A Modern Twist on an Old Measurement: Using Laboratory Automation and Data Science to Determine the Solubility Product of Lead Iodide

A Modern Twist on an Old Measurement: Using Laboratory Automation and Data Science to Determine the Solubility Product of Lead Iodide

Laboratory automation and data science are valuable new skills for all chemists, but most pedagogical activities involving automation to date have focused on upper-level coursework. Herein, we describe a combined computational and experimental lab suitable for a first-year undergraduate general chem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical education Vol. 100; no. 9; pp. 3445 - 3453
Main Authors: Norquist, Alexander J., Jones-Thomson, Gabriel, He, Keqing, Egg, Thomas, Schrier, Joshua
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Easton American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc 12-09-2023
American Chemical Society
Subjects:
Automation
Chemicals
Chemistry
College students
Data science
Iodides
Laboratories
Organic Chemistry
Programming languages
Regression analysis
Robots
Scientific visualization
Skills
Solubility
Students
Three dimensional printing
Randomized Experimentation
Solubility Product
Automation
Logistic Regression
Equilibria
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Summary:Laboratory automation and data science are valuable new skills for all chemists, but most pedagogical activities involving automation to date have focused on upper-level coursework. Herein, we describe a combined computational and experimental lab suitable for a first-year undergraduate general chemistry course, in which these topics are introduced in the context of determination of the solubility equilibrium constant of lead iodide. Students analyze their data using logistic regression analysis, which has a physical interpretation in terms of the solubility equilibrium expression and its stoichiometric coefficients. In addition to laboratory automation, data visualization, and data fitting skills, students also practice core laboratory skills such as the preparation of stock solutions using a volumetric flask and the use of micropipets. To keep the lab affordable, we demonstrate the use of a low-cost 3D-printed liquid dispensing robot to perform the automated experiment in addition to a commercial liquid-handling robot. Example pre- and post-lab computational notebooks are provided in both Mathematica and Python programming languages.
ISSN:0021-9584
1938-1328
DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00445