TO:
Beth Dobkin, Provost
FROM:
Valerie Burke, Chair
Academic Senate
DATE:
May 28, 2015
RE:
Senate Action S-14/15-60CA
New Permanent Course CHEM 113 and 113L
Analytical Chemistry
At the May 18, 2015 meeting of the Academic Senate, the attached New Permanent Course Proposal for
CHEM 113 and 113L: Analytical Chemistry was approved on the Consent Agenda. The proposal was
unanimously approved by the Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee (UEPC) at its May 4,
2015 meeting by a vote of 8-0-0. All documents related to this proposal can be viewed at the UEPC
website (http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/faculty-governance/undergraduate-educational-policies-committeeuepc/agendas.)
This action was assigned Senate Action #S-14/15-60CA.
Attachments
cc: President James A. Donahue
Vice Provost Richard Carp
Dean Roy Wensley
Final Course Approval for Analytical Chemistry--Chem 113/113L
March 2015
1. School / Department/Course Number/Course Title
Department: Chemistry, School of Science
Title of Course: Analytical Chemistry, Chem 113/113L
Number/type of contact hours per week: 2hrs, 10 min(lecture) + 6 hr (lab) = 8 hrs. 10 min
Duration of course: 14 weeks
Amount of course credit: 1.00
2. Justification for the Course: Analytical chemistry is one of the five foundational sub-disciplines of
chemistry and thus occupies an essential place in the undergraduate curriculum. For many years, our program
offered two complementary courses in this field, Chem 108: Theory & Practice of Separation and
Identification, and Chem 118: Instrumental Chemical Analysis. Over the years, department faculty noticed two
shortcomings with this approach. First, there grew to be a fair degree of redundancy between the two
courses. Second, student readiness was somewhat lacking, particularly with respect to quantitative laboratory
technique and evaluation of data. Thus, we have decided to replace Chem 108 with this new course, which
we feel is a better bridge between the basics learned in General Chemistry and the content encountered in
Chem 118 and other chemistry and biochemistry lab courses. Importantly, it will also serve the analytical
chemistry needs of biochemistry majors. Finally, the new Chem 113 and Chem 118 course sequence will
provide a curricular structure that more readily conforms to the requirements for program approval by the
American Chemical Society. The Chemistry Department continues to pursue this approval.
Analytical Chemistry is essential in understanding and applying the principles of chemistry, including many
learned in General Chemistry. It is also a bridge between the academic and many industrial aspects of the
field. At St. Mary’s College, a large range of topics and applications will be covered, including the analysis of
food products and supplements, industrial materials, and water sources. Traditional, manual methods such as
titrations, as well as electro-analytical and spectroscopic methods will be included. The course looks into
modern-day advances in the field with emphasis on development of laboratory techniques. Student success
requires extreme attention to accuracy and precision involving multiple trials and the use of standards.
Together with the iterative nature of their considerable laboratory work, students are expected to work
independently with much less instructor support than they are used to. Students with an interest in any field
of chemistry or biochemistry will take benefit from this essential upper division course.
a) Objectives of the course: Analytical Chemistry is a combination of understanding quantitative chemical
concepts and conducting very careful laboratory work. Students upon completion of this course will be much
more competent and independent experimentalists. In particular, they will have gained the skills and
discipline required to obtain very precise and accurate results. They will be able to plan their given projects,
and devise timelines and protocols to manage them. They will learn to incorporate sampling principles, error
analysis, and statistics to support their results and ultimately explain them clearly in the form of a
report/abstract. They will be introduced to the concept of quality control and analysis.
b) How these objectives relate to Department, School or College goals: Analytical Chemistry will play an
important role in reinforcing and further strengthening the main concepts introduced in Chem 8/9 and 10/11.
It is essential for i) developing analytical reasoning ii) learning to deal with data gathered from a single vs.
multiple sources iii) practicing statistical treatment and error analysis of experimental results, and iv) collating
these ideas into an effective written and oral presentations. Students must think critically to develop and
conduct their analytical procedures and complete their reports. Since analytical chemistry plays an important
role in related science disciplines, this new course will provide valuable training to other science majors,
including those in biology, biochemistry, environmental science, and allied health science.
c) Assignments/tasks used to evaluate student performance: The lecture portion of the course will use written
exams/ quizzes and online homework. The laboratory grade will depend on the accuracy and precision of
results of independent experimental work, as well as the writing of protocols and reports.
d) Pass/fail grading: N/A.
3. Student Population: Primarily Chemistry and Biochemistry majors/minors. The course will be required for
both tracks of the Chemistry major and for Biochemistry majors. It will also be an excellent choice for
students pursuing the Chemistry minor. In addition, students majoring in Biology, Environmental Science and
Chemical Engineering (2nd year) may find this course beneficial. Students interested in pursuing certain
careers or seeking admission to professional programs such as pharmacy or forensic science are often in need
of a course referred to as “quantitative analysis”. This course will fit that need.
Class size is expected to be 10-12 students. In fact, the available laboratory space restricts enrollment to 12
students. Enrollments for the experimental course were Spring 2014: 12 students; Fall 2014: 4 students. Note
that a number of students took Chem 108 in Fall 2013 and thus did not need to take Chem 113. However,
Chem 108 is no longer an option.
4. Relationship to present College curriculum:
Traditionally, Analytical Chemistry is introduced in the second year of an undergraduate chemistry program.
Students in their sophomore year should be ready for this course having completed one year of General
Chemistry. Most biochemistry majors will likely take the course in their junior or senior year.
This course will positively benefit other courses in chemistry, such as Instrumental Chemical Analysis (Chem
118), Advanced Biochemistry (Chem 136), and Independent Study (Chem 197/199), as students who have
previously taken Analytical Chemistry will enter these courses with an increased skill set. As a fall semester
course, Chem 113 will be offered prior to Chem 118 and Chem 136 each year.
5. Any extraordinary implementation costs:
Currently, BROH 329 is the only suitable space for Analytical Chemistry. The design of laboratory space and
hoods in this room limits maximum enrollment to 12 students. During the first experimental offering of this
course 12 students enrolled. This led to a stretch in resources (glassware/analytical balances etc.). Some of
these implementation costs were paid for in Spring 2014 from the Chemistry Department budget.
While not strictly necessary, some additional purchases would help streamline operation of the laboratory
work and/or make the course more representative of modern day Analytical Chemistry. It would be helpful to
purchase additional high precision analytical balances and glassware. Instrumentation such as an Atomic
Absorption Spectrophotometer (AA) would also add to the depth of analytical techniques taught. The costs of
high precision balances and glassware could be paid through lab fees over time, but the purchase of other
instrumentation will likely require external funding. The Chemistry Department regularly explores
opportunities for such funding and pursues grants that appear promising.
6. Library Resources: attached to this document.
7. Course credit and grading options:
1.00 credit with 2 hr 10 min of lecture contact hours and 6 hr of laboratory contact hours per week in a 14
week semester. It is expected that most students will spend an additional 4-6 hr per week out of the
classroom preparing for the class and completing coursework. The format of the course is lecture and
laboratory work (weighted 40% lecture : 60% lab)
8. Prerequisites: One year of General Chemistry (Chem 8/9 and Chem 10/11)
9. Course Description for College Catalog:
Study of the fundamentals of analytical chemistry with emphasis on careful experimental technique. Topics
will include a deeper understanding of equilibrium systems and statistical data analysis. Laboratory includes
volumetric, electro-analytical, and spectroscopic methods. Two lectures and two labs per week. Prerequisites:
Chem 10/11 .
Laboratory fee required. Offered every year, fall semester.
10. Course Content: see attached syllabi for lecture and lab. Reading lists, major assignments are included.
11. Review of experimental offering: Analytical Chemistry has been offered twice on an experimental basis
during Spring and Fall 2014, with enrollments of 12 (Spring) and 4 (Fall). Students were chemistry and
biochemistry majors, but 3 engineering majors were enrolled. The spring class was at full capacity and
resources were stretched thin. We are confident that the low Fall 2014 enrollment was due to the transition
period in which a number of majors took Chem 108 (now discontinued) in lieu of Chem 113.
Detailed student surveys indicated that interest in the course was high and preliminary responses and
evaluations of the course are very encouraging. Students felt that the course reinforced and deepened their
understanding of important concepts from General Chemistry. They liked the many practical applications of
analytical chemistry that were presented in class and felt that the lab provided a sense of “real-world”
chemistry. Some experiments were adjusted and students have expressed interest in analyzing different types
of materials for future classes. Every student greatly appreciated that being “forced” to achieve highly
precise/accurate results made them much better experimentalists, teaching them how to pay attention to the
details of lab technique in order to minimize error. Though a few of them were nervous about it at first, they
all relished the independence they were given in lab. They praised it for improving their organizational skills
and building their confidence as scientists.
Initially the course was offered as a WID course for both semesters. The Chemistry Department has since
concluded that because students may take Chem 113 before they have completed Chemical Literature (Chem
89), and because the primary learning goals of Chem 113 are focused around experimental technique, that the
WiD components will be removed going forward. The department is presently working on an alternative WiD
proposal.