Chemistry Education without Borders
The March 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. This issue features NMR spectroscopy; chemistry teaching from an international perspective; chemistry & history; learning to think and work like a chemist; introductory laboratory experiences & experiments; the chemistry of fingerprints.
Cover: NMR Spectroscopy
As described by T. Andrew Mobley in NMR Kinetics of the SN2 Reaction between BuBr and I–: An Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory Exercise, students investigate the second-order kinetics of the reaction between BuBr and NaI in acetone-d6 by monitoring the progress of the reaction using 1H NMR spectroscopy. This classical reaction is ideal for introducing organic students to kinetic studies, as the simple 1H spectra allow the students to “see” the reaction as it occurs. Additional articles in this issue on NMR spectroscopy laboratories are listed below.
Chemistry Education from an International Perspective
Editorial
Norbert J. Pienta, Editor-in-Chief, has taken another trip to India and makes some observations in Innocents Abroad, Part II: A Glimpse at Chemical Education in India.
Commentary
Lana I. Khalil, Khalil M. Chahine, and Bilal R. Kaafarani describe an International Organic Chemistry Competition: A Thrilling, Unique Experience.
Article
Maja Elmgren, Felix Ho, Eva Åkesson, Siegbert Schmid, and Marcy Towns make a Comparison and Evaluation of Learning Outcomes from an International Perspective: Development of a Best-Practice Process.
Book Review
Review of How Glass Changed the World: The History and Chemistry of Glass from Antiquity to the 13th Century ~ Michael B. Jacobs
Articles
Finding Hidden Chemistry in Ancient Egyptian Artifacts: Pigment Degradation Taught in a Chemical Engineering Course ~ Javier Giménez
The Heuristic Method, Precursor of Guided Inquiry: Henry Armstrong and British Girls’ Schools, 1890–1920 ~ Geoff Rayner-Canham and Marelene Rayner-Canham
British Chemist Henry E. Roscoe’s Unintended Contribution to Korean Chemistry in 1907 ~ Jongseok Park and Byung-Hoon Chung
Augustus Matthiessen and His Contributions to Chemistry ~ Simón Reif-Acherman
A Short Account of RRKM Theory of Unimolecular Reactions and of Marcus Theory of Electron Transfer in a Historical Perspective ~ Francesco Di Giacomo
Laboratory Experiment
Simple Analysis of Historical Lime Mortars ~ João Pires
Learning to Work and Think Like a Chemist
Promoting Chemistry Learning through Undergraduate Work Experience in the Chemistry Lab: A Practical Approach ~ Hong-Bin Yu
Qualitative to Quantitative and Spectrum to Report: An Instrument-Focused Research Methods Course for First-Year Students ~ Alyssa C. Thomas, Michelle A. Boucher, and Curtis R. Pulliam
Merging Old and New: An Instrumentation-Based Introductory Analytical Laboratory ~ Mark B. Jensen
Introductory Laboratory Experiences and Experiments
Stoplight Quizzes: A Multilevel Assessment Strategy for Lecture and Laboratory Courses ~ Kathryn D. Kloepper
Using Latex Balls and Acrylic Resin Plates To Investigate the Stacking Arrangement and Packing Efficiency of Metal Crystals ~ Atsushi Ohashi
The Oxidation of Iron: Experiment, Simulation, and Analysis in Introductory Chemistry ~ Frederic E. Schubert
Experimenting with Synthesis and Analysis of Cationic Gemini Surfactants in a Second-Semester General Chemistry Laboratory ~ Mary E. Anzovino, Andrew E. Greenberg, and John W. Moore
NMR Spectroscopy in the Laboratory
Introducing High School Students to NMR Spectroscopy through Percent Composition Determination Using Low-Field Spectrometers ~ Jessica L. Bonjour, Joy M. Pitzer, and John A. Frost
A Robust, “One-Pot” Method for Acquiring Kinetic Data for Hammett Plots Used To Demonstrate Transmission of Substituent Effects in Reactions of Aromatic Ethyl Esters ~ Hon Man Yau, Ronald S. Haines, and Jason B. Harper
Using NMR Spectroscopy To Probe the Chemo- and Diastereoselectivity in the NaBH4 Reduction of Benzoin Acetate and Benzoin Benzoate ~ Shahrokh Saba, Kristen Cagino, and Caitlin Bennett
Use of 1H, 13C, and 19F-NMR Spectroscopy and Computational Modeling To Explore Chemoselectivity in the Formation of a Grignard Reagent ~ Sara M. Hein, Robert W. Kopitzke, Thomas W. Nalli, Brian J. Esselman, and Nicholas J. Hill
Preparation of an Ester-Containing Grignard Reagent by Halogen–Metal Exchange ~ Barry B. Snider
Dipeptide Structural Analysis Using Two-Dimensional NMR for the Undergraduate Advanced Laboratory ~ Elizabeth Gonzalez, Drew Dolino, Danielle Schwartzenburg, and Michelle A. Steiger
Reassigning the Structures of Natural Products Using NMR Chemical Shifts Computed with Quantum Mechanics: A Laboratory Exercise ~ Teresa A. Palazzo, Tiana T. Truong, Shirley M. T. Wong, Emma T. Mack, Michael W. Lodewyk, Jason G. Harrison, R. Alan Gamage, Justin B. Siegel, Mark J. Kurth, and Dean J. Tantillo
Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions Using Phosphine Nucleophiles: An Introduction to Phosphorus-31 NMR ~ Paul A. Sibbald
Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-Coupling in a Green Alcohol Solvent for an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory ~ Liana Hie, Jonah J. Chang, and Neil K. Garg
Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of 5-Phenyl-2-hydroxyacetophenone Derivatives by a Green Suzuki Coupling Reaction ~ Pedro Soares, Carlos Fernandes, Daniel Chavarria, and Fernanda Borges
Identifying Passerini Products Using a Green, Guided-Inquiry, Collaborative Approach Combined with Spectroscopic Lab Techniques ~ Matthew Serafin and Owen P. Priest
Reaction of Dimedone and Benzaldehyde: A Discovery-Based Lab for Second-Semester Organic Chemistry ~ Anne M. Reeve
Teaching Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Enthalpies of Hydrogenation of the Rings of C6H5X Predict Relative Reactivities; 13C NMR Shifts Predict Directing Effects of X ~ Wayne F. K. Schnatter, Donald W. Rogers, and Andreas A. Zavitsas
Using an On-Site Liquid Nitrogen Generator for NMR Cryogen Supply and Other Departmental Needs ~ Catherine F. M. Clewett and Nick E. Flynn
Chemical Education Research
Who Leaves, Who Stays? Psychological Predictors of Undergraduate Chemistry Students’ Persistence ~ Randi Shedlosky-Shoemaker and Jessica M. Fautch
Mental Rolodexing: Senior Chemistry Majors’ Understanding of Chemical and Physical Properties ~ Ryan S. DeFever, Heather Bruce, and Gautam Bhattacharyya
From the Archives: Fingerprints
This issue includes to articles on the chemistry of fingerprints:
Forensic Chemistry: The Revelation of Latent Fingerprints ~ J. Brent Friesen
Activities Designed for Fingerprint Dusting and the Chemical Revelation of Latent Fingerprints ~ J. Brent Friesen
Past activities in JCE on developing fingerprints include:
Chemical Methods for Developing Latent Fingerprints ~ Gurvinder S. Sodhi and Jasjeet Kaur
Fun with Fingerprints: Cyanoacrylate Fuming ~ Karaliota A. Lymperopoulou and Anastasios Nikitakis
Chemical Detection of Latent Fingerprints ~ Steve Clark, Michael N. Quigley, and James Tezak
Activities for Middle School Students To Sleuth a Chemistry “Whodunit” and Investigate the Scientific Method ~ Audrey F. Meyer, Cassandra M. Knutson, Solaire A. Finkenstaedt-Quinn, Sarah M. Gruba, Ben M. Meyer, John W. Thompson, Melissa A. Maurer-Jones, Sharon Halderman, Ayesha S. Tillman, Lizanne DeStefano, and Christy L. Haynes
JCE Has the Solution to Your Chemistry Teaching Needs
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 are considering writing an article for JCE—such as one featuring the chemistry of dyes, pigments, or light for National Chemistry Week 2015 theme of “Chemistry Colors Our World!”—there are numerous author resources available on JCE’s ACS Web site, including recently updated: