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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Introductory University Chemistry laboratory.
Much of the technological advancement of our society has occurred through the application of chemical
knowledge to its complex problems. The central role of experimentation as the basis of chemistry is best
appreciated by personal experience in the laboratory. No description of a chemical principle, no explanation
of a chemical theory, and no systematic ordering of chemical data can give you first-hand knowledge of the
effort required to obtain reliable experimental results. Your awareness of the complexity and difficulty in
applying chemical principles to the solution of problems will develop as you actively acquire and interpret
measurements in your laboratory sessions. For this reason, the laboratory is an integral part of the
Introductory University Chemistry curriculum.
The experiments in this manual have been designed to provide a practical application of the principles
introduced in the lecture component of the course and to provide an introduction to laboratory techniques that
are commonly used in chemistry laboratories. The equipment used by chemists may be more sophisticated;
however, the basic principles of the equipment used in this laboratory are the same.
The Theoretical Considerations section of each experiment provides the relevant theory and principles
necessary for each experiment. You will benefit most from the laboratory if you have prepared in advance by
studying the assigned material in the laboratory manual and related topics in the lecture text. It will be
particularly useful for you to review the sequence of operations to be performed and to identify the time
consuming steps and areas that might be hazardous. If you try to understand the chemical principle that
underlies each step in the procedure, you will learn much from the laboratory; your understanding of chemistry
and your enjoyment of the course will increase correspondingly.
If you have difficulties, your laboratory instructor is available to help you with problems. However, it is your
responsibility to carry out the experiment independently and to arrive at conclusions through your own efforts.
We wish you success in the course.
The College Chemistry Staff
