Skills for Success
The February 2020 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: dendritic growth; inspiring interest in science; writing to learn; group work; interlocking building blocks; medicinal chemistry; teaching organic chemistry; green chemistry; spectroscopy; polymer chemistry labs; teaching resources; from the archives: light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
Cover: Dendritic Growth
In Manipulating Dendritic Growth: An Undergraduate Laboratory Experience with the Interplay between Mass Transport, Supersaturated Solutions, and Dendrite Structure, Emily Ryan, Aimee Manderlink, and Jillian L. Goldfarb describe an experiment that explores the physical and chemical driving forces behind dendrite growth through a set of viscous, supersaturated solutions of varying ammonium chloride and gelatin concentrations. Students use both qualitative and quantitative observations to make connections between a fundamental laboratory exercise and critical materials processing techniques that rely on physicochemical driving forces. The cover shows a series of superimposed, time-lapse images of dendrite formation in a supersaturated solution of NH4Cl, in which different colors are used to show the dendrite growth at various stages.
Dendritic growth is also explored in the laboratory:
Observing the Growth of Metal Dendrites in Specimens Prepared by Fabricating Galvanic Cells and Electrolytic Cells ~ Yizhou Ling, Zhizhen Yu, Pengwen Chen, Xiaohong Yan, and Jian Yang
Editorial
Tom Holme, JCE's new editor in chief, muses on the challenges of using research-based strategies to help improve his teaching in The Winding Path toward Research-Informed Teaching Practice.
Inspiring Interest in Science
Awaking Interest in Science Learning: Hands-On Photosynthesis Demonstrations Using Elodea canadensis and Spinacia oleracea ~ M. Münkel-Jiménez, M. Bonilla-Araya, Ana D. Grey-Pérez, and O. A. Herrera-Sancho
Making Acids and Bases MORE Basic: Supporting Students’ Conceptualization of Acid–Base Chemistry through a Laboratory Exercise That Connects Molecular-Level Representations to Symbolic Representations and Experimentally Derived Evidence ~ Kamryn Czysz, Lianne Schroeder, and Ginevra A. Clark
Maker Chemistry: Exploring Redox Reactions in Introductory Laboratory through Light-Emitting Diode Printed Circuit Board Fabrication ~ Scott L. Wallen, Jaspreet Dhau, Robert Green, Laura B. Wemple, Troy Kelly, Jr., and Brent Collins
Fast, Easy, Reproducible Method for Planting Fingerprints for Ninhydrin, Iodine Development ~ Adam M. Azman
Writing to Learn
Using the Science Writing Heuristic to Support NGSS-Aligned Instruction ~ Nina Hike and Sara J. Hughes-Phelan
Precision and Accuracy: Knowledge Transformation through Conceptual Learning and Inquiry-Based Practices in Introductory and Advanced Chemistry Laboratories ~ Ruomei Gao and Judith Lloyd
Connecting Current Literature, Cartoons, and Creativity: Incorporating Student-Created Cartoons in a Biochemistry Course to Enhance Learning ~ Roger W. Giese
Group Work
Skills for Success: Student-Focused, Chemistry-Based, Skills-Developing, Open-Ended Project Work ~ Jennifer Ann Jean Burnham (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS Editors’ Choice program)
Catalyzing Group Work in Introductory Chemistry: Evaluation of Five Strategies ~ Meredith M. Thompson and Allison C. Lamanna
A Data-Pooling Laboratory Activity to Investigate the Influence of Ionic Strength on the Solubility of CaSO4·2H2O(s) ~ David J. McGarvey
Interlocking Building Blocks
Teaching Kinetics and Equilibrium Topics Using Interlocking Building Bricks in Hands-on Activities ~ Junyang Xian and Daniel B. King
A Homemade Smart Phone Microscope for Single-Particle Fluorescence Microscopy ~ Travis Varra, Amy Simpson, Benton Roesler, Zach Nilsson, Duncan Ryan, Michael Van Erdewyk, Jennifer D. Schuttlefield Christus, and Justin B. Sambur
Medicinal Chemistry
Make a Molecule: A Synthetic Organic and Medicinal Chemistry Workshop Program for High School Students ~ Iain A. Stepek, Raphael Hofmann, Paula L. Nichols, Andrea Aschwanden, Christophe Eckard, Patrick Aschwanden, and Jeffrey W. Bode
Science and Business of Medicinal Chemistry: A “Bench-to-Bedside” Course for Nonmajors ~ Anna G. Wenzel, Steven Casper, Cooper J. Galvin, and Grace E. Beck
Applying a Chemical Structure Teaching Method in the Pharmaceutical Analysis Curriculum to Improve Student Engagement and Learning ~ Hui Zheng, Binjing Hu, Qiang Sun, Jun Cao, and Fangmin Liu
Development of a Web-Based Laboratory Class to Reduce the Challenges in Teaching Fragment-Based Drug Design ~ Xing-Xing Shi, Jing-Yi Li, Qiong Chen, Xiao-Lei Zhu, Ge-Fei Hao, and Guang-Fu Yang
Implementing a Literature-Based, Problem-Solving Course Bridging Mechanistic Organic Chemistry, Enzyme Transformations, and Biomedical Applications ~ Brandy A. Smith, Andria J. Hendricks, Averi McFarland, Robert W. Holman, and Kenneth J. Rodnick
Determination of Zinc Oxide in Pharmaceutical Preparations by EDTA Titration: A Practical Class for a Quantitative Analysis Course ~ Gustavo Borges Simões, Paulo Victor e Silva Badolato, Marcelo Dante Ignácio, and Eduardo Coelho Cerqueira
Teaching Organic Chemistry
Development of a Modular Online Video Library for the Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory ~ Benjamin Pölloth, Ieva Teikmane, Stefan Schwarzer, and Hendrik Zipse
Student Individuality Impacts Use and Benefits of an Online Video Library for the Organic Chemistry Laboratory ~ Benjamin Pölloth, Stefan Schwarzer, and Hendrik Zipse
Arrows on the Page Are Not a Good Gauge: Evidence for the Importance of Causal Mechanistic Explanations about Nucleophilic Substitution in Organic Chemistry ~ Olivia M. Crandell, Macy A. Lockhart, and Melanie M. Cooper
Synthesis and Comparative Kinetic Study of Reaction-Based Copper(II) Probes to Visualize Aromatic Substituent Effects on Reactivity ~ Jiyoung Jung, Adriana Dinescu, and Ahmet Kukrek
Introduction of Low-Barrier High-Throughput Experimentation in the Undergraduate Laboratory: Suzuki—Miyaura Reaction ~ Jisun Lee, Jason R. Schmink, and Simon Berritt
Time Bomb Game: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Fun and Challenging Game Reviewing the Structural Theory of Organic Compounds ~ José Nunes da Silva Júnior, Paulo Roberto Santos de Lima, Mary Anne Sousa Lima, Álvaro Carvalho Monteiro, Ulisses Silva de Sousa, Antonio José Melo Leite Júnior, Kimberly Benedetti Vega, Francisco Serra Oliveira Alexandre, and André Jalles Monteiro
Green Chemistry
Adapting the Anchoring Concepts Content Map (ACCM) of ACS Exams by Incorporating a Theme: Merging Green Chemistry and Organic Chemistry ~ Thomas A. Holme, Jennifer MacKellar, David J. C. Constable, Olga R. Michels, Jaclyn M. Trate, Jeffrey R. Raker, and Kristen L. Murphy
Green Chemistry Coverage in Organic Chemistry Textbooks ~ Sasha Johnson, Megan Meyers, Samantha Hyme, and Alexey Leontyev
Evaluating Feedstocks, Processes, and Products in the Teaching Laboratory: A Framework for Students To Use Metrics to Design Greener Chemistry Experiments ~ Julian R. Silverman and Reuben Hudson
A Safe and Green Benzylic Radical Bromination Experiment ~ Carlos F. Marcos, Ana G. Neo, Jesús Díaz, and Sonia Martínez-Caballero
Spectroscopy
UV-vis
Exploring Chemical Equilibrium for Alcohol-Based Cobalt Complexation through Visualization of Color Change and UV–vis Spectroscopy ~ Jolie Ren, Tiffany Lin, Leonard W. Sprague, Iris Peng, and Li-Qiong Wang
Revisiting the Determination of Percent Aspirin Lab: Using a Limiting Reactant Approach for Students To Also Determine the Amount of Iron(III) Chloride ~ Matthew Bodek, Mary Burch, Joshua Cannon, David Finneran, Kathleen Geveke, Heather Sinkinson, William Smith, and John Tierney
NMR
A CURE Biochemistry Laboratory Module to Study Protein–Protein Interactions by NMR Spectroscopy ~ William M. Marsiglia, Rohin Qamra, Kimberly M. Jackson, and Nathaniel J. Traaseth
NMR Structure Elucidation in the Presence of Heteroatoms: An In-Class Activity ~ Sara S. Rocks and Robert A. Stockland, Jr.
Demonstrating More Realistic Research Outcomes to Undergraduates in the Organic Teaching Lab: Separation of Product Mixtures, Structure Analysis, and Mechanistic Inquiry ~ Haoqian Miao, Andrew L. Otsuki, Joseph O. Beckett, and Mark Mascal
A Multioutcome Experiment for the Williamson Ether Synthesis ~ Kasey L. Yearty, Ryan K. Maynard, Christina N. Cortes, and Richard W. Morrison
Modernization of a Photochemical Reaction for the Undergraduate Laboratory: Continuous Flow Photopinacol Coupling ~ Kate Volpe and Erin E. Podlesny
Raman
Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering on Chemically Etched Copper Surface: An Upper-Level Spectroscopic Measurement and Analysis ~ Siddhartha Kumar Pradhan, Umapathi Balaji, Soma Mishra, Manjaiah Jeevitha, and Shubhashree Swain
Polymer Chemistry Labs
Revealing the Wavelength Dependence of Photochemical Reactions: Cutting-Edge Research in the Teaching Lab ~ Sarah L. Walden, Hendrik Frisch, Barbara V. Unterreiner, Andreas-Neil Unterreiner, and Christopher Barner-Kowollik
Well-Defined Polymers for Nonchemistry Laboratories using Oxygen Tolerant Controlled Radical Polymerization ~ Zihao Li, Sylvia Ganda, Daniele Melodia, Cyrille Boyer, and Robert Chapman
Teaching Resources
Reversible Reactions: Extent of Reaction and Theoretical Yield ~ Igor Novak
Graphical Representation of Hückel Molecular Orbitals ~ Zhenhua Chen
From the Archives: Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
The laboratory experiment by Scott L. Wallen, Jaspreet Dhau, Robert Green, Laura B. Wemple, Troy Kelly, Jr., and Brent Collins discuses Maker Chemistry: Exploring Redox Reactions in Introductory Laboratory through Light-Emitting Diode Printed Circuit Board Fabrication. Light-emitting diodes have been featured in a range of articles, from curriculum ideas to building instrustrumentation, including:
LEDs: New Lamps for Old and a Paradigm for Ongoing Curriculum Modernization ~ Arthur B. Ellis, Karen J. Nordell, Thomas F. Kuech, Stephen A. Stockman, George C. Lisensky, and S. Michael Condren
LEDs Are Diodes ~ Cynthia G. Widstrand, Jonathan Breitzer, Arthur B. Ellis, George C. Lisensky, and S. Michael Condren
Periodic properties in a family of common semiconductors: Experiments with light emitting diodes ~ George C. Lisensky, Rona Penn, Margret J. Geselbracht, and Arthur B. Ellis
Investigating Bandgap Energies, Materials, and Design of Light-Emitting Diodes ~ Eugene P. Wagner, II
Using LEDs and Phosphorescent Materials To Teach High School Students Quantum Mechanics. A Guided-Inquiry Laboratory for Introductory High School Chemistry ~ Kazem Kazerounian, William P. Green, Alan Trotochaud, Julia Sherman, and Elias W. Faraclas
Demonstrations of Frequency/Energy Relationships Using LEDs ~ Graham T. Cheek
Demonstration of the Spectrophotometric Complementary Color Wheel Using LEDs and Indicator Dyes ~ W. Russ Algar, Caitlyn A. G. De Jong, E. Jane Maxwell, and Chad G. Atkins
A Simple, Small-Scale Lego Colorimeter with a Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Used as Detector ~ Jonas Asheim, Eivind V. Kvittingen, Lise Kvittingen, and Richard Verley
In Build Your Own Photometer: A Guided-Inquiry Experiment To Introduce Analytical Instrumentation ~ Jessie J. Wang, José R. Rodríguez Núñez, E. Jane Maxwell, and W. Russ Algar
Simple and Inexpensive UV-Photometer Using LEDs as Both Light Source and Detector ~ Eivind V. Kvittingen, Lise Kvittingen, Birte Johanne Sjursnes, and Richard Verley
A Portable, Low-Cost, LED Fluorimeter for Middle School, High School, and Undergraduate Chemistry Labs ~ Benjamin T. Wigton, Balwant S. Chohan, Cole McDonald, Matt Johnson, Doug Schunk, Rod Kreuter, and Dan Sykes
Demonstrating Basic Properties of Spectroscopy Using a Self-Constructed Combined Fluorimeter and UV-Photometer ~ Eivind V. Kvittingen, Lise Kvittingen, Thor Bernt Melø, Birte Johanne Sjursnes, and Richard Verley
Paired Light-Emitting Diodes for Educational Purposes: Comment on “Demonstrating Basic Properties of Spectroscopy Using a Self-Constructed Combined Fluorimeter and UV-Photometer” ~ Robert Koncki, Marta Pokrzywnicka, and Łukasz Tymecki
Shine a Light on JCE
Explore ideas for teaching and learning of chemistry in the 97 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education —including the February 2020 issue described above. Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable) are also available. (For more information on how to access the articles cited above, see Deanna Cullen’s post on Accessing Cited Articles.)
Do you have something to share? Write it up for the Journal! Erica Jacobsen’s Commentary provides excellent advice about becoming an author. In addition, numerous author resources are available on JCE’s ACS Web site, including Author Guidelines and Document Templates. In addition, the ACS Publishing Center, has resources for preparing and reviewing manuscripts for ACS journals.