Book Description

The laboratory course should do more than just acquaint the students with fundamental techniques and procedures. The laboratory experience should also involve the students in some of the kinds of mental activities a research scientist employs: finding patterns in data, developing mathematical analyses for them, forming hypotheses, testing hypotheses, debating with colleagues and designing experiments to prove a point. For this reason, the student-tested lab activities in Inquiries into Chemistry, 3/E have been designed so that students can practice these mental activities while building knowledge of the specific subject area. Instructors will enjoy the flexibility this text affords. They can select from a comprehensive collection of structured, guided-inquiry experiments and a corresponding collection of open-inquiry experiments, depending on their perception as to what would be the most appropriate method of instruction for their students. Both approaches were developed to encourage students to think logically and independently, to refine their mental models, and to allow students to have an experience that more closely reflects what occurs in actual scientific research. Thoroughly illustrated appendices cover safety in the lab, common equipment, and procedures.