The inclusion of more polymer chemistry in the standard physical chemistry laboratory course is among the added capabilities provided by the recent acquisition of a differential scanning calorimeter and gel permeation liquid chromatography equipment at St. Olaf College. Gel permeation is being used to determine the molecular weight distribution of polymers while phase changes in polymers are being studied via differential scanning calorimetry. These experiments are complemented by a study of copolymer composition using NMR and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy.
