Chemistry Comes Alive! V2 Frequently Asked Questions

Volume 2

Frequently Asked Questions

This set of notes provides additional information on ways of interacting with this material. It is presented in the format of "Frequently Asked Questions, or FAQ's".

Other than content, are there differences between Volumes 1 and 2 of Chemistry Comes Alive?

What is the fastest way to get to a movie?

Can I see larger versions of the pictures?

Are there any other pictures associated with the topics?

I have found a movie (or image) I would like my students to look at. How can they get at it quickly?

What if I see a "broken icon" instead of the movie or molecular animation I was expecting?

(Windows 95)"The little rows of dots in the background make the font very difficult to read because they change the shapes of the letters inconsistently. I kept trying to adjust my glasses. What's wrong here?"

Where are the movie files and other resources?

If I click the "Next sequential topic" link at the bottom of a page, will I see the next topic in the Chapter as listed in the Table of Contents?

What is the folder/directory structure on the CDROM?

Other than content, are there differences between Volumes 1 and 2 of Chemistry Comes Alive?

We have tried to make the information and media in Volume 2 easier to access, with fewer layers to navigate.

The internal structure is organized more by topic than the previous volume. We hope that this will, in the long run, facilitate the development of a consolidated Chemistry Comes Alive! product.

Volume 2 includes full screen (640x480) versions of the still images.

In Volume 2, still images can be selected using "still image reference movies". (see below)

We have introduced the Matrix of Topics and placed the "quick movie access" icons on that page instead of on the Table of Contents page.

Longer movies are generally broken up into a sequence of smaller movies. The pages showing these sequences of movies are linked.

What is the fastest way to get to a movie?

On each screen you can click on the link "Matrix of Topics" (located at the bottom of every page). On the matrix page you will see small movie icons, which look like

These are linked to the first movie for each topic, bypassing the text information. When you get to the first movie page, you will find links to succeeding movies as well as links to the topic text.

Can I see larger versions of the pictures?

Besides containing text and movie links, the "topics" pages also contain still images/pictures. Examples of these pictures include the first, last and some intermediate frames of every movie, as well as related charts and exhibits. Each picture is linked to a page containing different sized versions of the picture. You might want to use the larger version to display to a class, or simply to get a better look at the image.

Are there any other pictures associated with the topics?

Each topics page has a link to "additional still images". This takes you to a page with a "still image reference movie". These movies are really just sequences of JPEG compressed stills put together to make it convenient for you to quickly step through and pick out the images you are interested in. You should use the frame stepping buttons to move through this movie, not the "play" button. When you find an image you are interested in, note its number. Click that number in the list of numbers at the bottom of the page to go to the actual still image.

I have found a movie (or image) I would like my students to look at. How can they get at it quickly?

Clicking on a movie icon within a topic will take you to a page that plays the movie (or shows the still). If you place a Bookmark in the browser for that page, others can go directly to that page. Page titles are (hopefully) meaningful.

By means of a list of bookmarks, one can provide a sort of lesson plan or list of items to be browsed.

What if I see a "broken icon" instead of the movie or molecular animation I was expecting?

This is often the result of not having the proper plug-in installed in your browser. Installation directions are provided in the file DOCS/README.HTM, accessible via the initial page of Chemistry Comes Alive!

(Windows 95) "The little rows of dots in the background make the font very difficult to read because they change the shapes of the letters inconsistently. I kept trying to adjust my glasses. What's wrong here?"

Perhaps you have selected "large fonts" in Windows 95. The program was tested with "small fonts". In the Start Menu-->Settings-->Control panel-->Display-->Settings tab, specify "Font size" to be "small fonts".

Where are the movie files and other resources?

All QuickTime movies are in the MV folder/directory. The page that plays a movie provides the name and location of the movie.
Still images are in the ST folder/directory. You can locate a still image by noting the last folder/directory name and the number in the file name in the Location or Address field of the page that displays the images in three sizes.

For Example, if you click the second image from the first movie in the Crystallization of Super Saturated Sodium Acetate demonstration, the Location bar reads

file:///CCA2/STHM/ACETATE/5.HTM This address gives you the name of the data folders/directories for this topic, ACETATE, and the number of the image, 5. To locate the image, go to the ST folder/directory, open the ACETATE folder/directory, and open the folder/directory for the size image you want (see below). The image file is named 5.jpg.

There are four folders/directories inside each topic-named folder/directory in the ST folder/directory. They contain different sized images. Select the size you want (04A.JPG for 40 x 30 pixels, 12A.JPG for 120 x 90 pixels, 32A.JPG for 320 x 240 pixels, or 64A.JPG for 640 x 480 pixels) and open that folder/directory. Inside, find the file with the correct number.

If I click the "Next sequential topic" link at the bottom of a page, will I see the next topic in the Chapter as listed in the Table of Contents?

Not necessarily. The sequence of topics accessed by these links is the same as that in the Matrix of Chapters and Topics. This is identical to the order of topics in the Table of Contents, except in the cases of topics that appear in more than one chapter.

What is the folder/directory structure on the CDROM?

Here is the overall folder/directory structure of the CDROM for Chemistry Comes Alive! Volume 2. It differs from the structure of Volume 1. The primary motivation for this restructuring is to provide a more topical organization for the resources. This should make it easier to provide a consolidated Chemistry Comes Alive! product in the future.

The following can be accessed by means of links at the bottom of each page.

INDEX.HTM

This is the entry page. The user begins here.

CCAMAIN.HTM

This is the table of contents page. This page provides links to the various topics, which are organized within four chapters generally aligned with the general chemistry curriculum. The pages themselves are contained in the folder MAIN.

CCAINDEX.HTM

This is the index page. This page is a list of words. Each word links to information in pages in the folder named INDEX.

CCABOOKS.HTM

This is the textbook cross reference page. This page is a list of general chemistry textbooks. Each one links to a page that contains a list of chapters in the textbook. These pages are contained in the folder named BOOKS.

MATRIX.HTM

This is a list of topics, an alternative table of contents reflecting the fact that many of the topics are related to multiple chapters. In this list a topic appears only once. Thus this page can be seen as a canonical list of the topics. Another feature of this page is that for each topic there is a link to the topic's first movie. One can get to this page via the entry page and the table of contents page.
The topic pages themselves are contained in the folder MAIN. The movie pages are contained in the folder MVHTM.

Other important individual pages

FAQ.HTM

This is the page you are now viewing, with answers to frequently asked questions. All pages link to here via the "Frequently Asked Questions" text button at the bottom of the page. You can get to this page from the entry page.

DOCS/LICENSE.HTM

This page contains licensing information.

SAFETY.HTM

This page contains safety information for the chemical demonstrations. The various topics pages in the folder MAIN go to parts of this page.

DOCS/WEB.HTM

This page provides a warning message "You must be online..." and the link to the Chemistry Comes Alive! web site. You can get to this page from the entry page.

DOCS/README.HTM

This page contains installation related information. You can get to this page from the entry page.

Folders that contain files

INDEX

Generally, there is a file here for each letter of the alphabet. You get to these files from the index page CCAINDEX.HTM when you pick a word beginning with that letter of the alphabet. Each file contains words that have been indexed. For each word there is a definition and links to related topics (in MAIN).

BOOKS

There is a file here for each textbook. You get to these files from the textbook cross reference page CCABOOKS.HTM when you pick a textbook.

CREDITS

There is a file here for each credit. You get to these files from the entry page and the topics pages (in MAIN) when you click on an italicized number in parentheses.

SM

These are the "still image reference movies" for each topic. They are viewed via the pages in SMHTM. There is generally one QuickTime movie for each topic. These movies are really just sequences of JPEG compressed stills put together to make it convenient for users to quickly step through and pick out the images they are interested in.

GRAPHICS

This file contains widely used graphic images.

Folders that contain folders

(Each of the contained folders is associated with a topic.)

MAIN

In here are the main topics. There is generally one folder containing one file per topic. Access to these files is often via CCAMAIN.HTM or MATRIX.HTM.

MV

These are the movies for each topic. These movies are viewed via the movie player pages in MVHTM.

MVHTM

These are the movie player pages. There is one HTML page per movie. These pages show the movies in MV and provide additional information, like where the movie is located and the voice-over text.

SMHTM

Here there is one page per "still image reference movie". These pages show these movies (which are in SM) and provide links to the still image pages in STHTM that show the full-sized images in ST.

ST

These are the still images, organized by topic. Within each folder for a topic is located folders for different sized images. These images are displayed by the pages in STHTM.

STHTM

These are the still image viewer pages. There is one page per still image. These pages show the images (stored in ST). Each image is made available in four different sizes.

| Chemistry Comes Alive! (entry page) | Table of Contents | Index | Textbook Cross Reference | Frequently Asked Questions | Matrix of Topics |
© 1998 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

		The following can be accessed by means of links at the bottom of each page.
	INDEX.HTM	This is the entry page. The user begins here.
	CCAMAIN.HTM	This is the table of contents page. This page provides links to the various topics, which are organized within four chapters generally aligned with the general chemistry curriculum. The pages themselves are contained in the folder MAIN.
	CCAINDEX.HTM	This is the index page. This page is a list of words. Each word links to information in pages in the folder named INDEX.
	CCABOOKS.HTM	This is the textbook cross reference page. This page is a list of general chemistry textbooks. Each one links to a page that contains a list of chapters in the textbook. These pages are contained in the folder named BOOKS.
	MATRIX.HTM	This is a list of topics, an alternative table of contents reflecting the fact that many of the topics are related to multiple chapters. In this list a topic appears only once. Thus this page can be seen as a canonical list of the topics. Another feature of this page is that for each topic there is a link to the topic's first movie. One can get to this page via the entry page and the table of contents page. The topic pages themselves are contained in the folder MAIN. The movie pages are contained in the folder MVHTM.

		Other important individual pages
	FAQ.HTM	This is the page you are now viewing, with answers to frequently asked questions. All pages link to here via the "Frequently Asked Questions" text button at the bottom of the page. You can get to this page from the entry page.
	DOCS/LICENSE.HTM	This page contains licensing information.
	SAFETY.HTM	This page contains safety information for the chemical demonstrations. The various topics pages in the folder MAIN go to parts of this page.
	DOCS/WEB.HTM	This page provides a warning message "You must be online..." and the link to the Chemistry Comes Alive! web site. You can get to this page from the entry page.
	DOCS/README.HTM	This page contains installation related information. You can get to this page from the entry page.

		Folders that contain files
	INDEX	Generally, there is a file here for each letter of the alphabet. You get to these files from the index page CCAINDEX.HTM when you pick a word beginning with that letter of the alphabet. Each file contains words that have been indexed. For each word there is a definition and links to related topics (in MAIN).
	BOOKS	There is a file here for each textbook. You get to these files from the textbook cross reference page CCABOOKS.HTM when you pick a textbook.
	CREDITS	There is a file here for each credit. You get to these files from the entry page and the topics pages (in MAIN) when you click on an italicized number in parentheses.
	SM	These are the "still image reference movies" for each topic. They are viewed via the pages in SMHTM. There is generally one QuickTime movie for each topic. These movies are really just sequences of JPEG compressed stills put together to make it convenient for users to quickly step through and pick out the images they are interested in.
	GRAPHICS	This file contains widely used graphic images.

		Folders that contain folders
		(Each of the contained folders is associated with a topic.)
	MAIN	In here are the main topics. There is generally one folder containing one file per topic. Access to these files is often via CCAMAIN.HTM or MATRIX.HTM.
	MV	These are the movies for each topic. These movies are viewed via the movie player pages in MVHTM.
	MVHTM	These are the movie player pages. There is one HTML page per movie. These pages show the movies in MV and provide additional information, like where the movie is located and the voice-over text.
	SMHTM	Here there is one page per "still image reference movie". These pages show these movies (which are in SM) and provide links to the still image pages in STHTM that show the full-sized images in ST.
	ST	These are the still images, organized by topic. Within each folder for a topic is located folders for different sized images. These images are displayed by the pages in STHTM.
	STHTM	These are the still image viewer pages. There is one page per still image. These pages show the images (stored in ST). Each image is made available in four different sizes.