Laboratory Manual for Principles of General Chemistry 8th Edition

Book Preface

Breadth (and Level) of the 8TH Edition This manual covers two semesters (or three quarters) of a general chemistry laboratory program. A student may expect to spend three hours per experiment in the laboratory; limited, advanced preparation and/or extensive analysis of the data may lengthen this time. The experiments were chosen and written so that they may accompany any general chemistry text.

Features of the 8TH Edition

Safety and Disposal. “Safety first” is again emphasized throughout the manual with recent advisories and guidelines being added. The introductory section outlines personal and laboratory safety rules and issues. Icons in the Experimental Procedures cite “Cautions” for handling various chemicals, the proper “Disposal” of chemicals, and the proper “Cleanup” of laboratory equipment. Pre-laboratory questions often ask students to review the safety issues for the experiment. In addition, attention was focused on eliminating chemicals that have prompted disposal concerns. Experiments have been modified or combined to eliminate such chemicals as barium, bismuth, and thioacetamide, and to reduce the amount of silver ion from 7th edition experiments.

Laboratory Techniques. Numbered icons cited at the beginning of each experiment and within the Experimental Procedure are referenced to basic laboratory techniques that enable the student to complete the experiment more safely and efficiently.

The Laboratory Techniques section provides a full explanation of seventeen basic general chemistry laboratory techniques (along with the corresponding icons) that are used repeatedly in the manual.

Organization. Experiments have been regrouped according to subject matter where, e.g., all redox experiments are grouped (Section 5) such that the sequential numbering for the experiments in the group indicates a greater degree of complexity. For example, Experiment 27, Oxidation-Reduction Reactions is the simplest of the reactions involving oxidationreduction, not the 27th most difficult experiment in the manual, and Experiment 33, Electrolytic Cells: Avogadro’s Number, is perhaps the most difficult of the oxidation-reduction experiments.

Dry Lab 2, Nomenclature, as well as a combined experiment (7th edition, Experiments 12 and 13) on Acids, Bases, and Salts (Experiment 6) have been moved forward in the 8th edition. Such organization appears to be the trend in general chemistry programs.

Report Sheets. They have been simplified! Data entries are now distinguished from calculation entries—the calculated entries are now shaded. Additionally, at the discretion of the instructor, the website, http://www.wiley.com/college/beran, provides downloadable Excel Report Sheet Templates for each experiment in which a numerical analysis is required. Online References. A significant number of websites have been cited in various experiments and dry labs. An extensive list of online references is also provided in the Laboratory Data section of the manual.

New to the 8TH Edition

New and Revised Experiments. Experiments of student interest and safety continue to be of importance in the 8th edition. Other than minor changes that appear in most experiments, the major changes and additions are:
• Experiment 3. Water Analysis: Solids. An expansion of the same experiment from the 7th edition, this experiment now introduces more details of the “chemistry” of the system investigated. While the experiment itself is no more difficult than before, an understanding of the salts and ions present is a beginning for understanding chemical systems.
• Experiment 6. Acids, Bases, and Salts. The combination of 7th edition, Experiments 12 and 13, has reduced some of the “drudgery (according to students)” of repetition in those two experiments. Being placed earlier in the manual encourages an earlier introduction to the properties of aqueous solutions.
• Experiment 8. Limiting Reactant. The handling and disposal of barium ion (7th, Experiment 8) had become an increasing problem. The barium phosphate limiting reactant system has been replaced by the calcium oxalate system.
• Experiment 20. New! Alkalinity. Both “T” and “P” alkalinity values are determined along with the interpretation and understanding of the significance of this water quality parameter.
• Experiment 30, Vitamin C Analysis. Simplified! A direct analysis of the vitamin C with potassium iodate is the revised procedure.
• Experiment 31. New! Dissolved Oxygen in Natural Waters. Water samples are obtained and the oxygen is “fixed” on site. The principles for the technique are explained with the subsequent analysis performed in the laboratory. Its significance is of interest to anyone in the biological or biochemical fields.
• Experiment 35. New! Spectrophotometric Metal Ion Analysis. Spectrophotometric analysis is so common in laboratories inside and outside of the general chemistry laboratory that additional exposure to its technique is important and useful to students in science. While a metal ion analysis is the focus of the experiment, the technique can be used and adapted for any student’s interest.
• Experiment 38, Qual I: Na, K, NH4
, Mg2, Ca2, Cu2, and Experiment 39, Qual II: Ni2, Fe3, Al3, Zn2. The three cation qualitative analysis experiments from the 7th edition have been combined into two experiments, eliminating the use of thioacetamide, silver ion, bismuth ion, and manganese ion from the traditional qualitative analysis scheme.