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 subdisciplines 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 modernday 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.