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Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

First-Year Core Laboratory Courses

For The Life Science, Physical Science and Engineering Majors

"Science operates according to a law of conservation of difficulty.

The simplest questions have the hardest answers;

to get an easier answer, you need to ask a more complicated question."

George Musser, SciAm

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Chemistry is a diverse subject that overlaps many other sciences like biology, geology, physics and atmospheric science. In order to fully “appreciate” chemistry, one needs to understand both the theoretical side and the practical side of chemistry.

The first-year chemistry laboratory courses offered in the UCLA Chemistry Department provide students an opportunity to combine the theoretical aspects of chemistry with “reality”. Students have the opportunity to learn various analytical techniques as well as spectroscopic techniques that are routinely used in commercial laboratories when analyzing unknown samples. The core first-year chemistry laboratory courses include 14BL, 14CL, 20L and 30AL. From the design of the laboratories to the design of the courses, we pursue the following goals:

teach laboratory techniques for collecting and analyzing scientific data

teach techniques for using various laboratory glassware and equipment

teach a variety of separation, purification and analytical techniques for analyzing unknown chemicals

introduce various types of spectroscopic techniques (UV-Vis, IR and GCMS) that are commonly used to identify chemical compounds

emphasize peer collaboration to promote student learning

emphasize the use of critical thinking skills during the learning process

teach students how to utilize internet resources as well as library resources to search for properties of chemical compounds

provide students with the opportunity to use various kinds of computer software and web-based technology to reinforce the concepts discussed in lectures

introduce students to the concept of green chemistry by designing experiments that generate minimum or no chemical wastes.

New experiments and technological developments are added to the curriculum every year so that students can benefit and learn diverse chemical topics that will prove useful long after the courses end.

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