Skip to content

Read more about Organic Chemistry Laboratory Techniques

Organic Chemistry Laboratory Techniques

(23 reviews)

Lisa Nichols, Butte Community College

Copyright Year: 2016

Publisher: Lisa Nichols

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of Use

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND

Reviews

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Changqing Chen, Associate Professor, Salem State University on 11/30/22

This is a comprehensive lab manual that covers basic lab techniques in organic chemistry. Theory and procedures on major organic lab techniques were covered in detail. The step-by-step illustrations of experimental procedures made it easy for... read more

Reviewed by Swati Mohan, Lecturer and research scientist, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 12/14/21

The book is highly comprehensive for the introductory basic level of organic lab. Picture of each lab apparatus and technique makes this book highly conceptual. The book must have a few questions after each technique which gives students to... read more

Reviewed by Lara Al-Hariri, Senior lecturer I, University of Massachusetts Amherst on 6/30/21

This is a very comprehensive organic chemistry lab manual on basic techniques. The author effectively used illustrations to show each technique's step-by-step procedure, including some aspects that are usually not mentioned in others textbooks.... read more

Reviewed by Armanda Formigao Gameiro, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst on 6/2/21

This is a very comprehensive book, only lacking in an important aspect which is the microscale techniques and appropriate glassware. That part is absent, there is a description of how to use certain techniques in a microscale way but not with the... read more

Reviewed by Karen Glover, Professor, Clarke University on 1/7/21

This resource is one of the most complete manuals for organic techniques I have ever seen for the undergraduate level. It is comprehensive not only in the coverage of how to employ all the common OChem techniques, but it also illustrates common... read more

Reviewed by Christine Hermann, Chair, Full Professor, Radford University on 6/16/20

The book gives an excellent comprehensive view of the various techniques used in organic chemistry. It is well illustrated with a lot of pictures and explanations. The directions are very easy to follow and the steps are very detailed. read more

Reviewed by Steve Acquah, Associate Research Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst on 6/11/20

This is a comprehensive chemistry laboratory manual, and I think the extensive use of pictures makes it more engaging as a resource for educators. The “Safety note” sections should be boxed and emphasized. The theory sections are comprehensive,... read more

Reviewed by Mark Stocksdale, Professor, Earlham College on 12/13/19

This text is very complete and comprehensive for what it is covering. Virtually all organic chemistry wet-lab methods undergraduate students will encounter are presented. The extensive use of photos of actual glassware and techniques... read more

Reviewed by Olufunke Olagunju, Associate Professor, Thomas Nelson Community College on 11/4/19

Comprehensiveness • I think there should be introductory materials/concepts in every organic chemistry lab textbook. Concepts like, safety in the lab, laboratory notebook and pre lab information. I did not find items like these in the... read more

Reviewed by Erik Larsen, Assistant Professor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania on 3/15/19

Extremely comprehensive, with a large number of photographs that provide a detailed graphical complement to the text. Virtually every major technique and many minor ones are covered, to the degree that this would serve as not only a comprehensive... read more

Reviewed by Terry Fernando, Lecturer and Teaching Lab Coordinator, Iowa State University on 11/19/18

Very comprehensive for introductory organic chemistry lab course read more

Reviewed by Kelli Slunt, Professor, University of Mary Washington on 6/19/18

The text covers most major laboratory techniques utilized in an organic chemistry laboratory. The book provides a detailed table of contents with links enabling easy movement within the text. There are a few topics that would enhance the book. ... read more

Reviewed by Matthew Grote, Adjunct Professor, Otterbein University on 5/21/18

This book achieves a level of comprehensiveness that I have not seen in an Organic Chemistry lab techniques book before. Every relevant technique is covered in exhaustive detail with plenty of clear color photographs to accompany the text. As a... read more

Reviewed by Anna Manukyan, Assistant Professor, Hostos Community Collge of CUNY on 3/27/18

The organic lab manual provides detailed and comprehensive material of general organic laboratory techniques and instrumentation. It contains information about most instruments, and provides detailed explanation of their use. Having pictures... read more

Reviewed by Constance Franklin, Assistant professor, Organic chemistry laboratory coordinator, Virginia Commonwealth University on 3/27/18

This book does an excellent job of covering all of the basic techniques used in an organic chemistry lab. Each section is written so that it can stand alone which I think makes it a great resource to add to an existing course. read more

Reviewed by Abraham Yousef, Associate Professor, Sweet Briar College on 8/15/17

This book provides a thorough coverage of standard techniques used in the organic laboratory. The table of contents on page 2 is very useful as it provides links to the different topics that one can click on to instantly go to the section of... read more

Reviewed by Dana Horoszewski, Professor, Northern Virginia Community College on 6/20/17

The book includes detailed descriptions of all relevant techniques used in intro organic chemistry lab as well as some more advanced techniques. Discussion of different types of distillations and extractions were thorough. Topics that are absent... read more

Reviewed by Dana Lashley, Visiting Assistant Professor, The College of William and Mary on 6/20/17

This laboratory technique manual is very detailed and extremely well-written. All the discussed techniques are very commonly used in undergraduate research and teaching labs. The procedures and concepts are explained carefully in detail. The many... read more

Reviewed by Philip Brown, Teaching Professor of Chemistry, North Carolina State University on 6/20/17

The book covers all the areas relevant for the typical undergraduate science student. It is well indexed and the links to move around the text are excellent. read more

Reviewed by Maria Gallardo-Williams, Teaching Associate Professor, North Carolina State University on 6/20/17

All the relevant techniques required to complete the first two semesters of organic chemistry lab are covered in detail, read more

Reviewed by Skip Brenzovich, Assistant Professor, Roanoke College on 6/20/17

This laboratory manual is extremely comprehensive, introducing and explaining all of the major techniques that a student might encounter in an introductory organic chemistry lab. Every procedure is explained in details and is complemented by a... read more

Reviewed by Jeffrey Elbert, Asscoaite Professor, University of Northern Iowa on 2/8/17

The text covers the general techniques used in organic chemistry very well. The detail is consistent with a majors section course. All major types of equipment and there uses are covered in sufficient detail that a student should be able to... read more

Reviewed by Elizabeth Cohen, Chemistry Professor, Mount Hood Community College on 12/5/16

The textbook provided a comprehensive and in depth coverage of the both laboratory technique and instrumentation used in an introductory organic chemistry lab. The summaries at the end of each topic would be a wonderful quick reference and... read more

Table of Contents

  • Chapter 1: General Techniques
  • Chapter 2: Chromatography
  • Chapter 3: Crystallization
  • Chapter 4: Extraction
  • Chapter 5: Distillation
  • Chapter 6: Miscellaneous Techniques
  • Chapter 7: Technique Summaries

Ancillary Material

Submit ancillary resource

About the Book

This resource was created by Lisa Nichols (chemistry faculty at Butte Community College in Northern California) as a result of an academic sabbatical leave in the Fall-2015 to Spring 2016 term. The target audience are undergraduate students in organic chemistry.

In this resource you will find theory and procedures on the main organic lab techniques (chromatography, crystallization, extraction, distillation) as well as general concepts on how to set up and heat apparatuses (see the Table of Contents tab for a more complete listing of topics).

All procedures are accompanied by step-by-step pictures, and graphics are heavily utilized throughout the resource.

About the Contributors

Author

Lisa Nichols obtained a Bachelors of Science degree in chemistry from California State University, Chico in 2001 and a Master’s degree in organic chemistry from Stanford University in 2003. At the time of this project she had taught chemistry fulltime for 12 years at Butte Community College (in Oroville, northern California, near C.S.U. Chico), with an emphasis on teaching majors-level organic chemistry.

Contribute to this Page

Suggest an edit to this book record