Described is an experiment involving the synthesis and spectral studies of cobalt complexes that not only give general chemistry students an introduction to inorganic synthesis but allows them to conduct a systematic study on the effect of different ligands on absorption spectra. Background information, procedures, and experimental results are…

Described is a five-week introductory inorganic laboratory course for first-year undergraduate students. Included are details of three preparations and three analyses conducted by the students in the course. (CW)

Proposed is a flow-chart and related formulas to obtain expressions for the derivatives of the old thermodynamic function in terms of new variables, the new function and its derivatives, and derivatives of the old function, involving only measurable quantities. (CW)

Reported are the results of a survey conducted to identify which analytical methods are most commonly used in nonacademic analytical laboratories. Laboratory supervisors' ratings of various aspects of chemical education are included. (CW)

Discussed are four major advantages to the use of microscale laboratories for teaching chemistry. Included are effects on waste generation, laboratory safety, reagent variety, and laboratory efficiency. (CW)

Described are 14 experiments that use lasers. Topic areas include physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and biochemistry. Instrumentation and the use of the laser in undergraduate research are discussed. (CW)