Syllabus
Course: CH 220.2   Methods in Chemical Research
Semester: Spring, 2023                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 modified January 13, 2023

                                                                                                    Dr. Carl Salter

                                                                                                    Collier 221

                                                                                                    Office Hours:  T 10:30-11:40
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                                                                             email: salterc at moravian . eduCATION


Catalog Description: An introduction to the use of the computer in chemical experimentation and research, including the production of research-quality manuscripts that include scientific tables, figures, and chemical drawings.  The use of statistical programs and experimental design will be covered. Real-time data acquisition hardware and software will be used by the students to gather data for analysis in spreadsheets. Students will be introduced to on-line searches of the chemical literature using Chemical Abstracts and the Science Citation Index. Fall. One afternoon lab period each week. One-half unit credit. 

Goal:  This is the writing-intensive course for the chemistry major.  You will learn how to write about science and science experiments in a variety of formats.  The production of well-written chemical manuscripts with charts, tables, and chemical drawings is a high priority of this class.  Your grade in this course is determined by the documents that you submit; these documents will be evaluated on writing and presentation of data.  The course will also familiarize you with computer techniques that you will need to perform research projects and carry out other functions of a professional chemist. These techniques include searching the literature on a chemical problem, designing statistically sound experiments to answer chemical questions, organizing and analyzing data using spreadsheets, and preparing professional documents that explain your work to other chemists. 

WRITING: Students in this course are automatically part of the Writing-Enriched Curriculum research project. The purpose of this research is to collect and analyze student-produced writing in this discipline in order to better understand and articulate disciplinary writing conventions. Student names will be redacted from all work; the goal of this research is instructional and educational, and your writing will be treated respectfully. If you decide that you would like your work to be excluded from this research project, you can withdraw your consent by emailing Dr. Crystal Fodrey, Director of Writing (fodreyc@moravian.edu). Opting out of this process will not affect your course grade in any way.

Texts:
   D. C. Harris, Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 6th Ed, Freeman, 1999. Available in the Superlab Commons.
  Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 10 from Quantitative Chemical Analysis will be helpful.  Chapters 4 and 5 illustrate the use of EXCEL spreadsheets to analyze chemical data. The chapter on acid-base titrations will be helpful as you write your lab reports, but it is not required reading.
Any manual on EXCEL will be helpful. A Guide to Microsoft Excel 2007 for Scientists and Engineers by B. V. Liengme is available in the Superlab Commons. 

Because this class meets only one afternoon per week, attendance is critical.  One unexcused absence results in failure.  An excused absence gives the student the right to make up the missed material sometime during the remainder of the week at a time determined by the instructor.   For planned absences that result from participation in a college event such as sports, the student is expected to notify the instructor the week before the absence to schedule a time to make up the work.
NO spiral bound notebooks or ring binders.

Evaluation 

Three lab reports   30% Cola titration, KD acetic acid, buffer expt
Three “Aunt Gladys/Mabel Sirrup” letters 15% How does it work, cola titration, what is that stuff
Weekly reflections and questions (on Canvas) 15%       Before the following Tuesday!

Reaction paper to Asimov’s The Relativity of Wrong 10%

Element invitation 5%

Historical Article presentation & analysis 10%
Current Article poster                                                       5%
Current Article presentation 10%

                     There is no Final Exam for this half-unit course.
It is within the instructor’s purview to apply qualitative judgment in determining grades for an assignment for the course.

You are expected to abide by the academic code of conduct which can be found in the student handbook.

Week 1 (1/19)

Review syllabus

Audiences and modes of writing in chemistry & biochemistry

Distribute assignment Aunt Gladys letter #1 How does it work?

Plagiarism and citation

Formatting the lab notebook
Sample1
Sample2

Distribute M&Ms 

Start work on Introduction to Laboratory Statistics

Homework: Aunt Gladys #1, weigh M&Ms, weekly reflection (on Canvas), read titration of lemon juice and cola directions and prepare lab notebook.

Week 2 (1/26)

Peer edit of Aunt Gladys letter #1 How does it work?

Lab experiment: Acidity of lemon juice and cola (acid-base titrations)

Introduction to Excel: data analysis for the lemon juice and cola titration

Graphing in Excel

Homework: Aunt Gladys #1 final draft

Due: first draft of Aunt Gladys #1

Week 3 (2/2)

Analysis of lemon juice and cola titrations, plan lab report
phenolphthalein acetic acid AcOH

Discuss assignment Mabel letter #2 on titrations--what should she receive?

Formatting figures and tables 

Introduction to statistics (continue) 

Homework: Mabel letter #2 about lemon juice and cola experiment

Due: Final draft of Aunt Gladys #1

Week 4 (2/9)

 

Safety Data Sheets

Writing Equations in MS Word. 

Formal lab reports

Reading a paper (handed out research papers to examine)

Writing an experimental section

Writing results and discussions – incorporating discussion of data into the text

Writing the introduction and abstract

Homework: read KD lab and prepare lab notebook, Mabel Sirrup letter, lab report on lemon juice and cola acidity (due in two weeks).

Due: Mabel letter #2 figures and tables for titrations EMAIL

Week 5 (2/16)
 

Lab experiment: Partition coefficient of acetic acid between water and octanol (acetic acid KD lab experiment)

Homework: Cola and lemon juice formal lab report (due next week), read The Relativity of Wrong by Isaac Asimov

Due: Mabel letter #2 on lemon juice and cola titrations

Week 6 (2/23)
 

Selection of elements to invite to the element party!

Share KD results and review

Booklet: mechanics of the t-test

Homework: Element invitations, comment on The Relativity of Wrong, calculations and stats for KD experiment

Due: Cola and lemon juice formal lab report

 

Week 7 (3/9)
 

Element party! Read your invitation.

Discuss The Relativity of Wrong; choice and use of models

Booklet: end of intro stats

Homework: read Buffer experiment and prepare notebook

Due: element invitation

 Kim Demyan: Using Web of Science  

 

 

 

 

     

 



Week 8 (3/16)

Booklet: practical use of t-tests and F-tests 

Lab experiment: Buffer lab part 1

Homework: KD lab report

Due: Relativity of Wrong paper, buffer lab prelab

Week 10 (4/1)

Review and Questions about the buffer lab

Using Web of Science w/ Mrs Kim Demyan, Reeves Library
Analytical Chemistry (ACS) or Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (Springer)

Reading a scientific article: finding supporting evidence; interpreting figures and tables.

Preparing a research talk; mock talks and analysis

choose a paper, start article analysis

Due:  Aunt Gladys #3

Week 11 (4/8)

Lab experiment: Buffer lab part 2

Paired t-tests (part of practical use of t-test booklets)

Detection limits

ChemDraw for molecular structures

Distribute assignment Aunt Gladys letter #3 What is that stuff?

Homework: Aunt Gladys #3 (), buffer lab analysis

Due: KD lab report, EMAIL to me your structure drawing of Aunt Gladys's stuff!

Week 12 (4/15)

Evaluation of posters in department

Due: buffer lab report, choice of journal article for article analysis

Using Web of Science

Reading a scientific article: finding supporting evidence; interpreting figures and tables.

Preparing a research talk; mock talks and analysis

Homework: choose a paper, start article analysis

Week 13 (4/22)

In-class preparation and presentation of paper with partner. 20 minutes

Due: buffer lab report, choice of current journal article for analysis

Week 14 (4/29)

discussion of literature review drafts (one-on-one) 

Homework: talk preparation, completion of article analysis

Due: journal article review, outline and poster draft

Week 15 (5/6) 

Talks or Discussion Board. 20 minutes.

Due: journal article review poster, comment on talks by other students!

The following multiple writing assignments make up 60% of your grade.

Lab Reports: You will write lab reports based on the lab experiments you do during the course. An extensive list of online advice about lab report format, style, and content is available on my web site, which you should consult as you write your report. For each experiment you will be provided with lab report “template” files that will help guide you through the process of inserting the right information and ideas into your report.   The template follows the guidelines on the lab report style page.  Your conclusion section should always present your conclusions, making clear what is your claim, your warrant, and your data (or grounds).  Your statements about data should clearly refer to tables, graphs, or observations made earlier in the lab report.  The lab reports will be on the buffer experiment, the M&M statistics experiment, and the titrations on cola and lemon juice.

“Aunt Gladys Letters”: Your Aunt Gladys is curious; she knows you’re studying chemistry, and she would like you to explain how some amazing thing that she’s heard of really works.  Your task is to find the answers to her questions on the Internet, in the library, or in the laboratory, and then write a letter back to her that she can understand.  She has a friend, Mabel Sirrup, who is a science teacher; you’ll be writing to her about your investigation of lemon juice and cola!

Weekly reflections on the work in our class: (That is, after each class!)  Reflect on what you learned. Mention what you did in class only to the extent necessary to explain what meaning it had for you.  What did you understand?  What didn't make sense?  How does it relate to other chemistry courses you've taken and experiments you have done?  Submit before the following Tuesday!

The following individual writing assignments make up 15% of your grade.

The Relativity of Wrong:  Your assignment is to write a three-to-five page (double-spaced) response to Asimov’s essay, explaining his thesis regarding scientific models and stating whether or not you agree with it
I. Asimov, The Relativity of Wrong, The Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 14 No. 1, Fall 1989  http://hermiene.net/essays-trans/relativity_of_wrong.html
   
To develop your paper further, consider these points: Asimov cites several examples of scientific theories to support his thesis; if you agree with Asimov, tell me which examples best illustrate his thesis; on the other hand, if you disagree with Asimov, pick one of his historical examples and tell me why you find it unconvincing.  
Compare Asimov's ideas with the history of the Periodic Table:  http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/resources/periodictable/pre16/develop/index.htm
Does the development of the Periodic Table agree or disagree with Asimov's view of scientific development? 
Finally, tell me if Asimov’s assay has in any way changed your view of science and scientific research.

Your invitation to the Element Invite your element to our element party.  Your invitation should cite the element's important properties and uses, and explain why it is important enough to be invited to our party!

          The following research assignments make up 25% of your grade.

Historical Journal Article: You and a partner will be assigned a historically significant journal article.
Analyze and interpret the technical information in a scientific article in a way that is accessible to those with scientific background, but not subject area expertise. 

You and your partner will prepare and present a 12-15 minute presentation about your journal article.

Be able to describe the information contained in figures and tables in your own words.
Why were the authors doing the work? (You might find this information in the introduction.) 
For each table and figure in the scientific article, be able describe in your own words what the
table or figure is showing. You may also have equations to describe!

Current Journal Article: You will select a current journal article from Analytical Chemistry (ACS) or Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (Springer).  Analyze and interpret the technical information in a scientific article in a way that is accessible to those with scientific background, but not subject area expertise.  You'll prepare both a talk and a poster about the article.
Be able to describe the information contained in figures and tables in your own words.
Why were the authors doing the work? (You might find this information in the introduction.) 
For each table and figure in the scientific article, be able describe in your own words what the
table or figure is showing. You may also have equations to describe!

    Presentation: Prepare a 12-15 minute presentation about your journal article.
During your presentation you should:
1) Introduce the topic of your article
2) Take us through the major findings of the paper through discussion of the figures and
tables. (Explain what each of the figures and tables show. Try to make it a cohesive story,
meaning that you make connections between the figures and/or tables.)
3) End with a conclusion.

    Poster: Reframe your presentation as a poster about the article.  Powerpoint or Keynote.

IGNORE archived material below

Here are the Assignments for your writing journal:
1) Outline
s   
From Quantitative Chemical Analysis 6th Ed. D.C. Harris
                      Chapter 3, Experimental Error, sections 4, 5  D.C. Harris and answer essay problems 8, 9, 11
                      Chapter 4, Statistics sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5   D.C. Harris and answer problems, 1,2, 8, 9, 10, 13, 17.  In addition, you must read Lessons Learned from Lord Rayleigh ..., JCE 1990, 67, 925, and discuss the history of the example on page 70  in Harris's textbook.
                      Chapter 5, Calibration Methods sections 1, 2 D.C. Harris and answer problems 5, 6.
                      Chapter 10 Monoprotic Acid-Base Equilibria sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 
                      What does Harris's textbook say about Lewis Acid-Base theory (pg 108)?  How is it different from Bronsted-Lowry theory?

I. Asimov, Pure & Impure: The Interplay of Science & Technology Saturday Review, 6 (June 9, 1979)


2) Your invitation to the Element:  Invite the element to our element party at the end of the semester.  Your invitation should cite the element's important properties and uses, and explain why it is important enough to be invited to our party!

The outlines and the element invitation must be completed before the first grading of the writing journal!  You'll write papers on the Asimov essays. See below.

3)  Daily reflections on the work in our class. (That is, after each class!)  Discuss what you did in class and what meaning it had for you.  What did you understand?  What didn't make sense?  How does it relate to other chemistry courses you've taken and experiments you have done?

4) Additional Reactions:
  Write reactions to these additional resources.  Some are papers, some are videos.  Your reactions go directly into your writing journal.  The order that you do them in your journal is NOT important.  I've added questions that will help you focus your writing.

C. Salter and D. L. Langhus The Chemistry of Swimming Pool Maintenance J. Chem. Educ., 2007, 84 (7), p 1124
Salter & Langhus: What claim do S&L make about the role of balanced pH in pool chemistry? What two chemicals in pool water are influenced by pH?  How has this paper changed your view of acid-base chemistry?  What area of "everyday chemistry" would you like to know more about, and why?

C. Salter The diving pool at the Olympics

R. Persig: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Chapter 8 (Hierarchies) and Chapter 9 (Induction and Deduction) "It's about ten o'clock in the morning and ..."
                            boxes of hierarchies (Chapter 8)

Persig:  What does Persig mean by "hierarchies"? (Look at the "boxes"!)  How much could Persig divide up the motorcycle?  When you see a molecule, do you see concepts?  Would Persig agree with Asimov's ideas about models of science?  What claim is Persig making about science and the scientific method?  How often do you use induction and deduction in your science courses, lab or lecture? in your courses outside science?

James Burke: Connections, Episode 7 "The Long Chain"          http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2h6s4k      (also on DVD)
Burke: What claim does Burke make about how progress in science and technology takes place?  Do you think he would agree with Asimov's view of the interplay of science & technology? 
What is the "Long Chain"? What plastics do you use in your everyday consumption of commercial products?

Kevin Williamson : The Mapmaker's Dilemma
    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/376946/mapmakers-dilemma-kevin-d-williamson
In what ways is a map also a model?  What would it mean for a scientist to "mistake the map for the territory"?  Have you every made that mistake in a science class?  How can you as a science student guard against it?

Phillip Morrison: The Ring of Truth,  Episode 2  "Change"      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk8CQNThbc0   (also on DVD) 
                                             View the first half of the episode. (You can stop when you see bicycles!)

Morrison: He really likes experiments!  Which experiments/demonstrations in the video did you find most instructive and exciting? What claim does Morrison make about the connection between conservation of mass and atomic theory?  Historically, what experiments were important in establishing the principle of conservation of matter?

Primo Levi: "Carbon"      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRmQ6ySjwRs
Levi: What is the carbon atom experiencing?  How does the carbon atom move from one experience to another?  Which experience do you think is the most exciting for the carbon atom?  Why?  Why is Levi describing these experiences of the carbon atom in this unusual way?

Ira Remsen on Copper and Nitric Acid       http://www.angelo.edu/faculty/kboudrea/demos/copper_HNO3/Cu_HNO3.htm   Remsen's story is at the bottom of the page.
Remsen: Is Remsen's essay a description or a narrative?  Would it be appropriate in a typical lab report?  What does Remsen suggest students learn in a laboratory that they can't learn elsewhere?  Describe an experience you've had, like Remsen's, where you learned something by experience or observation that you might not have learned as well by reading a book.  


Reaction papers to Asimov essays:
  Isaac Asimov, famous science fiction writer.
I. Asimov, The Relativity of Wrong, The Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 14 No. 1, Fall 1989  http://hermiene.net/essays-trans/relativity_of_wrong.html
    The Relativity of Wrong.  Your assignment is to write a three-to-five page (double-spaced) response to Asimov’s essay, explaining his thesis regarding scientific models and stating whether or not you agree with it
To develop your paper further, consider these points: Asimov cites several examples of scientific theories to support his thesis; if you agree with Asimov, tell me which examples best illustrate his thesis; on the other hand, if you disagree with Asimov, pick one of his historical examples and tell me why you find it unconvincing.  
Compare Asimov's ideas with the history of the Periodic Table:  http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/resources/periodictable/pre16/develop/index.htm
Does the development of the Periodic Table agree or disagree with Asimov's view of scientific development? 
Finally, tell me if Asimov’s assay has in any way changed your view of science and scientific research.
I. Asimov, Pure & Impure: The Interplay of Science & Technology Saturday Review, 6 (June 9, 1979)
    Pure and Impure: the Interplay of Science and Technology.  Your assignment is to write a three-to-five page (double-spaced) response to Asimov’s essay, explaining his thesis regarding the relationship between science and technology and stating whether or not you agree with it.  To develop your paper further, find an example of an interaction between science and technology that has taken place since Asimov wrote this essay.  Extra credit if your science involved is chemistry.

Lab Reports:
You will write lab reports based on the lab experiments you do during the course. An extensive list of online advice about lab report format, style, and content is available on my web site, which you should consult as you write your report. For each experiment you will be provided with lab report “template” files that will help guide you through the process of inserting the right information and ideas into your report.   The template follows the guidelines on the lab report style page.  Your conclusion section should always present your conclusions, making clear what is your claim, your warrant, and your data (or grounds).  Your statements about data should clearly refer to tables, graphs, or observations made earlier in the lab report.  The lab reports will be on the buffer experiment, the M&M statistics experiment, and the titrations on cola and lemon juice.

“Aunt Gladys Letters”: Your Aunt Gladys is curious; she knows you’re studying chemistry, and she would like you to explain how some amazing thing that she’s heard of really works.  Your task is to find the answers to her questions on the Internet, in the library, or in the laboratory, and then write a letter back to her that she can understand.  In addition, you’ll be writing to her about soda and lemon juice, so take good notes!