Chem 101l Lab Manual

Presents a lab manual for the two-semester General Chemistry course. This book contains experiments that cover the commonly assigned experiments found in a typical two-semester course.

The laboratory course described in the lab manual emphasizes experimental design, data analysis, and problem solving. Inherent in the design is the emphasis on communication skills, both written and oral. Students work in groups on open-ended projects in which they are given an initial scenario and then asked to investigate a problem. There are no formalized instructions and students must plan and carry out their own investigations.

This laboratory manual is probably quite different from any chemistry lab manual you have seen before; it is an attempt to give general chemistry students an appreciation of what chemists do. Real scientists do not have a recipe for each experiment that they perform. Rather, they devise heir own experiments to test their hypotheses and gather and analyze data. In the real world there is no right answer, and so it will be in this laboratory experience. The open-ended projects in the manual will last several weeks and require students to work together in teams to sloven problems, using skills that are ever more necessary in everyday life.