Laboratory work, general instructions

An integral part of a student s education in physical chemistry is laboratory/practical work. While it is generally accepted that the main purposes of laboratory work are to teach hand skills and to illustrate theory, significant problems have been identified in the science education literature about the laboratory courses, and in particular about the ineffectiveness of laboratory instruction in enhancing conceptual understanding (135, 136), and unrealistic in its portrayal of scientific experimentation (137). 

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR SAFE WORKING IN ORGANIC CHEMICAL LABORATORIES... 

A detailed analysis of all types of laboratory hazards and the procedures for dealing with them is beyond the scope of this book. Specific hazards are pointed out in coimec-tion with individual experiments. It is also assumed that the instructing staff will provide specific warnings and reminders where needed. Some general remarks on the kinds of safety hazards that should be kept in mind are given in Appendix C, and very complete treatments can be found elsewhere. At this point, we wish to stress a few basic principles that apply to all laboratory work. 

There has recently been considerable debate within the science and engineering communities about the effectiveness of laboratory instruction (Reid and Shah 2007, Adams 2009, Feisel and Rosa 2005). There is a general consensus that hands-on laboratory work is an essential component of undergraduate education in the sciences and engineering (Magin and Kanapathipillai 2000, Bhathal 2011) but more needs to be done to make laboratories more effective and better value for the costly equipment, dedicated technical staff, space and faculty time they require. 

According to the GLP, SOPs are defined as procedures that contain the details of how specified tasks are to be conducted. The GLP definition of SOP merges the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) definitions of procedure and work instructions where procedure is a general statement of policy that describes how, when, and by whom a task must be performed and work instructions contain the specific details of how the laboratory or other operation must be conducted in particular cases [2]. 

Editions subsequent to the first (up to the seventh edition, published in Vienna in 1947) were expanded considerably in collaboration with L. Blangey. The main aim was always to explain the fundamental principles of dye chemistry to the student and, since it was the endeavor of the authors to write a laboratory book and not an encyclopedia, in general only simple examples were given in this work. The preface to the first edition indicated that the processes described were perhaps not the best, but that by following the instructions exactly the results stated would be obtained. In dye chemistry, as is well known, many roads lead to the same goal. 

The Conference. Generally a conference is held before a search is started. It may be merely a talk between two people, but it is generally more than that. Attorneys and laboratory chemists may be present. Occasionally the conference is replaced by a memorandum of instruction, but this can cause misunderstanding. After some search work has been done, additional conferences may be held for reorientation. 

For Experiment 54B, similar instructions also pertain. Your instructor will provide instruction for the operation of the specific GC-MS instrument used in your laboratory. Your instructor should also tell which column to use and which operating conditions work best. The instructions that follow outline the general procedure. 

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