Teacher Workshop 
Teacher Workshop:
Understanding the Basis for Application of Instrumental Methods of Chemical Analysis
Who: This workshop is designed for teachers from broad backgrounds and disciplines including the chemical, physical, biological, earth, and environmental sciences. Especially, teachers interested in working with students to make authentic analytic measurements.
When: Oct. 29, Nov. 5, and Nov. 12 (three consecutive Thursday evening sessions)
Time: 5pm – 8pm (sandwiches and refreshments provided from 4:15-5:00pm)
Where: Distance Learning Centers in Concord, Durham, Gorham and Keene (all NH)
Seats: Four seats available at each center (total workshop capacity = 16)
Prerequisites: Appropriate for the teacher interested in how modern chemical measurements are made. Also, an understanding of basic algebra is desired.
Cost: Free!
How to Apply: Register Now!
Description
Increasingly, students are involved in measuring the quantity of an unknown material in a real sample. Whether they are conducting a laboratory experiment or answering their own questions about samples, quantitation of the material is often required. Three common approaches to quantitation covered in this workshop are
1) the working curve, 2) standard addition, and 3) internal standards. This workshop will focus on a systematic exploration of these three methods, including real world examples that demonstrate under which conditions each method should be used.
When performing a spectroscopic experiment (i.e., measuring UV/VIS or IR absorbance), quantitation is often based on the assumption that a simple linear relationship exists between the amount of light absorbed by the sample and the concentration of the material in the sample. While familiarity with Beer’s Law often leads us to assume this linear relationship, this relationship only holds for specific experimental conditions. It is important to have a fundamental understanding of the assumptions and limitation of Beer’s Law. For teachers and students seeking to utilize authentic inquiry in their courses and projects, this workshop will help to ensure that the appropriate quantitation techniques are being used, and providing reliable and useful results.
Content
Evening Session 1 (Oct 25 5pm-8pm); Dr. Sterling Tomellini, UNH Dept. of Chemistry
- Describe each of the quantitation methods in detail – working curve, standard addition, internal standard
- Discuss and provide examples of application of each of the methods
- Solve selected exercises that demonstrate mathematical solutions for the working curve, standard addition, and internal standard.
Evening Session 2 (Nov 5 5pm-8pm); Dr. Sterling Tomellini, UNH Dept. of Chemistry
- Discuss the instrumental measurement of absorbance for different instrument designs
- Discuss Beer’s Law and its assumptions
- Describe specific chemical and instrumental limitations to Beer’s Law
- Discuss the effects of sample scattering on absorbance measurements
Evening Session 3 (Nov 12 5pm-8pm); Dr. Chris Bauer, UNH Dept. of Chemistry
- Introduction to Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning (POGIL)
- Work on several POGIL activities covering Beer’s Law
Significant contributions to this workshop have been made through the NH EPSCoR program (http://www.epscor.unh.edu/), UNH Dept. of Chemistry, Granite State Distance Learning Network, and the UNH Joan and James Leitzel Center (http://leitzelcenter.unh.edu/).