Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Dear Philipyeldhos,

How's this done? In a lab, and through spectrum analysis.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Dear philipyeldhos,

What follows is written with the best of intent in an attempt to help you help yourself.

When my brother, sisters and I were kids, my Mum had a saying. It was one of many, and at the time, it never made sense to me. But now, looking back with the wisdom of middle age, I see her point. She used to say "I want never gets".

"i know its done in a lab. i want more details on it."

Look Philip, this is a marketing forum. Marketing, see? Not chemistry. Marketing. When you have a marketing question, come back and no doubt lots of people, all of whom have TONS of RELEVANT experience, one of whom might be me, will, I'm sure, be delighted to help you.

Homework questions are against the MarketingProfs terms of service. I've given you a clue, a hint, but I'm afraid the rest is up to you.

Do you think Howard Carter asked people for more details when he was scratching around in the Valley of the Kings? No, he went out, made calculations, and did his own research. That's what being a student is all about.

Or, it used to be.

To find out more about spectrum analysis of compounds you have two choices: (a), ask a chemist, or (b), look it up.

Or Google it.

Seventeen years ago, I gave a presentation to a group of second and third year design students, fully two thirds of whom had never set foot in their university library, a building that was no more than 500 feet from where they were sitting.

Please, don't tell me that nothing's changed.

If you go through life expecting (or demanding) that other people do things for you, you're going to have a pretty rough time of it and the amount you'll learn will be minimal at best.

And your last line: "besides, this IS a student question.."

Piece of advice for you: as you lurch forward and out into the workplace, I'd be careful about pulling this ace out too often if I were you. I've heard it once and believe me, once is enough.

I'll leave you with a quote from Galileo "You can teach a person nothing, you can only help them to discover it within themselves."

Which means one thing: when we find answers for ourselves, the results mean more than do the ones we have given to us.

Good luck with your search.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

I guess it depends on what you really want. If you want an assessment of the aesthetic properties of the toothpaste, you can use it -- or get a bunch of friends to use it -- and have them describe what they observe or sense.

What color is it? Is it striated? What's the flavor? What's the mouth feel? Any aftertaste? How do teeth feel after brushing with it? Etc.

You can also do that for other brands of toothpaste to see how it differs and how it's alike. You can even map several brands on various dimensions using your own reactions and those of your friends.

Now if you need a technical ingredient analysis you're in the wrong place. This is MARKETINGprofs.

What is it you want to do with this analysis? How are you going to use it? What's the objective? WHY are you asking this kind of question?