While online learning is an excellent option for many courses, there are some skills that can’t be learned through “zoom university.” It’s time to break out the beakers, fire up the Bunsen burners and bring your A-game to the Carleton University Chemistry Lab Skills Bootcamp.
This set of courses held in Carleton’s SuperLab will provide undergraduate students from chemistry, food science, biochemistry and health sciences programs with the opportunity to develop the hands-on lab skills required for their degree program AND earn a micro-credential at the same time.
Students will learn safe laboratory practices and technical skills from sub-disciplines of chemistry.
SIX micro-credentials
Each micro-credential consists of laboratory skills learned over a one-week period. After completing the Fundamentals micro-credential, students can choose one or two micro-credentials specific to sub-disciplines of chemistry.
Practice basic lab technique skills essential for all 2nd and 3rd year chemistry labs. This includes proper weighing, pipetting, preparing solutions, safety, and waste management. Learn when and how to use different separation methods such as recrystallization, liquid-liquid extraction, distillation, and column chromatography. (This micro-credential is a requirement for enrollment in further courses.)
Prerequisite: CHEM 1002, CHEM 2203 and CHEM 2302
Registration limit: 60
Build on fundamental separatory techniques to prepare a sample for characterization through organic chemistry. Gain experience with a rotary evaporator and characterization instruments such as the IR and NMR.
Prerequisites: Fundamentals and one of CHEM 2203, CHEM 2204, CHEM 3205
Registration limit: 30
Acquire experience with commonly used analytical equipment. Test your skills in preparing solutions for the HPLC and GC-FID. Learn to analyze data and evaluate accuracy. Design and improve programs within the instrument to improve experiments.
Prerequisites: Fundamentals and one of CHEM 2302, CHEM 2303, CHEM 3305
Registration limit: 24
Practice techniques that are essential to the broad field of food science. Use microbiological techniques to prepare inoculating media with microbial cultures, count cultures, and prepare a microscope slide to identify food spoilage microorganisms. Perform genomic techniques such as DNA extraction, PCR and gel electrophoresis to determine if a sample is contaminated. Apply your skill to quantitatively analyze relevant food compounds using HPLC and GC-FID.
Prerequisites: Fundamentals and one of FOOD 3001, FOOD 3002, FOOD 3005, FOOD 4002
Gain experience in inorganic chemistry and nanotechnology by building on basic techniques used to purify substances by sublimation and separate azeotrope mixtures by distillation. Practice essential skills needed to assemble electrochemical cells, break substrates with a diamond scribe, prepare samples and operate the UV-Vis apparatus.
Prerequisites: Fundamentals and one of CHEM 3107, and one of CHEM 3503, CHEM 3504
Registration limit: 12
Gain experience in physical chemistry and nanotechnology by practicing essential preparatory skills such as assembling an electrochemical cell, handling and breaking substrates with a diamond scribe, and setting up a Schlenk line and vacuum system. Practice using characterization techniques such as setting up a thermocouple to determine freezing point depression, using a gas cylinder and barometer to measure heat capacity and preparing samples for the UV-Vis spectrophotometer.
Prerequisites: Fundamentals, CHEM 3107, and one of CHEM 2103, CHEM 3100
This program is being offered to undergraduate students whose program has a hands-on chemistry lab component that was cancelled or virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes returning students AND those who recently graduated without hands-on lab experience. Students must have the required prerequisites for each micro-credential.