2024 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Basic science and technology courses
Chemistry Laboratory I A
- Academic unit or major
- Basic science and technology courses
- Instructor(s)
- Mitsuko Yoshida / Chikako Murasaki / Shinji Toyota / Kouji Taniguchi / Takuhiro Otsuka / Kotaro Fujii / Eiji Tsurumaki / Masahiro Yamashina / Akiko Sekine / Makoto Harada / Po-Jung Huang
- Class Format
- Exercise/Experiment (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 7-10 Mon
- Class
- A
- Course Code
- LAS.C110
- Number of credits
- 00.51.5
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 1-2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 14, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course gives students an opportunity to acquire basic requirements in chemistry experiments and to learn essential concept of chemistry introduced in basic science courses. Students in each class take experiments for several subjects concerning inorganic, organic, analytical and physical chemistry through two quarters. In addition to the experiments, every subject consists of lecture and exercise before the experiment and submission of report after the experiment to facilitate studentsʼ understanding of background chemistry in the subject.
This course focuses not only on the techniques in chemistry experiments, but also on treatment of experimental data, preparation of clear-cut reports, consideration for safety and environment, and further learning of basic chemistry through the experience.
Course description and aims
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the basic chemistry of each subject and answer the exercises before each experiment.
2) Make precise measurements required in chemistry experiment.
3) Make appropriate operations considering the safety and environment.
4) Analyze experimental data in a rational manner and write a clear-cut report.
Keywords
alum, double salt, methyl orange, synthesis, pH titration curve, glass electrode, chromium, oxidation reduction, standard electrode potential, Nernst’s equation, metal complex ion, molecular modeling, steric hindrance
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Following the procedures below, it takes 2-3 weeks to go through one subject.
①Lecture covering background chemistry about the substance, reaction, measurement, etc. in each subject.
②Submission of answer for exercise.
③Preparation of experiment notebook, where a student describes procedures of the experiment.
④Explanation of precautions, experiment, discussion with TA after the experiment.
⑤Preparation and submission of report.
Standard schedule: ①②③ in the first week, ④in the second week, ⑤in the third week
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | At first, an orientation is held about schedule and safety of the laboratory and how to use basic lab ware. Then, fundamental and common techniques in laboratory are introduced, followed by the explanations of how to use instrumentals. Six subjects shown below are included. The order of subjects after subject (a) depends on the class. (a) Synthesis of alum crystallites Potassium-aluminum alum is synthesized from aluminum foil. (b) Synthesis of methyl orange Methyl orange is synthesized from sulfanilic acid through two step reactions. (c) pH titration curve Measurement of pH during the titration of acidic solution by NaOH aq. (d) Chemistry of chromium Test reactions of chromium metal and cations (Cr²⁺,Cr³⁺, and Cr⁶⁺). (e) Standard electrode potential Measurement of potential of cupper electrode in Cu²⁺ solution, determination of standard electrode potential of Cu²⁺/Cu system. (f) Molecular modeling with PC Simulation of molecular structure by molecular orbital calculation. | (a) Understand the reactivity of amphoteric compound, safety handling and operation of apparatus. (b) Understand orientation in aromatic compounds through diazotization and coupling reaction. (c) Calculate the dissociation constant from measured pH titration curve and the estimation of titration curve. (d) Explain the color of Cr cations in aqueous solution, appropriate treatment of waste. (e) Understand standard electrode potential and activity to apply Nernst’s equation to various systems. (f) Understand steric structure and conformation of molecule in relation to steric hindrance and rotational barrier. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend a certain length of time outside of class on preparation and review (including for assignments), as specified by the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Undergraduate Learning (東京工業大学学修規程) and the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Graduate Learning (東京工業大学大学院学修規程), for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Basic chemistry experiments for science and engineering students. Kodansha-scientific
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Unspecified.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Student’s course scores are based on their understanding and performance of each item below and they will be assessed on the sum of the scores;
attendance to the lecture and exercise and achievement of exercise (10%), attendance to the experiment and performance (40%), waste treatment and cleanup (10%), discussion and report (40%).
No submission of report is considered as absence from the corresponding experiment. Students who are absent from experiments of two or more subjects fail the course.
Related courses
- LAS.C101 ： Basic Inorganic Chemistry
- LAS.C103 ： Basic Organic Chemistry
- LAS.C105 ： Basic Quantum Chemistry
- LAS.C107 ： Basic Chemical Thermodynamics
- LAS.C112 ： Chemistry Laboratory II
Prerequisites
None.
For safety reasons, the registration will be restricted when applicants exceed some limit number.
The first orientation is required to attend.