CHEM 272 – General Bioanalytical Chemistry Laboratory Fall 2015
Course Instructor: Dr. Joseph Houck, Office: CHM 1102 (Wing 1, in the stairwell nearest
1105) Tel: 301-405-9289, e-mail:
Office Hours: Monday, 1:00-2:00 pm & Wednesday, 10:00 am-12:00 pm; or by
appointment
Lectures: Sections 8000 F 11:00 – 11:50 am HJP 0226
Sections 9000 F 3:00 – 3:50 pm CHM 1407
NOTE: Anything in this syllabus regarding course policies and procedures supersedes anything that
your TA says to the contrary.
Introduction
The course is designed to cover analytical laboratory techniques in the context of biochemical concepts. It
will focus on a variety of topics, including error analysis, visible spectroscopy, equilibrium, acids and
bases, oxidation/reduction and kinetics. You will also learn about data processing and interpretation, as
well as data presentation.
Required Materials
Lab manual (available online through the course Canvas site)
Laboratory Notebook: a laboratory notebook with all pages secured; spiral notebooks and three-
ring binders are not acceptable laboratory notebooks. A laboratory notebook with carbonless copies
will work best.
Safety goggles & Laboratory coat
Breakage cards
Recommended Materials
Chemistry – Fourth Edition (Special Edition) University of Maryland CHEM271: General
Chemistry and Energetics by Gilbert, Kirss, Foster and Davies; ISBN 978-0-393-25026-8. (You
should be also be able to use the third edition (ISBN 978-0-393-13658-6) with no problems.) You
do not need to purchase SmartWork access. If you are not concurrently enrolled in CHEM 271 and
do not wish to purchase the book, a copy will be on reserve in the Chemistry Library.
Combination lock (for storing belongings in hallway lockers; does not need to be a chem lock)
Important Dates (see last page for a complete schedule)
September 14 Last Day for Schedule Adjustment
November 9 Last day to drop with a ‘W’
November 26-29 Thanksgiving Break
December 11 Last day of classes
December 14 Final Exam – Time and location TBA
TA Office Hours
The laboratory teaching assistants hold office hours throughout the week in room CHM 1109 (see schedule
on Canvas). Any TA teaching this course, even though not assigned to your specific section, should be
able to help you during those office hours. Teaching assistants are not there to give you answers, nor are
they there to pre-screen what you plan to hand in. They are there to guide you and to help you.
1
, GRADING IN THE COURSE
Assignment
Lab Reports (including quizzes, etc.) 65%
Exam 1 10%
Exam 2 10%
Lab Practical 5%
Final Exam 10%
Total 100%
CHEM 272 is a completely different course than CHEM271 and as a result you will receive a
separate grade for this lab.
The grade for each of the labs will be based upon the pre-lab quiz, written lab report, and the post-
lab questions. Each lab is worth 65-95 points depending on the experiment.
NO laboratory grade will be dropped. Any student who is absent from and/or leaves incomplete
more than THREE of the scheduled experiments, for any reason, will fail CHEM 272.
You should actively monitor the grades posted on Canvas throughout the semester to be sure
that what you earned is what is posted. Any discrepancies should be brought to the attention of
your TA or Dr. Houck as soon as possible. Errors in posted grades will not be addressed after the
final exam is given.
Pre-lab Assignment and Quiz
Prior to each laboratory exercise, you must come into the lab with a completed pre-lab assignment.
The assignment is to be completed in your notebook and the carbon-copy page handed into your
TA after the quiz (see below).
You will be given a written pre-lab quiz at the beginning of each lab period. The quiz will be
completed on the same notebook page as the pre-lab assignment.
You will have a maximum of five (5) minutes to work each pre-lab quiz.
The pre-lab quiz will consist of one of the questions from the “Possible Quiz Questions” sections
of the labs in the lab manual. The quiz will count towards 5 points of the total points for the lab,
and will be graded as 0, 2.5 or 5 points out of 5.
If you come to the lab when the pre-lab quiz is in progress, you will have only until the end of the
five-minute period to take the pre-lab quiz.
If you come to the lab after the pre-lab quiz has been given and is being collected or has been
collected, you will not be allowed to take it and will receive a grade of zero (0) for it. You will be
allowed to do the scheduled experiment that day, but will receive no pre-lab quiz points toward the
overall lab score.
Notebook Pages
Laboratory notebooks will be graded each week on a 0-5 point scale (see notebook grading rubric).
Carbon-copy notebook pages will be collected at the end of the lab period and will NOT be
accepted at any other time.
Laboratory Reports
Each student in CHEM 272 lab is required to submit a copy (the carbonless tear out sheet) of
his/her laboratory notebook data, with all entries made in ink, to the TA before leaving the lab.
These data and observations [and only these data and observations] personally collected during
the lab are to be used in writing the final lab report.
All students are required to turn in a lab report for each of the scheduled labs. Each lab report must
2
Course Instructor: Dr. Joseph Houck, Office: CHM 1102 (Wing 1, in the stairwell nearest
1105) Tel: 301-405-9289, e-mail:
Office Hours: Monday, 1:00-2:00 pm & Wednesday, 10:00 am-12:00 pm; or by
appointment
Lectures: Sections 8000 F 11:00 – 11:50 am HJP 0226
Sections 9000 F 3:00 – 3:50 pm CHM 1407
NOTE: Anything in this syllabus regarding course policies and procedures supersedes anything that
your TA says to the contrary.
Introduction
The course is designed to cover analytical laboratory techniques in the context of biochemical concepts. It
will focus on a variety of topics, including error analysis, visible spectroscopy, equilibrium, acids and
bases, oxidation/reduction and kinetics. You will also learn about data processing and interpretation, as
well as data presentation.
Required Materials
Lab manual (available online through the course Canvas site)
Laboratory Notebook: a laboratory notebook with all pages secured; spiral notebooks and three-
ring binders are not acceptable laboratory notebooks. A laboratory notebook with carbonless copies
will work best.
Safety goggles & Laboratory coat
Breakage cards
Recommended Materials
Chemistry – Fourth Edition (Special Edition) University of Maryland CHEM271: General
Chemistry and Energetics by Gilbert, Kirss, Foster and Davies; ISBN 978-0-393-25026-8. (You
should be also be able to use the third edition (ISBN 978-0-393-13658-6) with no problems.) You
do not need to purchase SmartWork access. If you are not concurrently enrolled in CHEM 271 and
do not wish to purchase the book, a copy will be on reserve in the Chemistry Library.
Combination lock (for storing belongings in hallway lockers; does not need to be a chem lock)
Important Dates (see last page for a complete schedule)
September 14 Last Day for Schedule Adjustment
November 9 Last day to drop with a ‘W’
November 26-29 Thanksgiving Break
December 11 Last day of classes
December 14 Final Exam – Time and location TBA
TA Office Hours
The laboratory teaching assistants hold office hours throughout the week in room CHM 1109 (see schedule
on Canvas). Any TA teaching this course, even though not assigned to your specific section, should be
able to help you during those office hours. Teaching assistants are not there to give you answers, nor are
they there to pre-screen what you plan to hand in. They are there to guide you and to help you.
1
, GRADING IN THE COURSE
Assignment
Lab Reports (including quizzes, etc.) 65%
Exam 1 10%
Exam 2 10%
Lab Practical 5%
Final Exam 10%
Total 100%
CHEM 272 is a completely different course than CHEM271 and as a result you will receive a
separate grade for this lab.
The grade for each of the labs will be based upon the pre-lab quiz, written lab report, and the post-
lab questions. Each lab is worth 65-95 points depending on the experiment.
NO laboratory grade will be dropped. Any student who is absent from and/or leaves incomplete
more than THREE of the scheduled experiments, for any reason, will fail CHEM 272.
You should actively monitor the grades posted on Canvas throughout the semester to be sure
that what you earned is what is posted. Any discrepancies should be brought to the attention of
your TA or Dr. Houck as soon as possible. Errors in posted grades will not be addressed after the
final exam is given.
Pre-lab Assignment and Quiz
Prior to each laboratory exercise, you must come into the lab with a completed pre-lab assignment.
The assignment is to be completed in your notebook and the carbon-copy page handed into your
TA after the quiz (see below).
You will be given a written pre-lab quiz at the beginning of each lab period. The quiz will be
completed on the same notebook page as the pre-lab assignment.
You will have a maximum of five (5) minutes to work each pre-lab quiz.
The pre-lab quiz will consist of one of the questions from the “Possible Quiz Questions” sections
of the labs in the lab manual. The quiz will count towards 5 points of the total points for the lab,
and will be graded as 0, 2.5 or 5 points out of 5.
If you come to the lab when the pre-lab quiz is in progress, you will have only until the end of the
five-minute period to take the pre-lab quiz.
If you come to the lab after the pre-lab quiz has been given and is being collected or has been
collected, you will not be allowed to take it and will receive a grade of zero (0) for it. You will be
allowed to do the scheduled experiment that day, but will receive no pre-lab quiz points toward the
overall lab score.
Notebook Pages
Laboratory notebooks will be graded each week on a 0-5 point scale (see notebook grading rubric).
Carbon-copy notebook pages will be collected at the end of the lab period and will NOT be
accepted at any other time.
Laboratory Reports
Each student in CHEM 272 lab is required to submit a copy (the carbonless tear out sheet) of
his/her laboratory notebook data, with all entries made in ink, to the TA before leaving the lab.
These data and observations [and only these data and observations] personally collected during
the lab are to be used in writing the final lab report.
All students are required to turn in a lab report for each of the scheduled labs. Each lab report must
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