Introduced to study components of ionized gas, the mass spectrometer has evolved into a highly accurate device now used in many undergraduate and research laboratories. Unfortunately, despite their importance in the formation of future scientists, mass spectrometers remain beyond the financial reach of many high schools and colleges. As a result,…

A study uses the ChemDraw nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) tool to process 15 para-substituted benzoic acids and generate (super 13)C NMR chemical shifts of C1 through C5. The data were plotted against their pK[subscript a] value and a fairly good linear fit was found for pK[subscript a] versus delta[subscript c1].

Discusses electron spin resonance, a form of magnetic resonance spectroscopy, used to study electronic structure of molecules with unpaired electrons. Studies benzosemiquinone radical anions which are long-lived and inexpensive. Uses a Project SERAPHIM computer program to perform a Huckel molecular orbital calculation. (MVL)