Implementing Water Analysis Using Ion Chromatography into Early Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Curricula and Outreach Education

Chemistry (12) We employ two ion chromatography (IC) systems to introduce inquiry and discovery-based experimental projects in water analysis at both the college freshman and sophomore levels, as well as through outreach to gifted middle school students. Accurate analysis of cations and anions by ion chromatography in various water samples improves the laboratory experience of students, since it surpasses conventional titration methods that are difficult to control, exhaustive and tedious. The impact of the new modules on the laboratory curricula is evaluated by comparing motivation and learning with results from traditional experiments.