JCE 92.08—August 2015 Issue Highlights
Using Models and Modeling To Teach
The August 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. This issue includes articles on modeling instruction; Lewis dot structure model; molecular models; using models to teach crystal symmetry; introductory activities and labs; organic chemistry investigations and tools for engagement; enabling chemistry training for low vision or blind students; impact of chemical education research; celebrating the work of Melanie Cooper; forensic chemistry articles from past issues.
Cover: Modeling Wildfires in the Lab
Wildfires cause substantial losses in property and lives every year. In the United States alone, an estimated annual total of over 60,000 wildfires burn between 12,000 and 40,000 square kilometers of land. In Wildfires in the Lab: Simple Experiment and Models for the Exploration of Excitable Dynamics, Christian Punckt, Pablo S. Bodega, Prabha Kaira, and Harm H. Rotermund present model experiments and computational approaches for observing and analyzing wildfire dynamics. The cover image shows a time sequence of a “wildfire” on laboratory scale. The model forest on fire is made of an array of matchsticks, illustrating the violence of a real-life situation.
In her Editorial, Deanna M. Cullen discusses Modeling Instruction: A Learning Progression That Makes High School Chemistry More Coherent to Students. Other articles in the issue that explore using model-based inquiry in teaching high school chemistry are:
Building an Understanding of How Model-Based Inquiry Is Implemented in the High School Chemistry Classroom ~Katarina Dass, Michelle L. Head, and Gregory T. Rushton
Applying Modeling Instruction to High School Chemistry To Improve Students’ Conceptual Understanding ~ Larry Dukerich
Promoting Student Development of Models and Scientific Inquiry Skills in Acid–Base Chemistry: An Important Skill Development in Preparation for AP Chemistry ~ Cara Hale-Hanes
Writing-to-Learn the Nature of Science in the Context of the Lewis Dot Structure Model ~ Ginger V. Shultz and Anne Ruggles Gere
Teaching Beginning Chemistry Students Simple Lewis Dot Structures ~ Peter Nassiff and Wendy A. Czerwinski
Introducing NMR to a General Chemistry Audience: A Structural-Based Instrumental Laboratory Relating Lewis Structures, Molecular Models, and 13C NMR Data ~ Curtis R. Pulliam, William F. Pfeiffer, and Alyssa C. Thomas
The Use of Molecular Modeling as “Pseudoexperimental” Data for Teaching VSEPR as a Hands-On General Chemistry Activity ~ Christopher B. Martin, Crissie Vandehoef, and Allison Cook
Improving a Lecture-Size Molecular Model Set by Repurposing Used Whiteboard Markers ~ Veljko Dragojlovic
Three Dimensional (3D) Printing: A Straightforward, User-Friendly Protocol To Convert Virtual Chemical Models to Real-Life Objects ~ Sergio Rossi, Maurizio Benaglia, Davide Brenna, Riccardo Porta, and Manuel Orlandi
Using Models To Teach Crystal Symmetry
Virtual and Printed 3D Models for Teaching Crystal Symmetry and Point Groups ~ Lluís Casas and Eugènia Estop
Using the Plan View To Teach Basic Crystallography in General Chemistry ~ Cody V. Cushman and Matthew R. Linford
Lattice Entertain You: Paper Modeling of the 14 Bravais Lattices on YouTube ~ Lawrence T. Sein, Jr. and Sarajane E. Sein
Teaching Molecular Symmetry of Dihedral Point Groups by Drawing Useful 2D Projections ~ Lan Chen, Hongwei Sun, and Chengming Lai
A Guided Inquiry Activity for Teaching Ligand Field Theory ~ Brian J. Johnson and Kate J. Graham
Introductory Activities and Labs
Using Elephant’s Toothpaste as an Engaging and Flexible Curriculum Alignment Project ~ Daniel S. Eldridge
The Chemistry of Cat Litter: Activities for High School Students To Evaluate a Commercial Product’s Properties and Claims Using the Tools of Chemistry ~ Teresa Celestino and Fabio Marchetti
Using Conductivity Measurements To Determine the Identities and Concentrations of Unknown Acids: An Inquiry Laboratory Experiment ~ K. Christopher Smith and Ariana Garza
Organic Chemistry Investigations and Tools for Engagement
Engaging Organic Chemistry Students Using ChemDraw for iPad ~ Layne A. Morsch and Michael Lewis
Illustrating the Utility of X-ray Crystallography for Structure Elucidation through a Tandem Aldol Condensation/Diels–Alder Reaction Sequence ~ Giang T. Hoang, Tomohiro Kubo, Victor G. Young, Jr., Jacob A. Kautzky, and Jane E. Wissinger
Asymmetric Epoxidation: A Twinned Laboratory and Molecular Modeling Experiment for Upper-Level Organic Chemistry Students ~ King Kuok (Mimi) Hii, Henry S. Rzepa, and Edward H. Smith
Alkaloid-Derived Thioureas in Asymmetric Organocatalysis: A Cooperative Learning Activity in a Project-Based Laboratory Course ~ David Monge
Investigation of the Regioselectivity of Alkene Hydrations for the Undergraduate Organic Laboratory ~ Katherine A. Bichler, Scott G. Van Ornum, Margaret C. Franz, Andrea M. Imhoff, and Cassandra M. May
Enabling Chemistry Training for Low Vision or Blind Students
Implementation of Protocols To Enable Doctoral Training in Physical and Computational Chemistry of a Blind Graduate Student ~ Mona S. Minkara, Michael N. Weaver, Jim Gorske, Clifford R. Bowers, and Kenneth M. Merz, Jr.
Adapting Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Lecture and Laboratory Instruction for a Legally Blind Student ~ John R. Miecznikowski, Matthew J. Guberman-Pfeffer, Elizabeth E. Butrick, Julie A. Colangelo, and Cristine E. Donaruma
Impact of Chemical Education Research
Examining the Impact of Chemistry Education Research Articles from 2007 through 2013 by Citation Counts ~ Li Ye, Scott E. Lewis, Jeffrey R. Raker, and Razanne Oueini
Celebrating the Work of Melanie Cooper
Melanie Cooper, a winner of the ACS award in the Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry, asks what the goal of science education is and encourages the use of student-constructed explanations as a learning tool in her award address, Why Ask Why? Additional scholarship by Melanie Cooper is presented in the article (which is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS’s Editors’ Choice program):
Student Understanding of Intermolecular Forces: A Multimodal Study ~ Melanie M. Cooper, Leah C. Williams, and Sonia M. Underwood
From the Archives: Forensic Chemistry
In this issue, A Bakarr Kanu, Megan Pajski, Machelle Hartman, Irene Kimaru, Susan Marine, and Lawrence J. Kaplan discuss Exploring Perspectives and Identifying Potential Challenges Encountered with Crime Scene Investigations when Developing Chemistry Curricula. Some other articles from recent past issues involving forensic chemistry include:
Using Paper-Based Diagnostics with High School Students To Model Forensic Investigation and Colorimetric Analysis ~ Rebekah R. Ravgiala, Stefi Weisburd, Raymond Sleeper, Andres Martinez, Dorota Rozkiewicz, George M. Whitesides, and Kathryn A. Hollar
Crime Scene Investigation in the Art World: The Case of the Missing Masterpiece ~ Katharine J. Harmon, Lisa M. Miller, and Julie T. Millard
Density Determination by Water Displacement and Flotation: An Introductory Experiment in Forensic Chemistry ~ Lisa A. Saccocio and Mary K. Carroll
Offering a Forensic Science Camp To Introduce and Engage High School Students in Interdisciplinary Science Topics ~ Linda Ahrenkiel and Martin Worm-Leonhard
CSI–Chocolate Science Investigation and the Case of the Recipe Rip-Off: Using an Extended Problem-Based Scenario To Enhance High School Students’ Science Engagement ~ Peter D. Marle, Lisa Decker, Victoria Taylor, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, David Khaliqi, Janel E. Owens, and Renee M. Henry
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
It’s No Mystery: JCE Is a Valuable Resource
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, there are numerous author resources available on JCE’s ACS Web site, including recently updated: