Atomic Absorption in the Undergraduate Laboratories

化学（12）地质（42）原子吸收光谱学通常是本科化学教育的一个组成部分。学生很容易理解AA所涉及的过程。AA光谱仪被用作一种工具，将复杂的分析思想和有趣的挑战引入几个不同的化学课程。地球科学入门课程是利用仪器研究天然水体的地球化学。最后，AA是化学系和地球科学系之间的跨学科桥梁。为了实现这些目标，正在调整教育和研究文献中的分析程序。这个项目同时解决了两个主要目标。首先，化学学生在第一学期接触到AA仪器，初级分析实验室和高级仪器分析实验室。每次接触都建立在以前的经验基础上，如果学生只遇到一次AA，这是不可能的。更复杂和微妙的是，然后分层进入高级实验室。教学的改进与以下理念相一致：尽可能使用“真实样本”，利用跨学科应用和机会，对结果进行有效沟通至关重要，学生应该参与实验设计。其次，这个仪器是化学系和地球科学系之间的桥梁。包括地球科学在内的项目实施实现了几个关键优势。地球科学课程正在通过增加通常只在化学中遇到的复杂仪器而得到加强。对于那些选择主修地球科学的学生来说，它强调了地球科学在他们职业生涯早期的跨学科性质。通过建立化学和地球科学课程之间的联系，两组学生必须交换各自学科的知识，以便更好地理解实验任务。与其他SMET课程相比，地球科学课程通常对非科学、数学、工程、技术（SMET）和教育专业的学生更有吸引力。因此，跨学科的联系意味着化学系能够以一种小而新颖的方式接触到这些学生。

Chemistry (12) Geology (42)Atomic absorption (AA) spectroscopy is typically an integral part of undergraduate chemistry education. The processes involved with AA are easily understood by students. An AA spectrometer is being used as a vehicle to introduce sophisticated analytical ideas and interesting challenges into several different chemistry courses. An introductory geosciences course is utilizing the instrument in the study of the geochemistry of natural waters. Finally, the AA is serving as an interdisciplinary bridge between the Departments of Chemistry and Geosciences. Analytical procedures from the educational and research literature are being adapted in order to achieve these objectives. This project simultaneously addresses two main objectives. First, chemistry students have exposure to the AA instrumentation in the first semester, junior level analytical, and senior level instrumental analysis laboratories. Each exposure builds on the previous experience in a way otherwise not possible if students were to encounter AA only once. More sophistication and subtleties are then layered into the advanced labs. Improvements in instruction occur in a manner consistent with the philosophies that 'real samples' should be used when possible, interdisciplinary applications and opportunities should be exploited, effective communication of results is critical, and students should have input into experimental design.Secondly, this instrumentation is serving as a bridge between the Departments of Chemistry and Geosciences. Including geosciences in the implementation of this project realizes several key advantages. The Geosciences curriculum is being enhanced through the addition of sophisticated instrumentation, typically encountered only in chemistry. For those students electing to major in geosciences, it emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the geosciences early in their career. By creating a link between chemistry and geosciences courses, both sets of students must exchange knowledge about their respective disciplines in order to better understand the laboratory assignments. Geosciences classes are typically more attractive to non-science, mathematics, engineering, technology (SMET), and education majors than are other SMET classes. Thus, the interdisciplinary link means that the Department of Chemistry is able to reach these students in a small but novel way.