The concepts of separations and structure are enhanced in the chemistry curriculum at all levels by the purchase of a GC/MS. The GC/MS allows the study of more interesting and relevant topics (such as pesticides in the environment or drug testing), making chemistry more accessible to a wider range of students. Use of the GC/MS provides chemistry majors with experience in an increasingly important technique. These goals are achieved by beginning with simple experiments in General Chemistry that are designed to provide the students with training on the GC/MS while demonstrating the power of its analytical capabilities. Students analyze compounds extracted from candy or chewing gum and identify the major flavorants. The concepts of atomic structure are reinforced by studying the natural distribution of isotopes. In Organic Chemistry, students use the GC/MS in a more sophisticated manner when they obtain data to study the linear free energy relationship in the fragmentation of substituted benzophenones and acetophenones. This experiment reinforces the concepts of inductive and resonance effects that are discussed in class. They also use the GC/MS to obtain kinetic data for the free radical chlorination reaction. These experiments underscore to the students and help them better understand the importance of kinetics and thermodynamics in the study of organic reaction mechanisms. In Analytical Chemistry, students learn the special consequences of using a hyphenated technique to quantitatively analyze trace levels of organics. Students continue to use the GC/MS in upper-level courses to study the structure of compounds, to study the separation of complex mixtures, and to obtain data for the study of reaction mechanisms. The instrument enhances special topics courses and student research projects.
