Comprehensive Instrumental Chemistry Laboratory Guidelines and Foundation Notes

Course Logistics and Communication Protocols

• Instructional Philosophy: The instructor is dedicated to accommodating student learning and will not mock or ridicule questions, regardless of whether a question is asked once, twice, three times, or four times.

• Class Schedule Options: Lecture options include Tuesday classes and Monday classes.

• Lab Familiarization Assignment Structure:

  • The assignment begins with an initial set of $11$ questions.

  • The instructor works through and helps answer the first $11$ questions directly during the introductory lab session.

  • Questions following question $11$ must be completed independently by the student and brought to class on the following Monday.

• Instructor Contact Information and Office Hours:

  • Email Address: Standard lowercase email format (distributed formally via Canvas announcement).

  • Office Hours: Held weekly from $2:00\,\text{pm}$ to $3:00\,\text{pm}$ ($2$ to $3\,\text{pm}$).

• Primary Communication Channels:

  • Canvas Inbox is the primary contact method for all questions regarding mathematical calculations, lab report writing, or general lab inquiries.

  • For mathematical or calculation difficulties, students should take a picture of their handwritten work and attach it to a Canvas Inbox message rather than retyping full calculations.

Laboratory Familiarization and Emergency Safety Equipment

• Safety Shower: Positioned directly inside the laboratory space.

• Eye Wash (IO) Stations:

  • Primary IO Station: Located directly adjacent to the safety shower.

  • Secondary IO Station: Located in the secondary area of the laboratory as a backup.

  • Operation Protocol: Users must open the protective caps on both nozzles simultaneously and place their eyes directly into the water streams.

• Fire Extinguisher: Mounted in the lab; operated by pulling or snapping the safety pin.

• Ventilation Equipment: The laboratory is equipped with two fume hoods (ventilation hoods).

• First Aid and Hazard Response Kits:

  • First Aid Kit: Located in the lab for minor injuries.

  • Bloodborne Pathogen Response Kit: Includes a primary kit and a secondary backup bloodborne pathogen kit.

  • Spill Kit: Dedicated kit for containing and cleaning hazardous liquid chemical spills.

• Waste Disposal Bins and Classification:

  • Chemical Solid Waste Container: Designated yellow container used strictly for solid chemical waste. Liquid chemicals and general trash must never be placed in this bin.

  • Regular Trash Bins: Two regular trash cans located in the laboratory for non-chemical waste.

  • Broken Glass Container: Located next to and directly below the display screen.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Dress Code Regulations

• Eye Protection Mandate:

  • Standard safety glasses are strictly prohibited in the laboratory.

  • Safety goggles are mandatory. Safety goggles fully seal around the eyes to guard against acid and base splashes during titrations that cause permanent ocular damage.

• Required Attire Standards:

  • Long pants must be worn at all times and must extend fully to cover the ankles.

  • Upper body attire must fully cover the skin up to the neck/collarbone area before putting on a lab coat.

  • Rationale: Protection against unexpected chemical splashes and broken glass caused by oneself or surrounding students (adjacent, in front, or behind).

• Safety Enforcement and Environmental Health Services (EHS) Rules:

  • Students presenting improper attire will be respectfully asked to leave the laboratory immediately.

  • EHS inspectors have full authority to immediately shut down the laboratory facility if safety violations are observed (e.g., active mobile phone usage during lab work or non-compliant clothing).

  • Non-compliance results at minimum in receiving a score of $0$ for the lab session.

Chemical Contamination Risks and Forearm Safety Protocols

• Facility Hazard Classification:

  • The laboratory functions as an Instrumental Laboratory and General Chemistry 2 (Gen Chem 2) Laboratory.

  • Lab coats are mandatory for entry at all times.

  • Lab tables fitted with yellow or steel covers indicate active handling of carcinogens, strong chemical irritants, and highly corrosive substances.

• Surface Contamination Hazards:

  • Chemical spills on laboratory benches are common and often incompletely cleaned by previous occupants.

  • Placing bare forearms on lab benches transfers hazardous chemical irritants onto the skin.

• Post-Lab Hygiene Protocol:

  • All students must wash their forearms thoroughly with soap and water outside the laboratory immediately upon leaving the session to avoid skin irritation.

  • Long-sleeve lab coats are required to provide full coverage of the forearms against benchtop chemical contamination.

Pre-Lab Notebook Preparation and Rubric Guidelines

• Pre-Lab Entry Requirement:

  • Completing the Pre-Lab assignment is mandatory prior to entering the laboratory.

  • If the chemical and physical data section or safety data section is missing or fails to meet EHS standards, student entry to the laboratory will be denied.

  • Purpose: Demonstrates student understanding of chemical hazards, safety rules, and experimental procedures prior to handling chemicals.

• Pre-Lab Inquiry Support:

  • Students must contact the instructor via Canvas Inbox (or email if Canvas is down) during pre-lab writing to verify compliance.

• Hazard Prevention Case Example:

  • A student wearing a skirt who repeatedly pushes safety goggles up onto their forehead creates extreme risk, as any chemical splash will flow directly into the eyes.

• Pre-Lab Rubric Overview:

  • Total Rubric Value: $60$ points.

  • Required Sections: Introduction, Background, Chemical and Physical Data, Safety Data, Procedure, and Waste Disposal.

Experiment 1 Protocols: Precision, Accuracy, and Data Documentation

• Experiment $1$ Focus: Evaluating Precision and Accuracy (utilizes pure water, $H_2O$).

• Required Chemical and Physical Data Fields:

  • Chemical Name: Water

  • Chemical Formula / Structure: $H_2O$

  • Molecular Weight: $18\,g\,mol^{-1}$

  • Boiling Point: $100\,^\circ C$

  • Density: Approximately $0.98\,g\,mL^{-1}$

  • Experimental Volume and Mass: Approximately $50\,mL$ and $10\,mL$ (derived from the data table in the lab manual, accessible via phone or laptop).

• Safety Data Requirements (10 Points):

  • Comprehensive list of all chemicals used and all reaction products formed.

  • Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS / SDS): MSDS data for water ($H_2O$) and all subsequent experimental reagents must be searched and recorded.

  • Required MSDS Sections: Hazard identification, first aid measures, and fire/explosion data.

  • NFPA System Documentation: Must include either the NFPA hazard diamond diagram or a formatted NFPA numerical values table.

  • Regulatory Mandate: Chemical/physical data and MSDS records are strictly mandatory for every experiment without exception, even when using non-hazardous substances like water.

Procedure Writing Rules and Laboratory Notebook Standards

• Procedure Formatting Constraints:

  • Must be structured strictly as a numbered list ($1, 2, 3, 4\dots$); paragraph format is strictly forbidden.

  • Must be written in third person, impersonal tense (e.g., "The weight of the measuring cylinder is taken").

  • Point Deduction: Deviating from third person impersonal tense results in a mandatory point deduction ($1$ to $2$ points deducted out of the $10$-point procedure section).

  • Visual Illustrations: Schematic drawings of experimental apparatus (beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, measuring cylinders, pipettes, burets) are encouraged.

• Writing Efficient Experimental Steps:

  • Initial Glassware Routine: Start with the $50\,mL$ measuring cylinder by recording its initial weight and adding $50\,mL$ of water.

  • Repetitive Glassware Steps: For remaining glassware (beaker, Erlenmeyer flask, pipette, buret), write concise instructions such as "Repeat steps $1$ to $5$" or "Repeat steps $1$ to $6$".

  • Typical Procedure Length: Generally spans approximately $7$ to $10$ discrete steps (or more than $10$ steps).

• Notebook Specifications:

  • Procedure length is not restricted to a single page; students should utilize as many pages as needed.

  • Required Notebook Format: Carbonless copy notebook with spiral/metal binding, available at the campus bookstore.

• Waste Disposal and Cleanup Instructions:

  • Explicitly state disposal procedures for all solid and liquid wastes.

  • Cleanup Measures: Must specify spill protocol (e.g., water spills require wiping down the surface; future chemical labs require specialized spill kit protocols). Evaluated within the $10$-point safety grade.

Scientific Calculations, Significant Figures, and Scientific Notation

• Rules for Determining Significant Figures:

  • Count significant digits starting from the far left-hand side.

  • Non-zero digits are always significant.

  • Leading zeros are never significant (e.g., zeros before the first non-zero digit in decimal numbers are not counted).

  • Zeros located between two non-zero digits are always significant.

  • Trailing zeros in numbers without a decimal point are ambiguous and may represent $3$ or $4$ significant figures depending on standard notation.

• Scientific Notation Rules:

  • Express scientific notation keeping to $2$ significant figures.

  • Values Less Than $1$: Shift decimal point to the right. The exponent of $10$ is negative.

  • Example: Converting $0.0005$ yields $5.0 \times 10^{-4}$ (decimal moved $4$ positions right).

  • Values Greater Than $1$: Shift decimal point to the left. The exponent of $10$ is positive.

  • Example: Converting $5000$ yields $5.0 \times 10^{3}$ (decimal moved $3$ positions left).

• Addition and Subtraction Rounding Rules:

  1. Determine the number of decimal places in each measurement.

  2. Identify the measurement containing the fewest decimal places.

  3. Calculate the sum or difference.

  4. Round the final value to match the lowest number of decimal places identified.

  • Example: Calculating $106.79\,mL$ rounded to $1$ decimal place gives $106.8\,mL$ (rounded up because $9 \ge 5$).

• Multiplication and Division Rounding Rules:

  1. Count the total significant figures in each measurement.

  2. Identify the measurement containing the fewest total significant figures.

  3. Calculate the product or quotient.

  4. Round the final value to match the lowest number of significant figures.

  • Example: Rounding a calculated value to $3$ significant figures yields $7.02$ (retained as $7.02$ because the subsequent digit is less than $5$).

Mandatory Course Tasks (SMTE) and Administrative Policies

• Student Module for Teacher Evaluation / Readiness Task (SMTE):

  • Completing the SMTE is a mandatory prerequisite for attending class.

  • Automatic Disenrollment Penalty: Failure to complete the SMTE before the official deadline results in automatic drop/disenrollment from both the lecture and laboratory classes without warning.

  • Non-Reinstatement Policy: Disenrollment resulting from a missed SMTE deadline cannot be reversed, forcing the student to re-enroll and retake the course in a subsequent term.

Course Structure, POGIL Methodology, and Nursing Preparation

• Course Materials and Resources:

  • Lab Manual: Printing a physical copy is optional and not required.

  • Course Textbook: Recommended/required supplement; however, all material required for assessments is directly provided within lecture slides.

• Continuous Assessment / Quiz Format:

  • Quizzes consist of $5$ to $6$ questions directly derived from lecture slides and class activities.

• POGIL Educational Methodology:

  • Class operations follow Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), an inquiry-based educational model developed approximately $10$ years ago.

• Career Alignment and Clinical Preparation:

  • Tailored heavily for pre-nursing students preparing for the HESI A2 entrance examination (which includes a mandatory chemistry section).

  • Establishes essential mathematical and chemical foundations required for highly challenging Undergraduate and Graduate Pharmacology courses ($4$-credit or $5$-credit courses).

  • Builds essential capabilities for clinical calculations, including drug dosage determinations, patient height conversions, and patient weight metrics.

• Instructor Availability:

  • Office location: Room $1030P$, accessible during posted hours and almost all the time.