Ninety Years New
The November 2013 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online. This latest issue of JCE plus the content of all past issues, volumes 1 through 90, are available at http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc.
Cover: Observations and Demonstrations
Six substances are shown on the cover at their melting points, with a frozen solid phase partially present in the liquid phase. Of the six systems, only solid water has a lower density than its liquid. In the article Liquid−Solid Density: Observations and Demonstrations, Steven Murov discusses the liquid−solid density relationship of the water−ice system as an example of an often-overlooked observation. In addition to providing an experience that shows the anomalous behavior of water, this demonstration helps emphasize for students the importance of making careful, complete, and unbiased observations. Murov also presents a demonstration with a teaching moment on the subject of climate change.
Editorial: Energy in the Age of Sustainability
As a continuation to the October issue’s examination of energy-related concerns, Héctor D. Abruña discusses how meeting global energy needs in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way is one of the grand challenges of our time.
Safety
In Student Involvement in Improving the Culture of Safety in Academic Laboratories, William Tolman and co-authors describe an effective way of addressing the need for an improved culture of safety in research-intensive science departments.
Massive Open Online Courses in Chemistry (MOOCs)
Two articles in this issue continue the dialog started in the March 2013 editorial, Online Courses in Chemistry: Salvation or Downfall? See a letter from Liberato Cardellini on Deep Thinking. What Lectures Are Useful For as well as a technology report on Massive Open Online Courses in Chemistry: A Comparative Overview of Platforms and Features by Alexey Leontyev and Dmitry Baranov.
Chemical Education Research
As discussed by Vicente Talanquer in When Atoms Want, anthropomorphizing atoms and molecules and building explanations in terms of wants or needs (teleological explanations) can be useful pedagogical strategies for facilitating student understanding of abstract chemical models about the structure and properties of matter at the submicroscopic level. Nevertheless, teleological explanations generate an illusion of understanding that may hinder learning in the longer term.
In Atoms-First Curriculum: A Comparison of Student Success in General Chemistry, Kevin M. Esterling and Ludwig Bartels present an evaluation of the impact of an atoms-first curriculum on student success in introductory chemistry classes.
General Chemistry
Labs Involving Light & Color
Comparison of the Electromagnetic Spectra of Common Light Sources: A General Chemistry Laboratory Exercise by Edward Maslowsky, Jr.
Maya Blue, an Ancient Guest–Host Pigment: Synthesis and Models by Inês M. V. Leitão and J. Sérgio Seixas de Melo
Identification of Onion Dye Chromophores in the Dye Bath and Dyed Wool by HPLC-DAD: An Educational Approach by Cristina Barrocas Dias, Marco Miranda, Ana Manhita, António Candeias, Teresa Ferreira, and Dora Teixeira
Organic Chemistry
Curriculum: Old and New
A Historical Analysis of the Curriculum of Organic Chemistry Using ACS Exams as Artifacts by Jeffrey R. Raker and Thomas A. Holme
The ACS Exams Institute Undergraduate Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map II: Organic Chemistry by Jeffrey Raker, Thomas Holme, and Kristen Murphy
In the Laboratory
Addition of “HOBr” to trans-Anethole: Investigation of the Regioselectivity and the Stereoselectivity of an Addition Reaction by Brad Andersh, Wayne B. Bosma, Margaret K. Hammar, Jessica A. Graves, Kathryn N. Moon, and Chareese R. Newborn
An Operationally Simple Aqueous Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-Coupling Reaction for an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory by Alaina E. Hamilton, Audrey M. Buxton, Christopher J. Peeples, and Justin M. Chalker
“Click” and Olefin Metathesis Chemistry in Water at Room Temperature Enabled by Biodegradable Micelles by Bruce H. Lipshutz, Zarko Bošković, Christopher S. Crowe, Victoria K. Davis, Hannah C. Whittemore, David A. Vosburg, and Anna G. Wenzel
Physical Chemistry
Learning Strategies
Supporting Alternative Strategies for Learning Chemical Applications of Group Theory by Daniel C. Southam and Jennifer E. Lewis
Projects & Activities
Exploring the Nature of the H2 Bond. 1. Using Spreadsheet Calculations To Examine the Valence Bond and Molecular Orbital Methods and 2. Using Ab Initio Molecular Orbital Calculations To Obtain the Molecular Constants by Arthur M. Halpern and Eric D. Glendening
Franck–Condon Factors for Diatomics: Insights and Analysis Using the Fourier Grid Hamiltonian Method by Supriya Ghosh, Mayank Kumar Dixit, S. P. Bhattacharyya, and B. L. Tembe
Exploring the Clapeyron Equation and the Phase Rule Using a Mechanical Drawing Toy by Katherine V. Darvesh
A Computational Investigation of a Molecular Switch by Scott Simpson, Alex Van Fleet, and Eva Zurek
Biochemistry
Activities
Around the β-Turn: An Activity To Improve the Communication and Listening Skills of Biochemistry Students by Isaac Mittendorf and James R. Cox
Amino Acid Jazz: Amplifying Biochemistry Concepts with Content-Rich Music by Gregory J. Crowther and Katie Davis
Labs
Case-Study Investigation of Equine Maternity via PCR-RFLP: A Biochemistry Laboratory Experiment by Julie T. Millard, Edward Chuang, James S. Lucas, Erzsebet E. Nagy, and Griffin T. Davis
Application of Ratiometric Measurements and Microplate Fluorimetry to Protein Denaturation: An Experiment for Analytical and Biochemistry Students by Joaquim T. Marquês and Rodrigo F. M. de Almeida
ConfChem: IYC 2011 Initiatives in Global Chemical Education
ConfChem online conferences are free, open to the public, and run by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE). The spring 2012 ConfChem conference discussed IYC 2011 Initiatives in Global Chemical Education and eleven communications in this issue showcase a variety of projects and initiatives associated with the United Nations International Year of Chemistry (IYC)
JCE Speaks 90 Volumes of Useful Material
With 90 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education to explore, you will always find something useful—including all of the articles mentioned above, and many more, in the Journal of Chemical Education. Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable) are also available.
The January 2013 issue will be available as a sample issue for the entire year. If you like what you read, subscribe! If you have something to share, write it up!