Chemistry majors explore the nature and composition of matter and the laws that govern chemical reactions and apply these principals to solve a range of problems. Whitman's hands-on philosophy encourages extensive use of our instruments, beginning in students' first year with experiments involving pH meters, analytical balances, visible spectrophotometers, and, then later with atomic absorption?spectroscopy, gas chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.?