A cluster of instruments interfaced with microcomputers will be established for first-year students of instrumental methods of analysis. Traditional analytical techniques and modern instrumentation will enable students to carry out laboratory projects using real and synthetic samples, and to gain experience in chemical science as it is practiced. The centerpiece of the instrument cluster is a diode array uv- visible spectrophotomer, interfaced with a microcomputer for data acquisition and manipulation. Instrumentation for potentiometric analyses, also computerized, and atomic absorption spectroscopy completes the initial stage of development of this introductory laboratory for chemistry majors and minors. The grantee will match the NSF award from non-Federal sources.
