General Laboratory

Tools Techniques and

Methods

Browse through these files to get familiar

with equipment, techniques and general approaches
to use in your laboratory work this semester.

This is your ‘toolbox’

General techniques- HOW TO:
equipment use  Determine concentration of
 Glassware glossary
unknown in solution
 Volume measurement  Prepare solutions
 Mixture separations
 Balances
 Identify molecular or ionic
 Error analysis species
 Excel for lab work  Identify ions in solution
 How to measure heat exchange
 Heating
 Measure how fast a chemical
 Melting Point reaction proceeds (rates of

 pH meters reactions)
 Make buffers and how to use
 Waste disposal them
‘Toolbox’ content
General Techniques-Equipment
Use
PROPERTIES
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PROPERTIES
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Excel use for lab work
PROPERTIES
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Heating Equipment
PROPERTIES
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PROPERTIES
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pH meters
PROPERTIES
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Volumetric glassware
PROPERTIES
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HOW TO
Determine the concentration of
unknown species in a solution?
A. Titration-based on aqueous
reactions

 Acid-base titrations

 Complexometric titrations
◦ Back titration calculation
PROPERTIES
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PROPERTIES
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B. Spectroscopy-based on
light absorption properties

 UV-Vis
 IR
 MS
 NMR
PROPERTIES
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HOW TO prepare solutions?
PROPERTIES
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B. Dilution of available solutions

Going form a high concentration

solution to a low concentration
solution
• Serial dilution
• Parallel dilution
PROPERTIES
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HOW TO: separate the
components in a mixture?
Types of Separations

• Solid-Solid
• Solid-Liquid
• Liquid-Liquid
PROPERTIES
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HOW TO: determine whether a
solution is ionic or molecular?
A. Solubility

 IN polar and non-polar solvents

B. Melting/Boiling Point
PROPERTIES
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C. Conductivity

 Does it conduct electricity?

◦ Conductivity meter
PROPERTIES
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HOW TO : identify ions in solution?
A. Aqueous chemical reactions

 Based on solubility properties

PROPERTIES
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B. Flame test

 What’s the emission spectra?

PROPERTIES
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C. Spectroscopy

 Based on energy absorption

properties

• UV-Vis
• IR
• MS
• NMR
PROPERTIES
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How do you determine the rate of
chemical reactions?

HOW TO measure the ‘activity’ of a catalyst?

PROPERTIES
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A. Example: progression of a
reaction catalyzed by an enzyme

◦ Spectroscopy

◦ Reaction rates

◦ pH
HOW TO make and why to use
Buffer solutions?

• Why do you need buffers?

• How do you prepare a buffer solution?
• How do you select a buffer?
• How does a buffer work?
PROPERTIES
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HOW TO measure the heat
exchange in a chemical reaction?
Calorimetry

• Constant-pressure calorimetry
• Constant-volume calorimetry
PROPERTIES
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