Developing Students’ Scientific Reasoning
The March 2020 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online(link is external) to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: nanochemistry; innovative curriculum; teaching with games; teaching with food chemistry and natural products; infrared applications; analysis using color, images, and visualization; environmental chemistry; computer-aided organic chemistry; synthesis laboratories; physical chemistry; graduate school climate assessment; chemical education research: introductory chemistry and student success.
Cover: Nanochemistry
Photonic crystals are structures that form their color by diffraction rather than by electronic transition. In Emulsion Polymerization, Size Determination, and Self-Assembly of Monodispersed Poly(methyl methacrylate) Nanospheres for Photonics(link is external), George Lisensky, Fabian Dauzvardis, Jiaqi Luo, Jacob Horger, and Emma Koenig present a laboratory experiment in which students create their own synthetic opal (microfuge tubes) to template an inverse opal (background SEM image) while using two forms of polymerization. During the experiment, students synthesize ~250 nm poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) spheres. The spheres are self-assembled by sedimentation and capillary evaporation, and these close-packed structures exhibit opalescence because the repeat distance is similar to the wavelength of light. Students gain exposure to polymers, nanochemistry, photonics, and self-assembly to measure the size of the PMMA nanospheres by four different methods. This experiment provides students with opportunities to collaborate and work on multiple related experiments at once.
Other nanochemistry articles in this issue include:
Synthesis and Analysis of Zinc Copper Indium Sulfide Quantum Dot Nanoparticles(link is external) ~ George Lisensky, Ross McFarland-Porter, Weltha Paquin, and Kangying Liu
Using NMR Spectroscopy To Measure Protein Binding Capacity on Gold Nanoparticles(link is external) ~ Y. Randika Perera, Taylor M. South, Alex C. Hughes, Ashlyn N. Parkhurst, Olivia C. Williams, Mackenzie B. Davidson, Chloe A. Wilks, Debra A. Mlsna, and Nicholas C. Fitzkee
Three-Dimensional Printing of a Model Atomic Force Microscope to Measure Force–Distance Profiles(link is external) ~ Daniel M. Gruber, Tynan Perez, Bege Q. Layug, Margaret Ohama, Lydia Tran, Luis Angel Flores Rojas, A. Xavier Garcia, Gang-yu Liu, and William J. W. Miller
Op-Ed
In his editorial, The Emerging Role of Prepublication in Chemistry Education(link is external), Editor-in-Chief Tom Holme discusses the recent update to the JCE author guidelines(link is external) and examines the most significant change: allowing authors to deposit an initial draft of their manuscript in a preprint repository such as ChemRxiv(link is external). The commentary by Klaus Schmidt-Rohr discusses the Analysis of Two Definitions of the Mole That Are in Simultaneous Use, and Their Surprising Consequences(link is external).
Innovative Curriculum
Restructuring a General College Chemistry Sequence Using the ACS Anchoring Concepts Content Map(link is external) ~ Scott A. Reid
Prioritizing the Development of Experimental Skills and Scientific Reasoning: A Model for Authentic Evaluation of Laboratory Performance in Large Organic Chemistry Classes(link is external) ~ Clinton G.L. Veale, Vineet Jeena, and Siphamandla Sithebe
Integrating Lecture and Laboratory Work for a Materials Chemistry Course to Engage and Motivate Students through Highly Visual and Intriguing Syntheses(link is external) ~ Karine Molvinger, Rose-Marie Ayral, and Jean-Sébastien Filhol
Teaching with Games
Guided Heads-Up: A Collaborative Game that Promotes Metacognition and Synthesis of Material While Emphasizing Higher-Order Thinking(link is external) ~ Jennifer Fishovitz, Garland L. Crawford, and Kathryn D. Kloepper
Reactions: An Innovative and Fun Hybrid Game to Engage the Students Reviewing Organic Reactions in the Classroom(link is external) ~ José Nunes da Silva Júnior, Mary Anne Sousa Lima, Ulisses Silva de Sousa, David Macedo do Nascimento, Antonio José Melo Leite Junior, Kimberly Benedetti Vega, Béatrice Roy, and Jean-Yves Winum
Offering an Online Chemistry Tournament to Engage High School Students: A 10 Year Experience in Brazil (link is external)~ Victor T. C. Paiva, Eduardo Parma, and Regina Buffon
Teaching with Food Chemistry and Natural Products
Innovative Food Laboratory for a Chemistry of Food and Cooking Course(link is external) ~ Stephen C. Cheng, Vincent E. Ziffle, and Ryan C. King
Use of NMR for the Analysis and Quantification of the Sugar Composition in Fresh and Store-Bought Fruit Juices(link is external) ~ Yolanda Navarro, Raquel Soengas, María José Iglesias, and Fernando López Ortiz
Fermentation Chemistry: A Study Abroad Course(link is external) ~ Suzanne Carpenter and Jason Beck
Separation and Analysis of Ginsenoside Rg1: An Experiment for the Separation and Analysis of Natural Products(link is external) ~ Rong Yang, Yang Y. Hu, Si Huang, Zheng F. Fang, Ming Ma, and Bo Chen
Infrared Applications
The Sound of Chemistry: Translating Infrared Wavenumbers into Musical Notes(link is external) ~ Neil Garrido, Anaïs Pitto-Barry, Joan J. Soldevila-Barreda, Alexandru Lupan, Louise Comerford Boyes, William H. C. Martin, and Nicolas P. E. Barry
Invisibility Cloaks and Hot Reactions: Applying Infrared Thermography in the Chemistry Education Laboratory(link is external) ~ Travis C. Green, Rebekkah H. Gresh, Desiree A. Cochran, Kaitlyn A. Crobar, Peter M. Blass, Alexis D. Ostrowski, Dean J. Campbell, Charles Xie, and Andrew T. Torelli
Analysis Using Color, Images, and Visualization
Team-Based Learning for Scientific Computing and Automated Experimentation: Visualization of Colored Reactions(link is external) ~ Santiago Vargas, Siavash Zamirpour, Shreya Menon, Arielle Rothman, Florian Häse, Teresa Tamayo-Mendoza, Jonathan Romero, Sukin Sim, Tim Menke, and Alán Aspuru-Guzik
Chemistry of Autumn Colors: Quantitative Spectrophotometric Analysis of Anthocyanins and Carotenoids and Qualitative Analysis of Anthocyanins by Ultra-performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry(link is external) ~ Marianna Manninen, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, and Juha-Pekka Salminen
Paper Millifluidics Lab: Using a Library of Color Tests to Find Adulterated Antibiotics(link is external) ~ Sarah L. Bliese, Deanna O’Donnell, Abigail A. Weaver, and Marya Lieberman (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS AuthorChoice program)
Simple Visual-Aided Automated Titration Using the Python Programming Language(link is external) ~ Song Wei Benjamin Tan, Pavan Kumar Naraharisetti, Siew Kian Chin, and Lai Yeng Lee
Using Image Recognition and Processing Technology to Measure the Gas Volume in a Miniature Water Electrolysis Device Constructed with Simple Materials(link is external) ~ Yizhou Ling, Pengwen Chen, Juan Li, Junyao Zhang, and Kai Chen
Environmental Chemistry
The Southern Illinois Well Water Quality Project: A Service-Learning Project in Environmental Chemistry(link is external) ~ Logan Dameris, Hannah Frerker, and H. Darrell Iler
AIRduino: On-Demand Atmospheric Secondary Organic Aerosol Measurements with a Mobile Arduino Multisensor(link is external) ~ Kelly A. Rodriguez-Vasquez, Aaron M. Cole, Desislava Yordanova, Rachel Smith, and Nathanael M. Kidwell
Computer-Aided Organic Chemistry
Computational Activity to Visualize Stereoisomers in Molecules with an Axis of Chirality(link is external) ~ Michael W. Pelter, Mitchell T. Howell, Cassandra Anderson, and Aryana Sayeed
Computer-Aided Drug Design for the Organic Chemistry Laboratory Using Accessible Molecular Modeling Tools(link is external) ~ Valeria V. Acuna, Rachel M. Hopper, and Ryan J. Yoder
CASE (Computer-Assisted Structure Elucidation) Study for an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Class(link is external) ~ Ronald Soong, Brent G. Pautler, Arvin Moser, Amy Jenne, Daniel H. Lysak, Antonio Adamo, and Andre J. Simpson
Synthesis Laboratories
Asymmetric Synthesis and Absolute Configuration Determination of an Enantioenriched Alcohol: A Discovery-Based Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment(link is external) ~ Ryan P. King, Alexander J. Wagner, Alexander Burtea, and Susan M. King
Synthesis of cis-Cu(gly)2·H2O, trans-Cu(gly)2, and cis-Ni(gly)2(H2O)2 and their Characterization Using Thermal and Spectroscopic Techniques—A Capstone Inorganic Laboratory(link is external) ~ Ethan C. Cagle, Victoria L. Stanford, Jacqueline A. Nikles, and Gary M. Gray
Physical Chemistry
Rolling the Dice: Modeling First- and Second-Order Reactions via Collision Theory Simulations in an Undergraduate Laboratory(link is external) ~ Jessica Iribe, Terianne Hamada, Hyesoo Kim, Matt Voegtle, and Christina A. Bauer
That’s Pretty Cool. Using Work to Freeze Water. The Vapor-Compression Refrigerator and How It Works(link is external) ~ Arthur M. Halpern and Robert J. Noll
That’s So Cool. Using a Flame to Freeze Water. The Vapor-Absorption Refrigerator and How It Works(link is external) ~ Arthur M. Halpern and Robert J. Noll
Teaching Thermodynamics with the Quantum Volume(link is external) ~ Ted H. Yu
Using Elementary Calculus and Dimensional Analysis to Prepare Students for Physical Chemistry(link is external) ~ Marc Frodyma
Keto–Enol Tautomerization of Acetylacetone in Mixed Solvents by NMR Spectroscopy. A Physical Chemistry Experiment on the Application of the Onsager-Kirkwood Model for Solvation Thermodynamics(link is external) ~ Candice H. Cortney and V. V. Krishnan
Graduate School Climate Assessment
Student-Led Climate Assessment Promotes a Healthier Graduate School Environment(link is external) ~ Madeleine S. Beasley, Margaret A. Lumley, Tesia D. Janicki, Rebeca L. Fernandez, Lydia H. Manger, Trisha Tucholski, Nicole C. Thomas, Lauren D. Whitmire, Andrea Lawson, and Andrew R. Buller
Chemical Education Research: Introductory Chemistry and Student Success
Impact of Representations in Assessments on Student Performance and Equity(link is external) ~ Vanessa R. Ralph and Scott E. Lewis
Assessing Differences between Three Virtual General Chemistry Experiments and Similar Hands-On Experiments(link is external) ~ Cory Hensen, Gosia Glinowiecka-Cox, and Jack Barbera
Constructing Explanations in an Active Learning Preparatory Chemistry Course(link is external) ~ Molly B. Atkinson, Sandhya Krishnan, LaShawn A. McNeil, Julie A. Luft, and Norbert J. Pienta
Homing in on the Capabilities That Are Most Predictive of Student Success in the First Semester of Organic Chemistry(link is external) ~ Rosa Betancourt-Pérez, Julio Rodríguez, and Lorell Muñoz-Hernández
From the Archives: Using Dice To Let the Chemistry Learning Roll
The use of dice for teaching has appeared in the Journal since its earliest issues, including the game “chemical dice” as described in a 1935 article Games for a Chemist’s Party(link is external) by William E. Caldwell:
Eighty-five years later, this issue includes Rolling the Dice: Modeling First- and Second-Order Reactions via Collision Theory Simulations in an Undergraduate Laboratory(link is external) in which Jessica Iribe, Terianne Hamada, Hyesoo Kim, Matt Voegtle, and Christina A. Bauer use dice to teach kinetic principles. Other articles found in the intervening years that use dice in a variety of ways to teach chemistry concepts include:
Equilibrium Principles: A Game for Students(link is external) ~ Lionel J. Edmonson Jr. and Don L. Lewis
Depletion: A Game with Natural Rules for Teaching Reaction Rate Theory(link is external) ~ Donald J. Olbris and Judith Herzfeld
Nucleogenesis! A Game with Natural Rules for Teaching Nuclear Synthesis and Decay(link is external) ~ Donald J. Olbris and Judith Herzfeld
Dice Shaking as an Analogy for Radioactive Decay and First Order Kinetics(link is external) ~ Emeric Schultz
MOL: Developing a European-Style Board Game To Teach Organic Chemistry(link is external) ~ Eduardo Triboni and Gabriel Weber
A Quantum Mechanical Game of Craps: Teaching the Superposition Principle Using a Familiar Classical Analog to a Quantum Mechanical System(link is external) ~ Patrick E. Fleming
Using Role-Playing Game Dice To Teach the Concepts of Symmetry(link is external) ~ Anthony K. Grafton
Exploring Biased Probability Using Loaded Dice: An Active Learning Exercise with Analogy to Entropic and Energetic Determinants of Equilibria in Chemical Systems(link is external) ~ James A. Hebda and Zachary Aamold
Statistics by Computer Simulation(link is external) ~ A. Lotz
Chem and Roll: A Roll and Write Game To Illustrate Chemical Engineering and the Contact Process(link is external) ~ Nicolas Dietrich
On a Roll with JCE
Explore ideas for teaching and learning of chemistry in the 97 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education(link is external) —including the March 2020 issue described above(link is external). Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable)(link is external) 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(link is external) provides excellent advice about becoming an author. In addition, numerous author resources are available on JCE’s ACS Web site(link is external), including the revised Author Guidelines(link is external) and Document Templates(link is external). In addition, the ACS Publishing Center(link is external), has resources for preparing and reviewing manuscripts for ACS journals.