Biology Foundational Courses; Chemistry Foundational Courses; Mathematics & Honors Mathematics Science Lab sections; Neural Science Foundational Courses.