Endowing Inspiration
The August 2016 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online(link is external) to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: blue bottle reaction revisited; precollege professional development; chemical education research on intermolecular interactions and bonding; integrated courses; activities involving kinetics, enzymes, and gases; nanomaterial & polymer laboratories; organic synthesis; NMR teaching resources; book recommendations for summer reading.
Blue Bottle Reaction Revisited: Cover Feature
The classic blue bottle experiment, in which a transparent liquid turns blue when shaken and fades to colorless when left to stand, is a perennially popular and versatile reaction for demonstrations and activities. In Greening the Traffic Light: Air Oxidation of Vitamin C Catalyzed by Indicators(link is external) and Rapid Blue Bottle Experiment: Autoxidation of Benzoin Catalyzed by Redox Indicators(link is external), Urawadee Rajchakit and Taweetham Limpanuparb describe alternative formulations in which new reducing agents and dyes are used in the reaction. Pattern development during the air oxidation of vitamin C catalyzed by indigo carmine is shown on the cover. Small circular structures that form within the first 10 minutes gradually transform into a network of radial streaks going to and from the center after 30 minutes. The rapid blue bottle reaction accommodates more varieties of redox dyes and forms chemical patterns in all cases. These experiments provide a springboard to dive into deeper investigations, inspiring development of further teaching activities.
Precollege Professional Development
In the Editorial Chemistry Teachers as Professionals: A Retrospective Analysis(link is external), Greg Rushton encourages teachers to view themselves as professionals in order to recognize the value in contributions from those within the K–12 community as well as external to it.
In Endowing Inspiration(link is external), Deanna Cullen interviews Jenelle L. Ball of Chico, California, the winner of the 2015 James Bryant Conant Award in Teaching High School Chemistry and announces that ChemEd X and JCE will permanently sponsor this award with an endowment.
No Teacher Is an Island: Bridging the Gap between Teachers’ Professional Practice and Research Findings(link is external) ~ Deborah Herrington and Patrick L. Daubenmire
Introducing a Culture of Modeling To Enhance Conceptual Understanding in High School Chemistry Courses(link is external) ~ Amanda D. Edwards and Michelle Head
Chemical Education Research on Intermolecular Interactions and Bonding
Connecting Protein Structure to Intermolecular Interactions: A Computer Modeling Laboratory(link is external)~ Mohammed Abualia, Lianne Schroeder, Megan Garcia, Patrick L. Daubenmire, Donald J. Wink, and Ginevra A. Clark
Identifying Misconceptions Related to Chemical Bonding Concepts in the Slovak School System Using the Bonding Representations Inventory as a Diagnostic Tool(link is external) ~ Michal Vrabec and Miroslav Prokša
Integrated Courses
Reactivity II: A Second Foundation-Level Course in Integrated Organic, Inorganic, and Biochemistry(link is external) ~ Chris P. Schaller, Kate J. Graham, Edward J. McIntee, T. Nicholas Jones, and Brian J. Johnson
Interdisciplinary Research in a Dense Summer Bridge: The Role of a Writing Intensive Chemistry Seminar(link is external) ~ Stephen Waratuke and Thomas Kling
Activities Involving Kinetics, Enzymes, and Gases
Approaching a Conceptual Understanding of Enzyme Kinetics and Inhibition: Development of an Active Learning Inquiry Activity for Prehealth and Nonscience Majors(link is external) ~ Chloe House, Glen Meades, and Kimberly J. Linenberger
Investigating the Hydrolysis of Starch Using α-Amylase Contained in Dishwashing Detergent and Human Saliva(link is external) ~ Toratane Munegumi, Masato Inutsuka, and Yukitaka Hayafuji
Using a Hands-On Hydrogen Peroxide Decomposition Activity To Teach Catalysis Concepts to K–12 Students(link is external) ~ Viktor J. Cybulskis, Fabio H. Ribeiro, and Rajamani Gounder
Exploring the Gas Chemistry of Old Submarine Technologies Using Plastic Bottles as Reaction Vessels and Models(link is external) ~ Ryo Horikoshi, Fumitaka Takeiri, Yoji Kobayashi, and Hiroshi Kageyama
Reactivity of Household Oxygen Bleaches: A Stepwise Laboratory Exercise in High School Chemistry Course(link is external) ~ Masayoshi Nakano, Haruka Ogasawara, Takeshi Wada, and Nobuyoshi Koga
FlashPhotol: Using a Flash Photolysis Apparatus Simulator To Introduce Students to the Kinetics of Transient Species and Fast Reactions(link is external) ~ Stephen W. Bigger
Nanomaterial & Polymer Laboratories
Using Mung Beans as a Simple, Informative Means To Evaluate the Phytotoxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials and Introduce the Concept of Nanophytotoxicity to Undergraduate Students(link is external) ~ Shailise S. Ross, Matthew J. Owen, Brian P. Pedersen, Gang-yu Liu, and William J. W. Miller
Integrating Elemental Analysis and Chromatography Techniques by Analyzing Metal Oxide and Organic UV Absorbers in Commercial Sunscreens(link is external) ~ Rosalynn Quiñones, Jennifer Logan Bayline, Deborah A. Polvani, David Neff, Tamara D. Westfall, and Abdullah Hijazi
Nanofabrication and Electrochemical Characterization of Self-Assembled Monolayers Sandwiched between Metal Nanoparticles and Electrode Surfaces(link is external) ~ Pilar Cea, Santiago Martín, Alejandro González-Orive, Henrry M. Osorio, Pablo Quintín, and Lucía Herrer
Preparation and Characterization of Polymeric Nanoparticles: An Interdisciplinary Experiment(link is external) ~ Maria J. Ramalho and M. Carmo Pereira
An Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory: Synthesis of Well-Defined Polymers by Low-Catalyst-Concentration ATRP and Postpolymerization Modification to Fluorescent Materials(link is external) ~ Nicolay V. Tsarevsky, Shannon R. Woodruff, and Patty J. Wisian-Neilson
Organic Synthesis
Synthesis of Methyl Cyclopentanecarboxylate: A Laboratory Experience in Carbon Rearrangement(link is external) ~ Alexandra Orchard, Roxanne V. Maniquis, and Nicholas T. Salzameda
Investigating a Chemoselective Grignard Reaction in an Undergraduate Discovery Lab To Predict Reactivity and Final Products(link is external) ~ Michael J. Maher, Colin O. Hayes, Francesca A. Vaccaro, Cailyn B. Flynn, R. Paxton Thedford, and Clifton J. Stephenson
The Two Faces of Sulfinates: Illustrating Umpolung Reactivity(link is external) ~ Adabelia Tapia-Pineda, Carlos Perez-Arrieta, Carolina Silva-Cuevas, Ehecatl Paleo, and J. Armando Lujan-Montelongo
NMR Teaching Resources
A Coin-Flipping Analogy and Web App for Teaching Spin–Spin Splitting in 1H NMR Spectroscopy(link is external) ~ Adam M. Azman and John J. Esteb
Web-Based 2D NMR Spectroscopy Practice Problems(link is external) ~ Kate J. Graham, Edward J. McIntee, and Chris P. Schaller
Book Recommendations for Summer Reading
Kitchen as Lab, Science in Writing, Who Are Your Students, and How to Help(link is external) ~ Cheryl Baldwin Frech; Enlightenment (Lather, Rinse, Repeat)(link is external) ~ Brian P. Coppola; Proof: The Science of Booze; Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World; Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction; and Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story(link is external) ~ Brittland K. DeKorver; Brief Candle in the Dark; Seven Brief Lessons on Physics; and The Wright Brothers(link is external) ~Hal Harris
Distilling the Archives: Green Chemistry Labs Using Natural Products
Sean C. Purcell, Prithvi Pande, Yingxin Lin, Ernesto J. Rivera, Latisha Paw U, Luisa M. Smallwood, Geri A. Kerstiens, Laura B. Armstrong, MaryAnn T. Robak, Anne M. Baranger, and Michelle C. Douskey discuss the Extraction and Antibacterial Properties of Thyme Leaf Extracts: Authentic Practice of Green Chemistry(link is external). Other botanically inspired, green laboratories that have appeared in the Journal include:
Normal- and Reverse-Phase Paper Chromatography of Leaf Extracts of Dandelions(link is external) ~ Maria H. Du Toit, Per-Odd Eggen, Lise Kvittingen, Vassilia Partali, and Rudolf Schmid
“Supermarket Column Chromatography of Leaf Pigments” Revisited: Simple and Ecofriendly Separation of Plant Carotenoids, Chlorophylls, and Flavonoids from Green and Red Leaves(link is external) ~ Alice M. Dias and Maria La Salete Ferreira
Green Soap: An Extraction and Saponification of Avocado Oil(link is external) ~ Susan Sutheimer, Jacqueline M. Caster, and Simone H. Smith
Preparation of Gold Nanoparticles Using Tea: A Green Chemistry Experiment(link is external) ~ R. K. Sharma, Shikha Gulati, and Shilpa Mehta
93 Years of Inspiration
With 93 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education to explore, you will always find something inspiring—including 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.
Summer is here! Please consider submitting a contribution to the Journal of Chemical Education. Erica Jacobsen’s Commentary(link is external) gives great advice on writing for the Journal. In addition, numerous author resources are available on JCE’s ACS Web site, including: Author Guidelines(link is external), Document Templates(link is external), and Reference Guidelines(link is external). The Journal issued a call for papers on Polymer Concepts across the Curriculum(link is external), so consider submitting a contribution to our next special issue—deadline October 24, 2016.