Introduction to Semimicro Qualitative Analysis

Invariably, the final semister/quarter of General Chemistry involves determining the ions contained in an unknown solution. This can be a frustrating time for a student, which is in many instances due to the lack of clearly written and understandable laboratory procedures. When I took the class, I thankfully had a savvy professor who utilized this book (the Sixth edition) as the sole laboratory procedures. As a consequence, I did well in the lab (grade was an A) and had a positive experience. As a teaching assistant in graduate school, I recalled how useful this book was and developed my lectures based on its content (the Chemistry department at that university utilized its own "home grown" book of procedures which were sadly lacking in clarity). This book contains much of the necessary background in reaction kinetics, solution phenomenon, and ionic properties for each group that a student needs to perform and understand the experiments. Two of the most important and indispensable aspects of this book are the flow charts and the questions in each chapter. The flow charts provide a clear, overall picture of the procedures and are easy to follow. I implemented flow charts similar to these in my class with much success. Many of my students copied those flow charts and gave them to classmates in other laboratory sections. The questions were VERY helpful in clarifying how separations of the ions could be successfully achieved and the importance of reaction conditions during these separations. The questions, or variations of them, also made good lab quiz questions. (Hint, hint.) I highly recommend answering the questions prior to performing the lab to give yourself a better idea of what to expect when following the procedures. With this book and good laboratory techniques, you should have no problem acing the Unknowns.