In this first lecture, Dr. John Dolhun introduces the teaching team, policies, course format, expectations, grading, and material to be covered during the semester. He also discusses lab notebooks and lab safety rules, then demonstrates a polymer reaction.
The Ferrocene lecture begins with a demonstration of an addition reaction using bacon and bromine gas. Dr. Dolhun then goes over the experiments and reactions leading to the discovery of ferrocene, its structure and properties, and steps for its synthesis in lab.
Dr. Sarah Hewett discusses how to write a lab report, which is an important component of this course. In addition, knowing how to communicate the science that you do is a crucial skill beyond this course, in research or in any other context.
In today's lecture, Dr. Hewett discusses what's significant in laboratory measurement, how to take measurements in the lab, how to do calculations, and how to do data analysis when there's a lot of quantitative data, as in the upcoming Charles River lab.
In this first of three lectures in the Ellen Swallow Richards series, Dr. Dolhun discusses the water quality issues in Cambridge's beloved Charles River, and the methods students will use to analyze river water samples during the next several lab periods. This lecture focuses on measuring dissolved phosphates and phosphorous, a significant pollutant for many rivers and lakes.
In this second of three lectures in the Ellen Swallow Richards series, Dr. Dolhun discusses dissolved oxygen (DO) as a key measurement of the health of a river. He discusses temperature, solubility, and % saturation of DO. He goes over the process for collecting water samples and analyzing them for dissolved oxygen.
Dr. Dolhun begins the final lecture of the Ellen Swallow Richards series with an electrifying demo on ionized gas molecules, or, plasma. He then covers Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for measuring trace elements in samples and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, for analyzing mercury in samples.
Following a brief re-cap of the Charles River Lab results, Dr. Hewett introduces the next unit, essential oils. After an overview of their history, properties, and structures, she then covers what the class will do for the essential oils lab experiment.
In the second lecture of the Essential Oils series, Dr. Hewett goes over the methods they will use to characterize their products of distillation. These methods include refractometry, gas chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, polarimetry.
Dr. Hewett talks about characteristics and properties of esters, and goes over the upcoming lab. Students will synthesize esters by doing an acid catalyzed addition of an alcohol and a carboxylic acid, known as the Fischer Esterification reaction.
In this lecture, Dr. Hewett introduces the catalase lab. Students will use the catalase enzyme in a decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide. Then they will determine the order of the reaction, write a rate law, and calculate the activation energy.
Dr. Hewett begins with an overview of the catalase reaction mechanism. Then she discusses the second part of the catalase lab, where the students will quantify the amount of catalase in a sample, and determine the amount of iron centers in the catalase.
The mass spectroscopy lecture starts with a demonstration, burning a tungsten filament in air and liquid nitrogen. Dr. Dolhun then discusses mass spectroscopy, and how it can determine the molecular weights of different types of compounds. He also explains several techniques for ionization, and different types of Mass Spectrometers. He ends with evaluating a traditional electron impact mass spectrum.
John Grimes, from MIT Chemistry's Instrumentation Facility, talks to the class about NMR Spectroscopy. He discusses the parts of an NMR instrument, the analytical technique of NMR, how to measure the signal, and how to interpret the data.
What do you think happens when you react hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide at 7% concentration and then at...30% concentration? ???? ???? Well, you get "elephant toothpaste!"