On Wednesday, November 8, the Analytical Chemistry class took a field trip to the Mississippi State Chemical Lab. This is an agency the state uses to conduct regulatory testing at Mississippi State University.

The purpose of the field trip was to teach the students in the class about how the material learned in class compares to procedures used in an analytical chemistry lab. The students had the chance to complete an atomic absorption experiment.

“I learned a lot about how their lab works and what it is used for. The students and staff that work in the lab mainly study cases of agriculture to test the amount of element or substance there is in a sample. There are some cases that are associated with a court case. The lab might test for something such as what killed a person’s crops. I am glad I went. We had a great time learning new things about what you can do with analytical chemistry,” senior Sabrina Solomon said.

Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, the Analytical Chemistry teacher, said, “The trip allowed students to see how the labs we do compare to analyses that the state does on agricultural products, petroleum products, and other samples. The students learned about the chain of custody for lab samples, as some of the analyses done at MSCL become part of legal proceedings. They learned about a lot of equipment and instrumentation that often used in the high tech counterparts of the some of the analyses we do.”

The students on the field trip got to take part in a more hands-on experience of analytical chemistry. They were exposed to a new type of understanding of chemistry by being inside an analytical lab.

“While we were there, we learned about the various different types of labs they have at the Hand Chemical Lab on the Mississippi State campus, such as their fertilizer lab. We also got to tour their gasoline and petroleum lab. I was very glad I went. It was an amazing experience,” senior Matthew Bailey said.

All the students who attended the field trip agree that it was a great experience they all enjoyed.