Worldwide Support for Teachers of Chemistry
The February 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. The February issue includes content on: metal-organic materials, assessment, acid–base chemistry, game-based approach to teaching, chemical structure and properties, luminescence, inquiry-based teaching, nanochemistry, synthesis, and computational chemistry. This latest issue of JCE plus the content of all past issues, volumes 1 through 92, are available at http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc.
Cover: Metal-Organic Frameworks
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are fascinating new materials with multiple chemical, industrial, and environmental applications. In Preparation and Analysis of Cyclodextrin-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks: Laboratory Experiments Adaptable for High School through Advanced Undergraduate Students, Smith, Angle, and Northrop describe the straightforward growth of single-crystalline cyclodextrin-based MOFs (CD–MOFs), along with quantitative and qualitative methods for observing their adsorption of CO2(g).
MOFs are also are explored in Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of a Metal–Organic Framework by Thermogravimetric Analysis, Powder X-ray Diffraction, and Infrared Spectroscopy: An Integrative Inorganic Chemistry Experiment by Johanna L. Crane, Kelly E. Anderson, and Samantha G. Conway.
Editorial
Adam M. Boyd, program director of the American Association of Chemistry Teachers discusses the impetus, goals, and benefits of the newly launched American Association of Chemistry Teachers in his editorial, American Association of Chemistry Teachers: A New Layer of Support for Teachers of Chemistry.
Assessment
Intuitive Judgments Govern Students’ Answering Patterns in Multiple-Choice Exercises in Organic Chemistry ~ Nicole Graulich
Building a Database for the Historical Analysis of the General Chemistry Curriculum Using ACS General Chemistry Exams as Artifacts ~ Cynthia J. Luxford, Kimberly J. Linenberger, Jeffrey R. Raker, John Y. Baluyut, Jessica J. Reed, Chamila De Silva, and Thomas A. Holme
Acid–Base Chemistry
Students’ Understandings of Acid Strength: How Meaningful Is Reliability When Measuring Alternative Conceptions? ~ Stacey Lowery Bretz and LaKeisha McClary
Acid–Base Learning Outcomes for Students in an Introductory Organic Chemistry Course ~ Carlee Stoyanovich, Aneri Gandhi, and Alison B. Flynn
Game-Based Approach to Teaching
Students’ Perceptions about the Use of Educational Games as a Tool for Teaching the Periodic Table of Elements at the High School Level ~ Antonio Joaquín Franco-Mariscal, José María Oliva-Martínez, and M. L. Almoraima Gil
Retrosynthetic Rummy: A Synthetic Organic Chemistry Card Game ~ Jeffrey M. Carney
Chemical Structure and Properties
Review of Molecules: The Elements and the Architecture of Everything ~ Robert E. Buntrock
Chemical Structure and Properties: A Modified Atoms-First, One-Semester Introductory Chemistry Course ~ Chris P. Schaller, Kate J. Graham, Brian J. Johnson, Henry V. Jakubowski, Anna G. McKenna, Edward J. McIntee, T. Nicholas Jones, M. A. Fazal, and Alicia A. Peterson
Illustrating Catalysis with Interlocking Building Blocks: A BINAP–Ruthenium Complex Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation ~ Ryo Horikoshi
Mnemonics for the Aldohexoses That Aid in Learning Structures, Names, and Interconversion of Fischer Projection Formulas and Pyranose Chair Forms ~ Shengping Zheng
Exploring Luminescence
Using Luminescence To Show Intramolecular and Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonding: An Activity for General Chemistry or Physical Chemistry ~ Cheng-Wei Ni, Gu-Ying Lin, Ting-Yi Wang, and Mei-Lin Ho
“Open-Box” Approach to Measuring Fluorescence Quenching Using an iPad Screen and Digital SLR Camera ~ Michael H. Koenig, Eun P. Yi, Matthew J. Sandridge, Alexander S. Mathew, and James N. Demas
Applications of Chemiluminescence in the Teaching of Experimental Design ~ Tomasz Krawczyk, Roksana Słupska, and Stefan Baj
A Sensitive and Robust Enzyme Kinetic Experiment Using Microplates and Fluorogenic Ester Substrates ~ R. Jeremy Johnson, Geoffrey C. Hoops, Christopher J. Savas, Zachary Kartje, and Luke D. Lavis
Inquiry-Based Teaching in the Laboratory Curriculum
Improving Students’ Inquiry Skills and Self-Efficacy through Research-Inspired Modules in the General Chemistry Laboratory ~ Kurt Winkelmann, Monica Baloga, Tom Marcinkowski, Christos Giannoulis, George Anquandah, and Peter Cohen
Selection, Evaluation, and Modification of a Standard Operating Procedure as a Mechanism for Introducing an Undergraduate Student to Chemical Research: A Case Study ~ Gregory D. Claycomb and Frances A. Venable
Guided-Inquiry Experiments for Physical Chemistry: The POGIL-PCL Model ~ Sally S. Hunnicutt, Alexander Grushow, and Robert Whitnell
Nanochemistry
Demonstrating the Many Possible Colors of Gold-Supported Solid Nanoparticles ~ Xiaoxia Zhang, Zhen Wang, and Chunli Xu
Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles for an Undergraduate Laboratory ~ Alvin W. Orbaek, Mary M. McHale, and Andrew R. Barron
Sweet Nanochemistry: A Fast, Reliable Alternative Synthesis of Yellow Colloidal Silver Nanoparticles Using Benign Reagents ~ Jason Cooke, Dominique Hebert, and Joel A. Kelly
Introducing “Green” and “Nongreen” Aspects of Noble Metal Nanoparticle Synthesis: An Inquiry-Based Laboratory Experiment for Chemistry and Engineering Students ~ Sesha L. A. Paluri, Michelle L. Edwards, Nhi H. Lam, Elizabeth M. Williams, Allie Meyerhoefer, and Ioana E. Pavel Sizemore
Chemical Fabrication and Electrochemical Characterization of Graphene Nanosheets Using a Lithium Battery Platform ~ Aaron J. Blake and Hong Huang
Assembly of a Cost-Effective Anode Using Palladium Nanoparticles for Alkaline Fuel Cell Applications ~ Ileana Feliciano-Ramos, Barbara Casañas-Montes, María M. García-Maldonado, Christian L. Menéndez, Ana R. Mayol, Liz M. Díaz-Vázquez, and Carlos R. Cabrera
Synthesis
Fabricating Electrochromic Thin Films Based on Metallo-Polymers Using Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly: An Attractive Laboratory Experiment ~ Marco Schott, Matthias Beck, Franziska Winkler, Henning Lorrmann, and Dirk G. Kurth
Template Effect and Ligand Substitution Methods for the Synthesis of Iron Catalysts: A Two-Part Experiment for Inorganic Chemistry ~ Peter E. Sues, Kuihua Cai, Douglas F. McIntosh, and Robert H. Morris
Synthesis of 3-Methyl-4-(4-methylbenzoyl)-1-phenyl-pyrazol-5-one: How To Avoid O-Acylation ~ Vanya B. Kurteva and Maria A. Petrova
Computational Chemistry
Is There a Need to Discuss Atomic Orbital Overlap When Teaching Hydrogen–Halide Bond Strength and Acidity Trends in Organic Chemistry? ~ Deepa Devarajan, Samantha J. Gustafson, F. Matthias Bickelhaupt, and Daniel H. Ess
Introduction to Computational Chemistry: Teaching Hückel Molecular Orbital Theory Using an Excel Workbook for Matrix Diagonalization ~ Joshua Litofsky and Rama Viswanathan
Reviewing Some Crucial Concepts of Gibbs Energy in Chemical Equilibrium Using a Computer-Assisted, Guided-Problem-Solving Approach ~ Javier Borge
Visualization of Potential Energy Function Using an Isoenergy Approach and 3D Prototyping ~ Alexander Teplukhin and Dmitri Babikov
Studying the Binomial Distribution Using LabVIEW ~ Danielle J. George and Nathan I. Hammer
JCE Speaks 92 Volumes of Useful Material
With 92 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education to explore, you will always find something useful—including all of the articles mentioned above, and many more, in the Journal of Chemical Education. Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable) are also available. If you like what you read, subscribe! If you have something to share, write it up!