A Chemometrics Module for an Undergraduate Instrumental Analysis Chemistry Course
Department
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2005
Abstract
A chemometrics module for the undergraduate instrumental analysis chemistry course was developed and implemented. The objective of this module is to provide the skills needed by students to design experiments, to learn calibration techniques for analyzing multicomponent systems, to extract chemical information from large data sets provided by modern instruments, and, overall, to provide a broader spectrum of analytical techniques especially for those students who aspire going to graduate schools or working in chemical industries. The module is a result of contributions from students taking the instrumental class and those doing directed studies. The article describes the first four weeks of a 15-week semester. Students learn the applications of variance analysis, correlation coefficients, and multivariate analysis (classical least-squares regression, factor analysis, partial least squares) by analyzing synthetic and experimental data. In the fourth week, students are tested over the material thus far presented. This article gives an overview of some of the activities included in the module, and how these activities have impacted the students.