CH550: Analytical Chemistry I Grad Study

Taken Fall 2008
Instructor: Sergey Vyazovkin

The official title for this course is listed above but according to the professor the course is entitled Instrumental Analysis. Having received my undergraduate degree in Biology I would have to say most if not all of the material in this course was either vaguely familiar or totally unfamiliar. Most of the semester focused on the different forms of Spectrometry and Chromatography. The very basics of such are taught in organic and somewhat in general chemistry but this course requires that you look deeper into the apparatus as oppose to simply analyzing the end result.

Dr. Vyazovkin was the type of instructor that expected you to know a lot about analytical techniques in general before taking his course. His style of teaching involved mostly lecture and little class interaction. Homework problems were assigned but left up to the student to complete and check on your own. There was also heavy abbreviation of important terms throughout the semester so it would help to read before class so one is familiar with the material. It is also imperative that you complete most if not all of the assigned problems as one or two appeared on almost every exam. As a graduate student in the course you are required to write a paper on a particular subject and technique and it counts as a test grade, so it’s also a good idea to begin working on it early in the semester.

Personally, the lab component was the best part of this course as it allowed you to actually work with the instruments you were learning about. As we all know application is important to the successful mastering of any subject so take advantage of the lab portion. Also, use the TA as much as possible to answer questions to fill in the blanks when applying what you’ve learned in class or to clear up concepts you aren’t confident on. Dr. Vyazovkin is also a good source of help if used correctly, meaning be sure to have read the material before going to office hours and have a specific question formulated in order to make efficient use of one’s time. Overall, I feel this is a good course for Forensic Science students as the instruments and techniques are critical to our future line of work. I also think it might be in students best interest to take CH555 first, which is the quantitative portion of the course. It was listed as a prerequisite on the syllabus but I personally cannot say what benefits such presents, as I did not take the courses in that order.