Engaging Participation and Promoting Active Learning
The June 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online(link is external) to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: materials science and nanotechnology laboratories, promoting active learning, catalysis and kinetics, blue bottle reaction, cost-effective instrumentation, resources for teaching, from the archive: anchoring concept content maps.
Cover: Properties of Semiconductors
ZnO nanorods grown on conducting glass (upper left) can serve as an experimental introduction to crystal orientation (background scanning electron microscopy image and upper-right powder X-ray diffraction scan) and to semiconductor properties. When light excites electrons into the conduction band, changes occur: the change in photoelectrochemical current in the presence of UV light is shown center right; the large difference in resistance of the sample with and without illumination is shown lower right; the band edge in the absorption spectrum is shown center left; and the decolorization of methylene blue is shown lower left. For further details see the laboratory experiment, Properties of Semiconductors: Synthesis of Oriented ZnO for Photoelectrochemistry and Photoremediation(link is external), by Emma Koenig, Ari Jacobs, and George Lisensky.
For additional materials science and nanotechnology laboratories in this issue see:
Controlled Synthesis of Nanomaterials at the Undergraduate Laboratory: Cu(OH)2 and CuO Nanowires(link is external) ~ Anderson G. M. da Silva, Thenner S. Rodrigues, André L. A. Parussulo, Eduardo G. Candido, Rafael S. Geonmonond, Hermi F. Brito, Henrique E. Toma, and Pedro H. C. Camargo
Measurement of Chlorophyll Loss Due to Phytoremediation of Ag Nanoparticles in the First-Year Laboratory(link is external) ~ Kurt Winkelmann, Leonard Bernas, Brendan Swiger, and Shannon Brown
Printing Silver Nanogrids on Glass(link is external) ~ Wesley C. Sanders, Ron Valcarce, Peter Iles, James S. Smith, Gabe Glass, Jesus Gomez, Glen Johnson, Dan Johnston, Maclaine Morham, Elliot Befus, Aimee Oz, and Mohammad Tomaraei
Graphene Oxide as Mine of Knowledge: Using Graphene Oxide To Teach Undergraduate Students Core Chemistry and Nanotechnology Concepts(link is external) ~ Izabela Kondratowicz and Kamila Żelechowska
Introducing Students to Surface Modification and Phase Transfer of Nanoparticles with a Laboratory Experiment(link is external) ~ Alaaldin M. Alkilany, Sara Mansour, Hamza M. Amro, Beatriz Pelaz, Mahmoud G. Soliman, Joshua G. Hinman, Jordan M. Dennison, Wolfgang J. Parak, and Catherine J. Murphy
Exploring the Fundamentals of Microreactor Technology with Multidisciplinary Lab Experiments Combining the Synthesis and Characterization of Inorganic Nanoparticles(link is external) ~ Noémie Emmanuel, Gauthier Emonds-Alt, Marjorie Lismont, Gauthier Eppe, and Jean-Christophe M. Monbaliu
Synthesis and Characterization of Zeolite Na–Y and Its Conversion to the Solid Acid Zeolite H–Y(link is external) ~Terence E. Warner, Mads Galsgaard Klokker, and Ulla Gro Nielsen
Promoting Active Learning
Group Intelligence: An Active Learning Exploration of Diversity in Evolution(link is external) ~ Christopher J. Parsons, Meisa K. Salaita, Catherine H. Hughes, David G. Lynn, Adam Fristoe, Ariel Fristoe, and Martha A. Grover (This article is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS AuthorChoice open access program.)
Engaging Participation and Promoting Active Learning through Student Usage of the Internet To Create Notes for General Chemistry in Class(link is external) ~ Renee Monica Henry
Using Undergraduate Facilitators for Active Learning in Organic Chemistry: A Preparation Course and Outcomes of the Experience(link is external) ~ Hannah E. Jardine and Lee A. Friedman
Cultivating Advanced Technical Writing Skills through a Graduate-Level Course on Writing Research Proposals(link is external) ~ Brian D. McCarthy and Jillian L. Dempsey
Catalysis and Kinetics
Heterogeneous Catalysis with Renewed Attention: Principles, Theories, and Concepts(link is external) ~ Franck Dumeignil, Jean-François Paul, and Sébastien Paul
Show Yourself, Asparaginase: An Enzymatic Reaction Explained through a Hands-On Interactive Activity(link is external) ~ Josell Ramirez-Paz, Bonny M. Ortiz-Andrade, Kai Griebenow, and Liz Díaz-Vázquez
Bioelectroanalysis in a Drop: Construction of a Glucose Biosensor(link is external) ~ O. Amor-Gutiérrez, E. C. Rama, M. T. Fernández-Abedul, and A. Costa-García
Lipase-Mediated Kinetic Resolution: An Introductory Approach to Practical Biocatalysis(link is external) ~ Pamela T. Bandeira, Juliana C. Thomas, Alfredo R. M. de Oliveira, and Leandro Piovan
Enzyme Kinetics Experiment with the Multienzyme Complex Viscozyme L and Two Substrates for the Accurate Determination of Michaelian Parameters(link is external) ~ Nelson Pérez Guerra
Synthesis of Dichlorophosphinenickel(II) Compounds and Their Catalytic Activity in Suzuki Cross-Coupling Reactions: A Simple Air-Free Experiment for Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory(link is external) ~ Todsapon Thananatthanachon and Michelle R. Lecklider
Oxorhenium Complexes for Catalytic Hydrosilylation and Hydrolytic Hydrogen Production: A Multiweek Advanced Laboratory Experiment for Undergraduate Students(link is external) ~ A. Ison, E. A. Ison, and C. M. Perry
Linear or Nonlinear Least-Squares Analysis of Kinetic Data?(link is external) ~ Charles L. Perrin
Agreement, Complement, and Disagreement to “Why Are Some Reactions Slower at Higher Temperatures?”(link is external) ~ Yingbin Ge
Blue Bottle Reaction
Blue Bottle Experiment: Learning Chemistry without Knowing the Chemicals(link is external) ~ Taweetham Limpanuparb, Cherprang Areekul, Punchalee Montriwat, and Urawadee Rajchakit (See Erica Jacobsen's Especially JCE: June 2017 for a discussion of this article.)
Direct Visualization of Scale-Up Effects on the Mass Transfer Coefficient through the “Blue Bottle” Reaction(link is external) ~ Patrick M. Piccione, Adamu Abubakar Rasheed, Andrew Quarmby, and Davide Dionisi
Cost-Effective Instrumentation
Inexpensive Miniature Programmable Magnetic Stirrer from Reconfigured Computer Parts(link is external) ~ Conan Mercer and Dónal Leech
An Easily-Assembled Soxhlet Extractor to Demonstrate Continuous Extraction(link is external) ~ Kevin M. Jones, Iain A. Smellie, and Iain L. J. Patterson
Resources for Teaching
pKa Values in the Undergraduate Curriculum: What Is the Real pKa of Water?(link is external) ~ Todd P. Silverstein and Stephen T. Heller
A Python Program for Solving Schrödinger’s Equation in Undergraduate Physical Chemistry(link is external) ~ Matthew N. Srnec, Shiv Upadhyay, and Jeffry D. Madura
From the Archive: Anchoring Concept Content Maps
This issue features a Comment on “Analyzing the Role of Science Practices in ACS Exam Items”(link is external) by James T. Laverty, Sonia M. Underwood, Rebecca L. Matz, Lynmarie A. Posey, Justin H. Carmel, Marcos D. Caballero, Cori L. Fata-Hartley, Diane Ebert-May, Sarah E. Jardeleza, and Melanie M. Cooper. This letter is in reference to the article (available open access) Analyzing the Role of Science Practices in ACS Exam Items(link is external) by Jessica J. Reed, Alexandra R. Brandriet, and Thomas A. Holme. This article was also recently discussed at the ChemEdX Conference, Chemistry Instruction for the Next Generation. Additional seminal work by Tom Holme and co-workers is the development of the Anchoring Concepts Content Maps as developed in the following articles:
Building the ACS Exams Anchoring Concept Content Map for Undergraduate Chemistry (link is external)~ Kristen Murphy, Thomas Holme, April Zenisky, Heather Caruthers, and Karen Knaus
The ACS Exams Institute Undergraduate Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map I: General Chemistry(link is external) ~ Thomas Holme and Kristen Murphy
Updating the General Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map(link is external) ~ Thomas Holme, Cynthia Luxford, and Kristen Murphy
The ACS Exams Institute Undergraduate Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map II: Organic Chemistry(link is external) ~ Jeffrey Raker, Thomas Holme, and Kristen Murphy
With over 94 years of content from the Journal of Chemical Education available, you will always discover something worth learning—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…do you have something to share and time to write it up for the Journal? For some advice on becoming an author, read Erica Jacobsen’s Commentary(link is external). In addition, numerous author resources are available on JCE’s ACS Web site, including updated: Author Guidelines(link is external), Document Templates(link is external), and Reference Guidelines(link is external).