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2005
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March
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In the Laboratory
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Teaching Data Acquisition. An Undergraduate Experiment in the Advanced Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
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Margaret Antler, Eric Salin, and Grazyna Wilczek-Vera
Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, P.Q., H3A 2K6, Canada
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March 2005
Vol. 82 No. 3
p. 425
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| Abstract |
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Computers may be the most influential technological development in human society in the last quarter century. Computers are used to control instruments, to acquire and to process data, and to communicate results in meaningful ways. Understanding how to use computers empowers students, freeing them from the "black box" approach to instrument operation. The ability to program, to understand the basic steps involved in the analog-to-digital conversion process, and to grasp how the acquisition process itself affects the outcome of an experiment are important elements in the education of future chemists. For the last few years, we have taught data-acquisition within the framework of three laboratory experiments combined with lectures in the Instrumental Analysis II course. Last year, we changed the software part of the exercise by replacing TurboPascal with Matlab. This powerful programming language integrates analog data acquisition via a toolkit with mathematical-oriented computing and easy visualization. The change has greatly simplified the experiment and allowed us to include new data-acquisition concepts and signal processing that would not have been possible before in a reasonable time frame. The article will present the new version of the experiment together with suggestions for its practical implementation.
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| Supplement |
Complete laboratory manuals, schematics of circuits used, and notes for teaching assistants are available.
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 Contents |
JCE2005p0425W.doc (Microsoft Word)
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| Download |
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| More Information |
Citation |
Antler, Margaret; Salin, Eric; Wilczek-Vera, Grazyna. J. Chem. Educ. 2005 82 425.
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Keywords |
Analytical Chemistry; Fourier Transform Techniques; Instrumental Methods; Laboratory Computing / Interfacing; Laboratory Instruction; Spreadsheets
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History |
Created:
Last Updated: |
February 2, 2005
February 18, 2005
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| Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues >
2005
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March
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425
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