TCE

The Chemical Educator

ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)

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Abstract Volume 1 Issue 5 (1996), S1430-4171(96)05061-3

Spreadsheet Assisted Learning in Quantitative Analysis

Judith M. Bonicamp*, John W. Marsh, Terrence A. Lee, and James C. Howard

Department of Chemistry, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Published online: 12 December 1996

Abstract. We have used the text Quantitative Chemical Analysis by Daniel C. Harris [1] for ten years, and we adopted the 4th edition in the Fall of 1995. This edition contains a major change in that it uses spreadsheets for student exercises within the chapters and in the problem sets. Using these spreadsheet exercises requires the development of some computer expertise in students who do not generally start the class with any computer experience. Also, the exercises often require significant time to complete, time that could be devoted to other types of study, problem-solving, or laboratory experiments. For these reasons, the efficacy of using spreadsheet exercises to help students better understand the course concepts needs to be evaluated. Here we present some preliminary results that indicate that the exercises are beneficial, the primary benefit being that they allow students to generate and manipulate graphs (pictures) of the relationships they encounter, which helps them achieve a better understanding of those concepts.

Key Words: Computers in Chemistry; computers; analytical chemistry; spreadsheets; titrations; quantitative analysis

(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: bonicamp@frank.mtsu.edu)

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Issue date: December 12, 1996

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