Submitted by Jason Cooke / Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Canada on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 18:07
My Notes
Categories
Prerequisites
General Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Corequisites
No Corequisites
Course Level
Second year
Topics Covered
Professional skills development
Subdiscipline
Professional Practices, Skills, and Resources
Description

A series of videos has been produced to show students the best way to assemble glass jointware.  A variety of different examples are provided, with variations that demonstrate some of the more complicated assemblies that are often used in inorganic synthesis (e.g., how to protect the system with a drying tube or to purge an apparatus with an inert gas).  The intent of the videos is to provide visual learners with a better idea of what they must do in the laboratory, and thereby speed up the process of assembling glass jointware.

Videos include:

  • Simple Reflux
  • Simple Reflux with a Drying Tube
  • Single-Necked Flask with an Addition Funnel
  • Single-Necked Flask with an Addition Funnel and Drying Tube
  • Three-Necked Flask with a Reflux Condenser and Addition Funnel
  • Three-Necked Flask with a Reflux Condenser, Addition Funnel and Drying Tube
  • Three-Necked Flask with a Reflux Condenser for a Reaction Under N2
  • Three-Necked Flask with an Addition Funnel for a Reaction Under N2
  • Three-Necked Flask with a Reflux Condenser and Addition Funnel for a Reaction Under N2
  • Three-Necked Flask with an Addition Funnel and Thermometer
  • Three-Necked Flask with an Addition Funnel, Thermometer and Drying Tube
  • Simple Distillation
  • Vacuum Distillation
  • Working Under Nitrogen with a Slight Overpressure (Hg Bubbler) or Sealing a Flask for Storage

Learning Goals

After viewing the videos, a student should be well-prepared to enter the laboratory and assemble fairly complicated apparatus from glass jointware in a minimal amount of time.

Implementation Notes

The videos are provided in several formats and file sizes to allow the student to pick the format that is best for the electronic viewing medium he or she has access to (e.g., computer lab, laptop computer, portable device such as iPod or iPhone) and for the speed of the internet connection that is available.

Time Required
The videos range in length from under 2 minutes to slightly over 5 minutes.
Web Resources
Glassware and Apparatus Videos
Evaluation
Evaluation Methods

The videos are designed to present information that is useful to a student during laboratory experiments; evaluation is subjective based upon student performance at apparatus assembly.

Evaluation Results

A survey revealed that over 80% of students viewed the videos before coming to the lab and, of this number, over 90% found the videos to be useful.

Creative Commons License
CC0