An Introductory Course of Quantitative Chemical Analysis

An Introductory Course of
Quantitative Chemical Analysis -
With Explanatory Notes

The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Introductory Course of
Quantitative
Chemical Analysis, by Henry P. Talbot This eBook is for the use of
anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.
You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project
Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.net
Title: An Introductory Course of Quantitative Chemical Analysis With
Explanatory Notes
Author: Henry P. Talbot
Release Date: June 30, 2004 [EBook #12787]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS ***

Produced by Kevin Handy, Dave Maddock, Josephine Paolucci and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

[Transcriber's notes: In the chemical equations, superscripts are
indicated with a ^ and subscripts are indicated with a _. The affected
item is enclosed in curly brackets {}. Examples are H^{+} for
hydrogen ion and H_{2}O for water. Since the underscore is already
being used in this project, italics are designated by an exclamation
point before and after the italicized word or phrase.]

AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE
OF
QUANTITATIVE
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
WITH
EXPLANATORY NOTES
BY
HENRY P. TALBOT
PROFESSOR OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY AT THE
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SIXTH EDITION, COMPLETELY REWRITTEN

PREFACE
This Introductory Course of Quantitative Analysis has been prepared to
meet the needs of students who are just entering upon the subject, after
a course of qualitative analysis. It is primarily intended to enable the
student to work successfully and intelligently without the necessity for
a larger measure of personal assistance and supervision than can
reasonably be given to each member of a large class. To this end the
directions are given in such detail that there is very little opportunity
for the student to go astray; but the manual is not, the author believes,
on this account less adapted for use with small classes, where the
instructor, by greater personal influence, can stimulate independent
thought on the part of the pupil.
The method of presentation of the subject is that suggested by
Professor A.A. Noyes' excellent manual of Qualitative Analysis. For
each analysis the procedure is given in considerable detail, and this is
accompanied by explanatory notes, which are believed to be
sufficiently expanded to enable the student to understand fully the
underlying reason for each step prescribed. The use of the book should,

nevertheless, be supplemented by classroom instruction, mainly of the
character of recitations, and the student should be taught to consult
larger works. The general directions are intended to emphasize those
matters upon which the beginner in quantitative analysis must bestow
special care, and to offer helpful suggestions. The student can hardly be
expected to appreciate the force of all the statements contained in these
directions, or, indeed, to retain them all in the memory after a single
reading; but the instructor, by frequent reference to special paragraphs,
as suitable occasion presents itself, can soon render them familiar to the
student.
The analyses selected for practice are those comprised in the first
course of quantitative analysis at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, and have been chosen, after an experience of years, as
affording the best preparation for more advanced work, and as
satisfactory types of gravimetric and volumetric methods. From the
latter point of view, they also seem to furnish the best insight into
quantitative analysis for those students who can devote but a limited
time to the subject, and who may never extend their study beyond the
field covered by this manual. The author has had opportunity to test the
efficiency of the course for use with such students, and has found the
results satisfactory.
In place of the usual custom of selecting simple salts as material for
preliminary practice, it has been found advantageous to substitute, in
most instances, approximately pure samples of appropriate minerals or
industrial products. The difficulties are not greatly enhanced, while the
student gains in practical experience.
The analytical procedures described in the following pages have been
selected chiefly with reference to their usefulness in teaching the
subject, and with the purpose of affording as wide a variety of
processes as is practicable within an introductory course of this
character. The scope of the manual precludes any extended attempt to
indicate alternative procedures, except through general references to
larger works on analytical chemistry. The author is indebted to the
standard works for many suggestions for which it is impracticable to
make specific acknowledgment; no considerable credit is claimed by
him for originality of procedure.
For many years, as a matter of convenience, the classes for which this

text was originally prepared were divided, one part beginning with
gravimetric processes and the other with volumetric analyses. After a
careful review of the experience thus