093126 LM Ch04 Cornell University（093126 LM Ch04康奈尔大学）.pdfVIP

Excerpt from Chapter 4 C H A P T E R 4 Making Solutions Good solution making is an important skill for scientists because having properly made solutions is critically important to the success of any experiment. Solution making is also one of the least glamorous of lab tasks, and it is frequently passed to someone else. Unless you are absolutely sure that your solution maker is skilled with math, not mak- ing your own solutions can be very risky. An incorrectly made solution can ruin an experiment. Furthermore, when something does go wrong with an experiment, determining that the solution is the source of the problem can be arduous. The calculations involved in making solutions have confused and frustrated legions of science students and have led to vast piles of calcu- lation-covered paper scraps that radiate a desperate hope of stumbling across numerical revelation. Calculations lurk in almost every step of solution making: creating a recipe from a list of concentrations; calculat- ing moles and molarity from masses, formula weights, and volumes; mea- suring accurately and determining the precision of the measurement; cal- ibrating and using a pH meter; making aliquots; and diluting. This chapter (which, by the way, was the first written and remains the most appreciated) addresses the mathematical hurdles of solution making in two ways. First, there are short explanations and reminders of what you are doing when you are making a solution and why you are doing it. Second, there are “How To Quickly” shaded boxes. If you don’t have time, at the moment of truth, to understand the rationale for the math you are doing (you will come back later and learn, of course), you can find out “How To Quickly” do the necessary calculations to get on with your work.