Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

This course is one of three courses required to be taken together. The three courses make up a "monster course" with the overall title "The Story of Humans in Maine Told Through Sediment".In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We will study the separation of mixtures by Gas Chromatography, the ionization of compounds, and the interpretation/identification of compounds by fragmentation patterns. Students will learn how to integrate analyte peaks in comparison to internal standards in order to quantify them. Students will be evaluated on participation in laboratory exercises, through problem sets (identification of unknown spectra), and by demonstrating proficiency on the GC-MS instrument.