20340 Analysis of Experiments
Credits: 3 advanced credits in Chemistry or in Physics
Prerequisites: 36 credits in the Sciences, including General Chemistry1 (or General Chemistry I + General Chemistry II, for Biology Students; or General Chemistry I + General Chemistry II), Modern Physics, and Differential and Integral Calculus I (or Infinitesimal Calculus I). Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library.
Required: Computer Applications for the Sciences as well as background in symmetry from the courses Inorganic Chemistry or Symmetry, or through independent study
Recommended: Thermodynamics, Chemical Kinetics, Inorganic Chemistry, Symmetry, Quantum Theory I (or Quantum Mechanics and Atomic Structure)
Authors: Inbal Tuvi-Arad, Shmuel Weiss, Yoram Kirsh, Dina Einot-Yogev, David Avnir
The ability to perform an independent and valid analysis of experimental results is one of the most important skills required of experimenters in the natural sciences. These skills are sometimes more important than the ability to handle and operate the instruments themselves due to the sophisticated instrumentation and the tendency, in certain fields, to conduct complex experiments in large groups.
The course trains students in accepted methods of data analysis and acquaints them with important experimental techniques in physical chemistry and in physics.
Each section deals with a specific experiment or experimental technique. A theoretical explanation of the phenomenon discussed is followed by a description of the measurement system and a presentation of results obtained using this system. Students are required to analyze these results (according to detailed guidelines) and to present their findings in a laboratory report. To fulfill the course requirements, students must analyze and report on five topics.
Topics: Infrared spectra of diatomic molecules; Continuous symmetry measures; The reaction of H2 and I2; Organic dye molecules; Thermally excited processes; Fast reactions kinetics – the “temperature jumps” technique.
1or General Chemistry (20477 or 20487), which is no longer offered.