Educational Opportunities and Challenges
The November 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online(link is external) to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: materials science; polymer chemistry activities; green chemistry; biochemistry in the laboratory; research on student attitudes and the transition from high school to college chemistry; assessment; computer-based learning and computations; from the archives: chemistry YouTube videos.
Cover: Bubble Rafts
Bubble rafts illustrate the structure of both crystalline and amorphous materials, providing a striking analogy to recent research results on atomic-scale network structures. Thus, bubble rafts are ideally suited to study the complex structure of the everyday material, glass. Students produce soap bubble networks and develop statistical descriptions of the interface between crystalline and amorphous domains in the lab exercises presented in Characterizing Crystalline-Vitreous Structures: From Atomically Resolved Silica to Macroscopic Bubble Rafts(link is external) by Kristen M. Burson, Philomena Schlexer, Christin Büchner, Leonid Lichtenstein, Markus Heyde, and Hans-Joachim Freund. Additional articles on materials science are highlighted below.
Editorial
Close to one-quarter of the U.S. population is an immigrant or the child of an immigrant. In the editorial Immigrant Students in the U.S. Chemistry Classroom: An Educational Opportunity and Challenge(link is external), Donald J. Wink outlines how chemistry educators have the opportunity to address this group in four important ways: (i) by considering pedagogical, systematic, and content responses to working with immigrant students; (ii) educating for international connections; (iii) including new countries and cultures in educational content; and (iv) working with undocumented students.
Commentary
How Did We Get Here? Teaching Chemistry with a Historical Perspective(link is external) ~ Kristin A. Olsson , Meena M. Balgopal , Nancy E. Levinger
Materials Science
Visualizing and Modeling
Visualizing Nanocatalysts in Action from Color Change Reaction to Magnetic Recycling and Reuse(link is external) ~ Reuben Hudson, Alexandra Bishop, Samuel Glaisher, and Jeffrey L. Katz
From Desktop Toy to Educational Aid: Neo Magnets as an Alternative to Ball-and-Stick Models in Representing Carbon Fullerenes(link is external) ~ Jacqueline Y. Kao, Min-Han Yang, and Chi-Young Lee
3D Printed Block Copolymer Nanostructures(link is external) ~ Vincent F. Scalfani, C. Heath Turner, Paul A. Rupar, Alexander H. Jenkins, and Jason E. Bara
3D-Printing Crystallographic Unit Cells for Learning Materials Science and Engineering(link is external) ~ Philip P. Rodenbough, William B. Vanti, and Siu-Wai Chan
Laboratory Expermients
Synthesis and Characterization of Quantum Dots: A Case Study Using PbS(link is external) ~ Yi Pan, Yue Ru Li, Yu Zhao, and Daniel L. Akins
Simple Graphene Synthesis via Chemical Vapor Deposition(link is external) ~ Robert M. Jacobberger, Rushad Machhi, Jennifer Wroblewski, Ben Taylor, Anne Lynn Gillian-Daniel, and Michael S. Arnold
Fabrication of Polyvinylpyrrolidone Micro-/Nanostructures Utilizing Microcontact Printing(link is external) ~ Wesley C. Sanders
Fabrication of Metal Nanoparticle-Modified Screen Printed Carbon Electrodes for the Evaluation of Hydrogen Peroxide Content in Teeth Whitening Strips(link is external) ~ Adriana Popa, Eric C. Abenojar, Adam Vianna, Czarina Y. A. Buenviaje, Jiahua Yang, Cherrie B. Pascual, and Anna Cristina S. Samia
Just What Is It That Makes Silver Nanoprisms so Different, so Appealing?(link is external) ~ Guido Panzarasa
Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment Modules for Probing Gold Nanoparticle Interfacial Phenomena(link is external) ~ Akila G. Karunanayake, Sameera R. Gunatilake, Fathima S. Ameer, Manuel Gadogbe, Laura Smith, Deb Mlsna, and Dongmao Zhang
Comment on “Shining Light on Nanochemistry Using Silver Nanoparticle-Enhanced Luminol Chemiluminescence”(link is external) ~ Muthupandian Ashokkumar and Sambandam Anandan
Polymer Chemistry Activities
Demonstration of the Coagulation and Diffusion of Homemade Slime Prepared Under Acidic Conditions without Borate(link is external) ~ Naho Isokawa, Kazuki Fueda, Korin Miyagawa, and Kenichi Kanno
Demonstrating the Effects of Processing on the Structure and Physical Properties of Plastic Using Disposable PETE Cups(link is external) ~ Kendra A. Erk, Morgan Rhein, Matthew J. Krafcik, and Sophie Ydstie
From Lobster Shells to Plastic Objects: A Bioplastics Activity(link is external) ~Reuben Hudson, Samuel Glaisher, Alexandra Bishop, and Jeffrey L. Katz
Green Chemistry
Simplified Application of Material Efficiency Green Metrics to Synthesis Plans: Pedagogical Case Studies Selected from Organic Syntheses(link is external) ~ John Andraos , Andrei Hent
Useful Material Efficiency Green Metrics Problem Set Exercises for Lecture and Laboratory(link is external) ~ John Andraos , Andrei Hent
Demonstration A Miniature Wastewater Cleaning Plant to Demonstrate Primary Treatment in the Classroom(link is external) ~ Bastien Néel, Catia Cardoso, Didier Perret, and Eric Bakker
Laboratory Experiment Assessing Process Mass Intensity and Waste via an aza-Baylis–Hillman Reaction(link is external) ~ Rodolfo F. Gómez-Biagi and Andrew P. Dicks
Comment on “A Better Magnetic Stir Bar Retriever”(link is external) ~ Stephen L. Bearne
Biochemistry in the Laboratory
A DNA Melting Exercise for a Large Laboratory Class(link is external) ~ Lauren A. Levine, Matthew Junker, Myranda Stark, and Dustin Greenleaf
Synthesis and 1H NMR Spectroscopic Elucidation of Five- and Six-Membered d-Ribonolactone Derivatives(link is external) ~ Eric S. Sales and Gustavo P. Silveira
Real-Time Enzyme Kinetics by Quantitative NMR Spectroscopy and Determination of the Michaelis–Menten Constant Using the Lambert-W Function(link is external) ~ Cheenou Her, Aaron P. Alonzo, Justin Y. Vang, Ernesto Torres, and V. V. Krishnan
Chemical Education Research: Student Attitudes and the Transition from High School to College Chemistry
Exploring the Structure and Function of the Chemistry Self-Concept Inventory with High School Chemistry Students(link is external) ~ Sara E. Nielsen and Ellen Yezierski
Preparation for College General Chemistry: More than Just a Matter of Content Knowledge Acquisition(link is external) ~ Mark S. Cracolice and Brittany D. Busby
Assessment
A Historical Investigation into Item Formats of ACS Exams and Their Relationships to Science Practices(link is external) ~ Alexandra Brandriet, Jessica J. Reed, and Thomas Holme
Developing and Implementing an Assessment Technique To Measure Linked Concepts(link is external) ~ Li Ye, Razanne Oueini, and Scott E. Lewis (recently featured as a JCE Pick)(link is external)
Student Perceptions of Online Homework Use for Formative Assessment of Learning in Organic Chemistry(link is external) ~ Michelle Richards-Babb, Reagan Curtis, Zornitsa Georgieva, and John H. Penn
Computer-Based Learning and Computations
Teaching Fundamental Skills in Microsoft Excel to First-Year Students in Quantitative Analysis(link is external) ~ Samuel J. Rubin and Binyomin Abrams
Electrostatic Potential Maps and Natural Bond Orbital Analysis: Visualization and Conceptualization of Reactivity in Sanger’s Reagent(link is external) ~ Jeffery D. Mottishaw, Adam R. Erck, Jordan H. Kramer, Haoran Sun, and Miles Koppang
Exploring Do-It-Yourself Approaches in Computational Quantum Chemistry: The Pedagogical Benefits of the Classical Boys Algorithm(link is external) ~ Gabriele Orsini
Vibrational Spectroscopy of the CCl4 ν1 Mode: Effect of Thermally Populated Vibrational States(link is external) ~ James D. Gaynor, Anna M. Wetterer, Rea M. Cochran, Edward J. Valente, and Steven G. Mayer
PQcalc, an Online Calculator for Science Learners(link is external) ~ Karsten Theis
From the Archives: Chemistry YouTube Videos
In DanceChemistry: Helping Students Visualize Chemistry Concepts through Dance Videos(link is external), Gidget C. Tay and Kimberly D. Edwards use dance videos posted on YouTube to teach fundamental ideas in chemistry. Creating and using videos is a powerful way to share ideas, and some addition recent articles using YouTube as part of this exchange include:
iTube, YouTube, WeTube: Social Media Videos in Chemistry Education and Outreach(link is external) ~ David K. Smith
Using YouTube as a Platform for Teaching and Learning Solubility Rules(link is external) ~ Joseph Lichter
Teaching Chemistry Using Student-Created Videos and Photo Blogs Accessed with Smartphones and Two-Dimensional Barcodes(link is external) ~ Lucille Benedict and Harry E. Pence
Organic Chemistry YouTube Writing Assignment for Large Lecture Classes(link is external) ~ Annaliese K. Franz
JCE Resources Provide Opportunities
With 92 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education to explore, you will always find something useful—including all of the articles mentioned above(link is external), and many more, in the Journal of Chemical Education(link is external). Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable(link is external)) are also available.
If you are considering writing an article for JCE(link is external), there are numerous author resources available on JCE’s ACS Web site, including Author Guidelines(link is external), Document Templates(link is external), and Reference Guidelines(link is external).