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Richard Feynman on "Why?" Questions

Lowell Thomson | Fri, 01/26/2018 - 06:15

In this blog post I will discuss an interview with Dr. Richard Feynman relating to magnets that explores the concept of "why?" questions in science. You will find a links to a blog post and a transcript of the interview along with ideas for how I use the video in IB Chemistry.

Especially JCE: March 2017

Erica Jacobsen | Wed, 03/15/2017 - 11:05

Throw the phrase “chemistry class” at someone to get their reaction. What do you predict it would be? A chalkboard full of stoichiometry problems? Wading through the atomic masses on the periodic table? Bubbling beakers? Something else? In any case, I’m guessing his or her first answer would not be, “Creative writing.”

Big Ideas – Missing in Action in the Chemistry Curriculum

Emeric Schultz | Fri, 09/02/2016 - 12:59

The genesis of this paper started with a request from a former student, Thomas Kuntzleman, now a professor of chemistry. He asked if I would consider submitting my thoughts about ‘big ideas’ in chemistry. In his email he attached a paper that I had written for the Journal of Chemical Education six years earlier1. That article was submitted the year after I retired and was a response to a submission questioning the utility of the Principle of Le Châtelier.  

Balancing Equations with Molecular Models

Michael Morgan | Mon, 07/25/2016 - 21:39

I am a very firm believer that the world of physical science can be visualized and is an excellent medium for teaching students to model and to picture what happens at the molecular level. The first topic we decided to explore was balancing chemical equations. This seems like such a simple topic to chemistry teachers but I have found that it can be quite challenging for many of my inner city students. The first thing they ask me for is a list of rules that they can follow. We can discuss the problems of algorithmic teaching in a later post! For the time being let’s talk about how to get students to understand why they need to balance equations and discuss what we can call “Conservation of Atoms”.

JCE 93.04 April 2016 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Thu, 04/14/2016 - 11:08

Chemists Celebrate Earth Day

The April 2016 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. In honor of Earth Day 2016, the April issue includes a variety of content that provides ideas and suggestions for bringing environmental chemistry to students on the topics of: water quality; climate science and greenhouse gases; atmospheric chemistry; sustainability, green chemistry, and environmental awareness; and energy storage technology. Also in the issue are articles on: outreach and public understanding; teaching organic chemistry; physical chemistry; exploring biochemistry with proteins; research experiences in the laboratory; educational resources.

A different way to look at heat and energy....

Chad Husting | Sun, 04/03/2016 - 16:49

Each year we work on specific heat of materials and the heat of fusion of ice. These are two labs that are typical for most chemistry classrooms. Most of the experiments involve a simple calorimetry experiment that uses a styrofoam cup and provides generally good results. There tend to be a couple of key ideas with all of these experiments.