Celebrating National Chemistry Week 2015: Chemistry Colors Our World
The October 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. National Chemistry Week, a community-based annual event uniting ACS local sections, businesses, schools, and individuals in communicating the value of chemistry in our everyday life, is being celebrated October 18–24, 2015 with the theme “Chemistry Colors Our World”. Articles in this issue can help you make the most of this annual celebration. Topics include: activities & demonstrations for public understanding & outreach; using mobile devices as colorimeters in the laboratory; color & light in the laboratory; natural products & medicinal laboratories; nomenclature; engaging teaching approaches; technology in the classroom; molecular modeling; chemical education research: introductory chemistry; from the archive: chemistry colors our world activities.
Cover: Demonstrating with Food Dyes
In Oxone/Fe2+ Degradation of Food Dyes: Demonstration of Catalyst-Like Behavior and Kinetic Separation of Color, Ruth E. Nalliah describes an easily prepared classroom demonstration of the decomposition of the dyes in food coloring mixtures by oxone using iron(II) sulfate as an activator. The cover shows the structures of food color dyes FD&C Blue 1, Red 40, and Yellow 5 as well as rows of beakers displaying a sequential degradation of color. The demonstration provides an opportunity to discuss catalysis, kinetics, and eco-friendly methods for decomposition of pollutants, such as pharmaceuticals, that persist in wastewater. Food coloring is also featured in Variations on the “Blue-Bottle” Demonstration Using Food Items That Contain FD&C Blue #1 by Felicia A. Staiger, Joshua P. Peterson, and Dean J. Campbell .
Editorial
Thomas S. Kuntzleman advocates in this month’s Editorial for how outreach efforts such as those associated with National Chemistry Week can stimulate and support scholarship in chemistry.
Award Address
Catherine H. Middlecamp was awarded the 2015 ACS National Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students in Careers in the Chemical Sciences and tells a part of her story in her award address, Encouraging Disadvantaged Students in Chemistry: Four-Part Harmony (or Disharmony).
Activities & Demonstrations for Public Understanding & Outreach
Addressing the STEM Gender Gap by Designing and Implementing an Educational Outreach Chemistry Camp for Middle School Girls ~ Mindy Levine, Nicole Serio, Bhasker Radaram, Sauradip Chaudhuri, and William Talbert
Exploring the Everyday Context of Chemical Elements: Discovering the Elements of Car Components ~ Antonio Joaquín Franco-Mariscal
How Heavy Are You? Find the Answer in the Periodic Table ~Klaus Woelk
Improvements to the Whoosh Bottle Rocket Car Demonstration ~ Dean J. Campbell, Felicia A. Staiger, and Chaitanya N. Jujjavarapu
Using Mobile Devices as Colorimeters in the Laboratory
A Fresh Look at the Crystal Violet Lab with Handheld Camera Colorimetry ~ Theodore R. Knutson, Cassandra M. Knutson, Abbie R. Mozzetti, Antonio R. Campos, Christy L. Haynes, and R. Lee Penn
Integrating Mobile Phones into Science Teaching To Help Students Develop a Procedure To Evaluate the Corrosion Rate of Iron in Simulated Seawater ~ Edgar P. Moraes, Mario R. Confessor, and Luiz H. S. Gasparotto
Determining the Amount of Copper(II) Ions in a Solution Using a Smartphone ~ Marc Montangero
Color & Light in the Laboratory
The EChemPen: A Guiding Hand To Learn Electrochemical Surface Modifications ~ Mathieu Valetaud, Gabriel Loget, Jérome Roche, Nina Hüsken, Zahra Fattah, Vasilica Badets, Olivier Fontaine, and Dodzi Zigah
Understanding Electrophoresis through the Investigation of Size, Shape, and Charge of pH Indicators ~ Ryan K. Brenner, Kenneth R. Hess, and Jennifer L. Morford
Assembling and Using an LED-Based Detector To Monitor Absorbance Changes during Acid–Base Titrations ~ Willy G. Santos and Éder T. G. Cavalheiro
Paternò–Büchi Reaction as a Demonstration of Chemical Kinetics and Synthetic Photochemistry Using a Light Emitting Diode Apparatus ~ Matthew P. Thompson, Jonathan Agger, and Lu Shin Wong
A New Approach toward Cyanotype Photography Using Tris-(oxalato)ferrate(III): An Integrated Experiment ~ Pablo Alejandro Fiorito and André Sarto Polo
Learning about Structural and Optical Properties of Organic Compounds through Preparation of Functional Nanomicelles while Avoiding Hazardous Chemicals or Complicated Apparatus ~ Heinz Langhals, Moritz Eberspächer, and Alexander Hofer
Natural Products & Medicinal Laboratories
Green Soap: An Extraction and Saponification of Avocado Oil ~ Susan Sutheimer, Jacqueline M. Caster, and Simone H. Smith
Nature’s Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Studies on the Isolation of (−)-Menthol from Peppermint Oil and Its Conversion to (−)-Menthyl Acetate ~ Maeve Egan, Éilis Margaret Connors, Zeeshan Anwar, and John J. Walsh
Organic Chemistry and the Native Plants of the Sonoran Desert: Conversion of Jojoba Oil to Biodiesel ~ Lisa V. Daconta, Timothy Minger, Valentina Nedelkova, and John N. Zikopoulos
An Interdisciplinary Guided Inquiry Laboratory for First Year Undergraduate Forensic Science Students ~ Sarah L. Cresswell and Wendy A. Loughlin
Hands-On Approach to Structure Activity Relationships: The Synthesis, Testing, and Hansch Analysis of a Series of Acetylcholineesterase Inhibitors ~ Katherine Locock, Hue Tran, Rachel Codd, and Robin Allan
Nomenclature
Editors’ Choice ~ What Is a Kilogram in the Revised International System of Units (SI)? ~ Richard S. Davis
Commentary ~ The Mole and Amount of Substance in Chemistry and Education: Beyond Official Definitions ~ Carmen J. Giunta
Chemical Alias: An Engaging Way To Examine Nomenclature ~ Mikhail Kurushkin and Maria Mikhaylenko (Note: a high resolution image of the periodic table mentioned in this article can be found online)
Engaging Teaching Approaches
Approaches To Determining the Oxidation State of Nitrogen and Carbon Atoms in Organic Compounds for High School Students ~ Kamil Jurowski, Małgorzata Krystyna Krzeczkowska, and Anna Jurowska
Investigating Friction as a Main Source of Entropy Generation in the Expansion of Confined Gas in a Piston-and-Cylinder Device ~ Dun-Yen Kang, Kai-Hsin Liou, and Wei-Lun Chang
Technology in the Classroom
Teaching a Chemistry MOOC with a Virtual Laboratory: Lessons Learned from an Introductory Physical Chemistry Course ~ Patrick J O’Malley, Jonathan R Agger, and Michael W Anderson
ChemDuino: Adapting Arduino for Low-Cost Chemical Measurements in Lecture and Laboratory ~ Štěpánka Kubínová and Jan Šlégr
A Blackboard for the 21st Century: An Inexpensive Light Board Projection System for Classroom Use ~ Erik S. Skibinski, William J. I. DeBenedetti, Amnon G. Ortoll-Bloch, and Melissa A. Hines
Molecular Modeling
Fischer and Schrock Carbene Complexes: A Molecular Modeling Exercise ~ Craig D. Montgomery
Improved Syntheses and Expanded Analyses of the Enantiomerically Enriched Chiral Cobalt Complexes Co(en)3I3 and Co(diNOsar)Br3 ~ Michael J. McClellan and Marion E. Cass
Chemical Education Research: Introductory Chemistry
Uncovering Chemical Thinking in Students’ Decision Making: A Fuel-Choice Scenario ~ Gregory Banks, Michael Clinchot, Steven Cullipher, Robert Huie, Jennifer Lambertz, Rebecca Lewis, Courtney Ngai, Hannah Sevian, Gabriela Szteinberg, Vicente Talanquer, and Melissa Weinrich
Formative Assessment in High School Chemistry Teaching: Investigating the Alignment of Teachers’ Goals with Their Items ~ Benjamin Sandlin, Jordan Harshman, and Ellen Yezierski
Students’ Understanding of Analogy after a CORE (Chemical Observations, Representations, Experimentation) Learning Cycle, General Chemistry Experiment ~ Shirly Avargil, Mitchell R. M. Bruce, François G. Amar, and Alice E. Bruce
From the Archives: Chemistry Colors Our World Activities
Celebrating National Chemistry Week 2015: Chemistry Colors Our World is easy with JCE classroom activities from past issues on chemistry & color and dyes & pigments.
Chemistry & Color
Colorful Lather Printing~ Susan A. S. Hershberger, Matt Nance, Arlyne M. Sarquis, Lynn M. Hogue
Color My Nanoworld ~ Adam D. McFarland, Christy L. Haynes, Chad A. Mirkin, Richard P. Van Duyne, Hilary A. Godwin
Out of the Blue ~ Mark E. Noble
Flame Tests: Which Ion Causes the Color? ~ Michael J. Sanger
Demonstrating Various Flame Tests Using Common Household Materials ~ Bruce W. Baldwin, Scott Hasbrouck, Jordan Smith, Thomas S. Kuntzleman
The Secret of Smart Paper ~ Brian McCall, Lynn Diener, J. Aura Gimm
Dyes & Pigments
The Write Stuff: Using Paper Chromatography to Separate an Ink Mixture ~ Journal of Chemical Education Staff
A Kool Reaction from the Fine Print ~ Susan A. S. Hershberger and Arlyne M. Sarquis
Colors to Dye for: Preparation of Natural Dyes ~ Journal of Chemical Education Staff
Cooking Up Colors from Plants, Fabric, and Metal ~ Jennifer E. Mihalick and Kathleen M. Donnelly
Anthocyanins: A Colorful Class of Compounds ~ Journal of Chemical Education Staff
Artistic Anthocyanins and Acid–Base Chemistry ~ Jenna Lech and Vladimir Dounin
Pigments of Your Imagination: Making Artist's Paints ~ Nancy S. Gettys
JCE Resources Color Our World
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 Author Guidelines & Document Templates.