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Analytical chemistry spans nearly all areas of chemistry but involves the development of tools and methods to measure physical properties of substances and apply those techniques to the identification of their presence (qualitative analysis) and quantify the amount present (quantitative analysis) of species in a wide variety of settings.

1: Front Matter
2: Introduction to Analytical Chemistry
3: Basic Tools of Analytical Chemistry
In the chapters that follow we will explore many aspects of analytical chemistry. In the process we will consider important questions such as “How do we treat experimental data?”, “How do we ensure that our results are accurate?”, “How do we obtain a representative sample?”, and “How do we select an appropriate analytical technique?” Before we look more closely at these and other questions, we will first review some basic tools of importance to analytical chemists.
4: The Vocabulary of Analytical Chemistry
If you leaf through an issue of the journal Analytical Chemistry, you will soon discover that the authors and readers share a common vocabulary of analytical terms. You are probably familiar with some of these terms, such as accuracy and precision, but other terms, such as analyte and matrix may be less familiar to you. In order to participate in the community of analytical chemists, you must first understand its vocabulary.
5: Evaluating Analytical Data
When using an analytical method we make three separate evaluations of experimental error. First, before beginning an analysis we evaluate potential sources of errors to ensure that they will not adversely effect our results. Second, during the analysis we monitor our measurements to ensure that errors remain acceptable. Finally, at the end of the analysis we evaluate the quality of the measurements and results, comparing them to our original design criteria.
6: Standardizing Analytical Methods
Standardization is the process of determining the relationship between the signal and the amount of analyte in a sample. Previously, we defined this relationship as Stotal=kACA+Sreag where Stotal is the signal, nA is the moles of analyte, CA is the analyte’s concentration, kA is the method’s sensitivity for the analyte, and Sreag is the contribution to Stotal from sources other than the sample. To standardize a method we must determine values for kA and Sreag, which is the subject of this chapt
7: Equilibrium Chemistry
Regardless of the problem on which an analytical chemist is working, its solution requires a knowledge of chemistry and the ability to apply that knowledge. For example, an analytical chemist studying the effect of pollution on spruce trees needs to know the chemical differences between p‑hydroxybenzoic acid and p‑hydroxyacetophenone, two phenols found in the needles of spruce trees. Your ability to “think as a chemist” is a product of your experience in the classroom and in the laboratory.
8: Collecting and Preparing Samples
When we use an analytical method to solve a problem, there is no guarantee that our results will be accurate or precise. In designing an analytical method we consider potential sources of determinate error and indeterminate error, and take appropriate steps to minimize their effect, such as including reagent blanks and calibrating instruments. Why might a carefully designed analytical method give poor results? One possibility is that we may have failed to account for errors with the sample.
9: Gravimetric Methods
Gravimetry includes all analytical methods in which the analytical signal is a measurement of mass or a change in mass. When you step on a scale after exercising you are making, in a sense, a gravimetric determination of your mass. Mass is the most fundamental of all analytical measurements, and gravimetry is unquestionably our oldest quantitative analytical technique.
10: Titrimetric Methods
Titrimetry, in which volume serves as the analytical signal, made its first appearance as an analytical method in the early eighteenth century. Titrimetric methods were not well received by the analytical chemists of that era because they could not duplicate the accuracy and precision of a gravimetric analysis. Not surprisingly, few standard texts from the 1700s and 1800s include titrimetric methods of analysis.
11: Spectroscopic Methods
"Colorimetry" is one example of a spectroscopic method of analysis. At the end of the nineteenth century, spectroscopy was limited to the absorption, emission, and scattering of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared electromagnetic radiation. Since its introduction, spectroscopy has expanded to include other forms of electromagnetic radiation—such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves—and other energetic particles—such as electrons and ions.
12: Electrochemical Methods
In Chapter 10 we examined several spectroscopic techniques that take advantage of the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter. In this chapter we turn our attention to electrochemical techniques in which the potential, current, or charge in an electrochemical cell serves as the analytical signal. Although there are only three basic electrochemical signals, there are a many possible experimental designs—too many, in fact, to cover adequately in an introductory textbook.
13: Chromatographic
For this reason, many analytical procedures include a step to separate the analyte from potential interferents. Although effective, each additional step in an analytical procedure increases the analysis time and introduces uncertainty. In this chapter we consider two analytical techniques that avoid these limitations by combining the separation and analysis: chromatography and electrophoresis.
14: Kinetic Methods
One way to classify analytical techniques is by whether the analyte’s concentration is determined by an equilibrium reaction or by the kinetics of a chemical reaction or a physical process. Often analytical methods involve measurements made on systems in which the analyte is always at equilibrium. In this chapter we turn our attention to measurements made under non-equilibrium conditions.
15: Developing a Standard Method
Among the goals of analytical chemistry are improving established methods of analysis, extending existing methods of analysis to new types of samples, and developing new analytical methods. In this chapter we discuss how we develop a standard method, including optimizing the experimental procedure, verifying that the method produces acceptable precision and accuracy in the hands of a single analyst, and validating the method for general use.
16: Quality Assurance
Knowing that a method meets suitable standards is important if we are to have confidence in our results. Even so, using a standard method does not guarantee that the result of an analysis is acceptable. In this chapter we introduce the quality assurance procedures used in industry and government labs for monitoring routine chemical analyses.
17: Additional Resources
18: Back Matter
Table of Contents