EXPERIMENTAL CHEMISTRY II, CH 461 & CH 461H
Titles from Previous Special Project Reports
Updated: November 10, 2010.  Some Abstracts are now linked.

You can find the actual student lab report in one of several binders kept in GBAD 313 over station 2. Only the titles (a some abstracts) are given here.

A. Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A.5 Inductively Coupled Plasma-AES

B. Circular Dichroism
C. Coulometric Titration and Spectrometric Endpoint Determination
D. Fluorometric Experiments
E. Gas Chromatography
F. High Performance Liquid Chromatography
G. Ion-selective Electrode
H. GCMS

H1.  UVVis CCD Detection

H2.  XRD

H. Neutron Activation Analysis
I. Spectrophotometric Analysis
J. Spectrometry Spec. Sheet

A. Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

  1. Arsenic determination in Douglas fir.
  2. Determination of Arsenic in mine mud.
  3. Detection of Arsenic via generation of the hydride.
  4. The determination of Caffeine in a can of soft drink.
  5. Analysis of pottery for Calcium, Sodium, and Potassium.
  6. Calcium in a multi-vitamin.
  7. Metals found in Old Faithful.
  8. Analysis of water for Calcium.
  9. Comparison of Chlorophyll and Chlorphyllides in plant material.
  10. Analysis of faucet water for metals - Copper, Lead, and Zinc.
  11. Copper Sulfate in Copper Sulfate fungicide.
  12. Copper and Nickel concentrations found in American nickels.
  13. Determination of Copper Content in Canadian and American pennies.
  14. Analysis of commencement bay sediments for Copper and Lead.
  15. Determination of Chromium in steel wool and iron filings.
  16. Absorption of Magnesium by glass and plastic.
  17. Iron, Magnesium, and Lead found in Yew Creek.
  18. Concentration of Iron found in wheat.
  19. Iron found in beer.
  20. Iron, Copper, and Zinc found in car oil.
  21. Iron found in lubricating oil.
  22. Multi-component analysis of Steel Wool.
  23. Iron Analysis in vitamin and Spinach.
  24. Lead found in soil samples.
  25. Lead found in soil along I-5 near Albany.
  26. Analysis of Gall Samples for Lead.
  27. Determination of Lead in Canned Milk.
  28. Lithium concentration in sea water.
  29. Magnesium concentration in Milk.
  30. Construction of cold vapor mercury in SnCl2.
  31. Determination of Lead in Air sample.
  32. Determination of sodium levels in salt substitute products.
  33. Analysis of Sodium, Potassium, and Iron in Gatorade.
  34. Sodium determination by standard additions techniques.
  35. Sodium Chloride in Hewlett Packard blue dye.
  36. Amount of silver in a color photographic bleach fix.
  37. Sodium and Potassium found in commercial energy drinks.
  38. Sulphate analysis in Willamette river.
  39. Silver analysis in crest toothpaste.
  40. Determination of Zinc concentration in two local streams.
  41. Analysis of Zinc in hair.
  42. Analysis for Mg, Na, and Sr in water samples from Newport Bay.
  43. Determination of Nickel Toxicity in the Coos Bay Slough.


A.5 Inductively Coupled Plasma-AES

  1. Determination of Cd, Ni, Zn, and Pb in Fine Particulate Street Sediment from Ashland, OR, by ICPAES. M. Neely; S. Sell; J. Kelley; C. Rering. 2008.
  2. Analysis of Elemental Mercury in Commonly Consumed Fish by ICPAES. D. Keefe; M. Martin; J. Price. 2008.
  3. Essential Elements Analysis in Meat and Veal (dry ashing/ICPAES). S. Bissonnette; S. Brady; B. Barley. 2008.
  4. Determination of Metals in Drinking Water in Oldest Buildings on Campus Using ICP-AES. Group 6:  Kelly McDonald; Katie Scriven; Tyler Tokich 2007.
  5. Macro- and Micro-mineral Determination in Fish using Microwave Digestion and ICPAES. David Ohm and Jeremy Unrau. 2007.
  6. Analysis of Primary Influent and Secondary Effluent from Corvallis Waste Water Treatment Facility for Several Metals by ICP-AES. Group 4: Doug Malcolm; George Ganio. 2007.

  7. Metals in Makeup Using ICPAES.  Sarah Furrer and Mallory McAfee.  2006.

  8. Dirty Soil?  Heavy Metal Analysis of Organic Growers Club Farm Soil. Keelia Johnston; Nicole Kurhanewicz; Sam Mackey. Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. CH 461, Fall 2006.
  9. ICP-AES Analysis of Cu Diffusion From Cu (HCO2)2 Into HafSOx Thin Films.  Jeff Wong; Ripley Yates; Liecong Zhen. 2006.
  10. Microwave Digestion and ICP AES Evaluation of Metal Concentrations in #2 Diesel and Biodiesel.  Keegan Duff; Andrew Kiemnec; Brian Knight. Oregon State University Integrated Laboratory Experiment.  2006.
  11. Arsenic Concentration in Tobacco by ICPAES. Elizabeth Haggstrom; Matthew Jones; Shannon Williamson.   2006.
  12. Vodka Urban Legend. Kimberly DeMorrow, Kelli Jensen Dept. of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 2005.
  13. Analysis of Selenium in Brazil Nuts. Joshua Albus.  2005.
  14. Elemental Composition Analysis on the Lower Salmon River by ICPAES.  Lonnie Hetschel.  2005.
  15. Determination of the Nicotine Content of Tobacco in Common Tobacco Products by GCMS. Paul Heflinger Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis Oregon, USA. 2005.
  16. Selenium Blood Level of the Cows at the Moser Farm.
  17. Digestion Method Analysis of Iron Dietary Supplement Tablets.
  18. Determination of Seven Elements in Apples, Oranges, and Bananas.
  19. Determination of the Concentration of Minerals in Taters.
  20. The Demineralization of teeth by soda pop.
  21. Analysis of Dual Stage Sanitary Landfill Leachate Treatment of Heavy and Toxic Metals.
  22. Percent Removal and the Capacity of the Brita® Water Filter - Cu, Pb and Mg (By ICPAES.)
  23. Stoichiometry and Synthesis of a 1,2,3-Superconductor (analysis by ICPAES, XRD and Iodimetry.)
  24. Zinc-Our Only Hope (Sampling of Willamette, Columbia and Tualatin River with analysis by ICPAES)
  25. Elemental Concentration of Mg, Ca, Na, and Al in Various Climbing Chalk Samples ('01)
  26. The Battle of The Beverage:  A Look at Ca in Both Orange Juice and Milk Using ICP AES ('01)
  27. The Effect of Automobile Traffic on Heavy Metal Concentrations in Soil and Plant Leaves (using ICP AES ('02))
  28. Trace Element Concentrations in Carob and Cocoa Powders (using ICP AES ('02))
  29. Assessment of Lead Levels in Paint Obtained from Oregon State University by ICP-AES ('03)
  30. Cadmium and Zinc Permeability of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Embryonic Chorion ('03
  31. Using ICP to Determine the Amount of Zn, Pb, and Cd in the Hair of Smokers versus Non-Smokers ('04
  32. Determination of Magnesium and Selenium in Leaf Litter  (by ICP) ('04)
  33. Special Project: Analysis of metal ion content in urine of Team Cannonball (by ICP)('04)
  34. Comparison of Metal Concentrations in Organic vs Non-organic Coffee by ICP AES. 2009.
  35. Comparison of Trace Metals in Organic and Nonorganic Cucurbita Seeds by ICPAES. 2009.

B. Circular Dichroism

  1. Quantitative analysis of Abscisic Acid.

C. Coulometric Titration and Spectrometric Endpoint Determination

  1. Spectrophotometric Determination Of Ethanol In Wine. Lauri Christ and Melinda Stoelk. 2006.
  2. Determination of Sulfur Dioxide emissions using the Hydrogen Peroxide Method.
  3. Determination of Olefins with Br2.
  4. Coulometric Titration of Ascorbic Acid.
  5. Determination of Fluoride in Toothpaste.

D. Fluorometric Experiments

  1. Determination of Ascorbic Acid.
  2. Determination of BHA and N-Propyl Gallate in commercial lard.
  3. Oscillation Rate of Cerium Catalyzed Bromate-Malonic Acid Reaction.
  4. Chemiluminescence analysis of chromium (III).
  5. Characterization of Fluorescent Highlighter Fluorescence.
  6. Fluorescence Characteristic of Indulin-AT.
  7. Nitrate in sewer water.
  8. Nitrate in river water.
  9. Nitrate in Willamette River.
  10. Thiochromate in Urine.
  11. Quinine Screwed Up My Baby:  A determination of Quinine Concentration in Commercial Products.

E. Gas Chromatography

  1. Analysis of Disc washer record cleaning fluid.
  2. Qualitative Analysis of Gasoline.
  3. Determination of ethanol content in three beers using two different methods.
  4. Methanol Determination of Aspartame Sweetened and Alcoholic Beverages ('04).
  5. Elucidation of Methanol Concentrations in Commercial and Wine Fortifying Brandies (GC-FID). 2009.

F. High Performance Liquid Chromatography

  1. Determination of Formaldehyde Concentration in Sunsilk Shampoo (precolumn derivatization/HPLC). J. Hoffman; N. Jones; S. Monares. 2008.
  2. Determination and Detection of Methylparaben and Proplyparaben in Oral Liquid. (by HPLC) T. McCabe; K. Warner; C. Wright.  2008.
  3. The Determination of Epicatechin and Catechin in Cocoa Powder by HPLC. Experimental Chemistry II. Group 3: Addison Rutter; Alaina Van Horn (Reike); Noah Cannoy. 2007.
  4. Determination of Caffeine Concentrations in Over-the Counter Migraine Medicines using HPLC.   Britta Anderson; Kaleb Jentzsch; Wesley Williams, Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, 2006.
  5. Determination of Caffeine in Lindt’s Dark and Milk Chocolate. Sarah Bassett; Stefanie Gibson; Abigail Joyce. Oregon State University, Department of Chemistry.  2005.

  6. Determination of Vitamin E in Fortified and Non-Fortified Eggs. Tiffany Graville and Mariah Parker-deFeniks. 2005.  

  7. Organic Acid content of three fruit juices.
  8. Determination of Organic Acid concentrations in fruit juices.
  9. Determination of Organic Acid concentrations in Raspberry, Cranberry and Prune juices.
  10. Determination of Aspartame in Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke.
  11. Aspartame and saccharin in diet beverages.
  12. Determination of Caffeine concentrations in various sources of Mountain Dew.
  13. Determination of Caffeine Concentration in soda drinks.
  14. Dissolved hydrocarbons in seawater.
  15. Analysis of vitamin A in fortified powdered milk.
  16. Analysis of vitamin A and D in fortified skimmed milk powder.
  17. Determination of Free Glutamate using HPLC.
  18. Determination of Caffeine in Various Forms of Tea using SPE and HPLC . ('99)
  19. HPLC Determination of Pseudoephedrine HCl and Dextromethorphan HBr in common cold remedies. ('00)
  20. HPLC Determination of theobromine and caffeine in chocolate and RedBull (uses SPE.) ('00)
  21. Gamma-Tocopherol determination in Vitamin E fortified and unfortified Chicken Feed by RP-HPLC. ( '00)
  22. HPLC Quantitation of Reaction Yield Hydrogenation of Indolyl-3-carbonyl nitrile. ('01)
  23. Determination of Ascorbic Acid Concentrations in Citrus Fruits Using RP HPLC ('01)
  24. Ginsenoside Identification and Concentration Determination in Various Ginseng Types by HPLC ('02)
  25. The Effect of Flash Pasteurization on Ascorbic Acid Content in Orange Juice Using HPLC ('03)
  26. Nicotine Determination in Commercial Grade Cigarettes via HPLC ('03)
  27. Determination of Myricetin & Benzoic Acid in Cranberries via HPLC ('04)
  28. Special Project Six: Mad Amounts of Taurine via HPLC ('04)
  29. Determination of Vitamin B12 in Sports Drinks via HPLC. Aurea c. Chiaia, Andy J. Larkin, Tuan M. Nguyen.  2005.
  30. Polyphenolic Content in Organic and Nonorganic Red Delicious Apples. (HPLC) .2009.

G. Ion-selective Electrode

  1. Determination of Fluoride in toothpaste and water.
  2. Fluoride in Cattle Bones from Cave Junction, Oregon.

H. GCMS

  1. GCMS Comparison of an Unknown Gunpowder and IMR-700x based on Nitroglycerin Content. K. Wright; S. McGonigal; T. Morgan. 2008.
  2. Toluene Concentrations in Commercial Gasoline by GCMS. Jeff Eitner and Jessica Murray.  2006.
  3. Benzene in Beverages using Purge Trap GCMS. Rachael Huber and Lia DiBiase.  2006.
  4. Determination of Menthone in Peppermint Oil and Altoid Candy.
  5. Determination of the Presence of Benzylsuccinic Acid in Ground Water.
  6. Analysis of Octane Boosters.
  7. Determination of Menthone in Mint Flavored Chocolate/ GCMS with SPME ('01)
  8. The Determination of Trihalomethanes (THM's) in Pool Water; Comparison of Saline with Chlorine Tablet Chlorination ('02)
  9. Determination of Caffeine Levels in the Columbia and Willamette Rivers ('03)
  10. Thujone Content of Four Plant Species ('03)
  11. Determination of Levels of Cocaine on One and Twenty Dollar Bills (using SIM) ('03)

  12. Quantitative Analysis of Nicotine Content in Green Bell Peppers ('04)

  13. Analysis of Pesticides in Organic versus Nonorganic Oranges (GCMS). 2009.

H1.  UVVis CCD Detection:

1.  Dyes in mouthwash: separation and concentration using fiber optic dip probe and OceanOptics CCD detection. Adam L. Silbernagel, Jonathan M. Kavanaugh. 2007.
2.  Kinetic Determination of Alcohol in Beer using CCD Detection. Alyson Mobey; Eric Titus. 2007.
3.    Analysis of Vitamin C in Frozen Green Beans using CCD OOI Detection. Brian Theobald; Joe Bowles; Nita Birdsong.  2006.

H2.  XRD

1. Quantitative Analysis Using X-ray Diffraction. Jeremy R. Gersztyn. Oregon State University, Department of Chemistry. December 5, 2005.

H. Neutron Activation Analysis

  1. Arsenic in plant leaves.

I. Spectrophotometric Analysis

  1. Ultraviolet Spectrophotometric determination of Caffeine in soft drinks.
  2. Determination of Caffeine in Dichloromethane.
  3. Determination of Caffeine concentrations of common beverages.
  4. Caffeine analysis of soda pop.
  5. Carbon Monoxide using Infrared Spectroscopy.
  6. Concentrations of Vitamin B12.
  7. Determination of Copper and Zinc in sea water.
  8. Copper concentration in Schlitz Malt Liquor Stout.
  9. Determination of Cyanide in almonds and cherry pits.
  10. Analysis of diesel fuel concentrations in seawater.
  11. Fluoride concentration in toothpaste.
  12. Iron content in blood.
  13. Lead concentration in blood.
  14. Mercury level in Longtom river.
  15. Analysis of Nitrite in Hot Dogs.
  16. Determination of Phosphate in water.
  17. Novel organic photo chromic experiment.
  18. (Enzymatic) Determination of lactose:  A comparison of concentration in dairy products.
  19. Comparison of Phosphorus Concentrations in the Tualatin River and Lake Oswego Waterways. (F '02)
  20. Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia in Various Samples ('03)
  21. Determination of Ethanol in Mouthwash via Quantitative FTIR-HATR Analysis. 2009.

J. Spectrometry Spec. Sheet

  1. Cadmium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Lead, Manganese, Nickel, Silver, and Zinc.
  2. Copper.
  3. Lead
  4. Zinc