69077 - Chemistry Laboratory (A-L)

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Chemistry and Materials Chemistry (cod. 8006)

Learning outcomes

The students acquire the basic knowledge of laboratory tools and techniques. In particular they learn how to: safely handle chemical substances, use IUPAC nomenclature and IS units, perform stoichiometric calculations and prepare solutions, collect and process experimental data, correlate experimental data with theory

Course contents

The course has compulsory attendance. In order to access the laboratory exercises, it is necessary to have attended 4/5 of the General Chemistry lessons held up to the time of the start of the laboratory. It is also compulsory to have attended the  Health and Safety at Work training course.

Safety in chemical laboratories. Laboratory equipment. Basic laboratory techniques. Planning the laboratory experience.

Introduction to laboratory exercises.
1. Chemical reactions - Precipitation, acid-base, complexation, redox reactions.
2. Solubility constant of an Ag salt.
3. Synthesis of inorganic double salts - Mohr's salt, Co double salt, rock alum - Stoichiometric calculations.
4. Copper Reactions - Stoichiometric verification- Redox and acid-base precipitation, complexation reactions.
5. Determination of equilibrium constant - Spectroscopic method.
6. pH indicators.
7. Acid-base titrations.
8. Buffers.
9. Redox titrations.
10. Determination of equilibrium constants by electrochemical measurements.

Readings/Bibliography

The laboratory handout describing the laboratory experiments is distributed by the lecturer.


The theoretical treatment of the topics has been covered in the general chemistry course and can be found in any university chemistry textbook.


Kotz, Treichel, Weaver, "Chemica", EdiSES


Atkins, Jones "Principi di Chimica", Zanichelli publisher.

Teaching methods

As concerns the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend Module 1, 2 online, while Module 3 on health and safety is to be attended in class. Information about Module 3 attendance schedule is available on the website of your degree programme

The course includes:

face-to-face and remote lessons to prepare the student for laboratory exercises. The lessons will therefore focus on numerical exercises useful for solving stoichiometric problems; classroom demonstrations of the exercises that will then be carried out in the laboratory; presentation of work procedures. The student's preparation will be assessed by means of quizzes before entering the laboratory.


Laboratory hours. The exercises are individual and are aimed at providing the student with the basic skills needed to carry out the laboratory activities. The exercises will be planned in such a way that within each of them the student can practically verify the solutions of the problems outlined in theoretical form during the classroom lessons. The student will have to draw up a report for each laboratory experience to be handed in to the teacher.

Assessment methods

Understanding of the procedures to be followed during the experience will be tested by on-line quizzes to be taken before the experience.


The student must produce a written report for each practical laboratory exercise.


The final assessment test is practical and will be aimed at ascertaining the student's ability to design a laboratory experiment useful for solving a chemical problem of the type addressed during the laboratory hours.


The final mark will be obtained from the weighted average of the marks for the quizzes and reports (25%) and the mark for the exam (75%).

Teaching tools

For frontal lessons


blackboard, power point presentations, multimedia material


The general and inorganic chemistry teaching laboratory of the Department of Chemistry "Giacomo Ciamician" will be used for the exercises. Access to the laboratory requires the wearing of a lab coat, which each student must obtain independently.


Access to the laboratories takes place according to the protocols approved by the Department.

Office hours

See the website of Lucia Maini

SDGs

Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.