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5.1: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

  • Page ID
    135963
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    We have already said that any experiment has some inherent goal.

    Many organic chemistry experiments are performed for the express purpose of obtaining a target com- pound. The obvious goal of these experiments is the target compound, but how can you satisfy yourself that the goal has been achieved? Of equal importance to the target are data and measurements that prove the identity and purity of the target. Some results that indicate the identity and purity of a compound are IR spectroscopy, melting point analysis, and TLC-analysis. As you will see, these results provide different kinds of information so you will normally collect more than one type of data. Let’s go through some typical scenarios, that illustrate the ways that data can be interpreted.


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