Fostering Creativity in Chemistry
The February 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: surface chemistry; chemical identity thinking; conceptual understanding; communicating science to the general public; activities and labs linking chemistry and art; history and chemistry; early access to research; technology as instructional support; synthesis laboratories; from the archives: bottle chemistry.
Cover: Surface Chemistry
In Demonstrating the Effect of Surfactant on Water Retention of Waxy Leaf Surfaces, Yu-Chun Chiu, Matthew A. Jenks, Michelle Richards-Babb, Betsy B. Ratcliff, John A. Juvik, and Kang-Mo Ku discuss an inexpensive and engaging laboratory-based activity to help students learn about the scientific method as well as the role of plant epicuticular waxes and surfactant function on waxy plant leaves. This lab can also be used to further students’ understanding of more advanced chemical concepts (such as intermolecular forces, hydrophobicity, surface tension, and the dual polarity of surfactants) and as a practical example of issues faced by the agricultural industry.
Surface science is also discussed and demonstrated in these articles:
Aqua-Art: A Demonstration of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces Fabricated by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition ~ Shauna P. Flynn, Milena McKenna, Ruairi Monaghan, Susan M. Kelleher, Stephen Daniels, and Aoife MacCormac
Self-Motion of Sodium Benzoate Flakes on a Water Surface: A Demonstration ~ Katherine V. Darvesh and Earl Martin
Editorial
In this month's editorial, Editor-in-Chief Norbert J. Pienta scales The Slippery Slope of Student Evaluations.
Chemical Identity Thinking
Capturing Chemical Identity Thinking (Chemical Education Research) ~ Courtney Ngai and Hannah Sevian
Conceptual Understanding
Using Interlocking Toy Building Blocks To Assess Conceptual Understanding In Chemistry ~ Michael J. Geyer
Using Students’ Conceptions of Air To Evaluate a Guided-Inquiry Activity Classifying Matter Using Particulate Models ~ D. Amanda Vilardo, Ann H. MacKenzie, and Ellen J. Yezierski
Communicating Science to the General Public
Exploration of a Method To Assess Children’s Understandings of a Phenomenon after Viewing a Demonstration Show (Chemical Education Research) ~ Brittland K. DeKorver, Mark Choiand, and Marcy Towns
A Reverse Science Fair that Connects High School Students with University Researchers ~ Brian Mernoff, Amanda R. Aldous, Natalie A. Wasio, Joshua A. Kritzer, E. Charles H. Sykes, and Karen O’Hagan
Bringing Organic Chemistry to the Public: Structure and Scent in a Science Museum ~ M. Kevin Brown, Laura C. Brown, Karen Jepson-Innes, Michael Lindeau, and Jeremy Stone
Activities and Labs Linking Chemistry and Art
The Chemistry of Photography: Still a Terrific Laboratory Course for Nonscience Majors ~ Simeen Sattar
Colorful and Creative Chemistry: Making Simple Sustainable Paints with Natural Pigments and Binders ~ Jillian L. Blatti
An Advanced Spectroscopy Lab That Integrates Art, Commerce, and Science as Students Determine the Electronic Structure of the Common Pigment Carminic Acid ~ Suqing Liu, Asami Odate, Isabella Buscarino, Jacqueline Chou, Kathleen Frommer, Margeaux Miller, Alison Scorese, Marisa C. Buzzeo, and Rachel Narehood Austin
Pigment Synthesis for the Exploration of Binding Media Using a Lead-Free Alternative to Chrome Yellow ~ Anne C. Gaquere-Parker, Patricia S. Hill, Michael P. Haaf, Cass D. Parker, N. Allie Doles, Amanda K. Yi, and Todd A. Kaminski
History and Chemistry
Mapping the Teaching of History of Chemistry in Europe (Commentary)~ Ignacio Suay-Matallana ad and José Ramón Bertomeu Sánchez
Periodic Reactions: The Early Works of William C. Bray and Alfred J. Lotka ~ Rinaldo Cervellati and Emanuela Greco
Early Access to Research
Activities in an S-STEM Program To Catalyze Early Entry into Research ~ Kate J. Graham, Edward J. McIntee, Annette F. Raigoza, M. Abul Fazal, and Henry V. Jakubowski (This article is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS’s AuthorChoice program.)
Competence-Based, Research-Related Lab Courses for Materials Modeling: The Case of Organic Photovoltaics ~ Karl Sebastian Schellhammer and Gianaurelio Cuniberti
Technology as Instructional Support
In-Class Versus At-Home Quizzes: Which is Better? A Flipped Learning Study in a Two-Site Synchronously Broadcast Organic Chemistry Course ~ Michael A. Christiansen, Alyssia M. Lambert, Louis S. Nadelson, Kami M. Dupree, Trish A. Kingsford
Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation of Three Types of Student-Generated Videos as Instructional Support in Organic Chemistry Laboratories ~ Melinda C. Box, Cathi L. Dunnagan, Lauren A. S. Hirsh, Clinton R. Cherry, Kayla A. Christianson, Radiance J. Gibson, Michael I. Wolfe, and Maria T. Gallardo-Williams
Stereogame: An Interactive Computer Game That Engages Students in Reviewing Stereochemistry Concepts ~ José Nunes da Silva Júnior, Mary Anne Sousa Lima, João Victor Xerez Moreira, Francisco Serra Oliveira Alexandre, Diego Macedo de Almeida, Maria da Conceição Ferreira de Oliveira, and Antonio José Melo Leite Junior
Synthesis Laboratories
Teaching Experiment To Elucidate a Cation−π Effect in an Alkyne Cycloaddition Reaction and Illustrate Hypothesis-Driven Design of Experiments ~ Elijah J. St.Germain, Andrew S. Horowitz, Dominic Rucco, Evonne M. Rezler, and Salvatore D. Lepore
Thiourea in the Construction of C–S Bonds as Part of an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course ~ Guo-ping Lu, Fei Chen, and Chun Cai
Preparing 4-Ethoxyphenylurea Using Microwave Irradiation: Introducing Students to the Importance of Artificial Sweeteners and Microwave-Assisted Organic Synthesis (MAOS) ~ Spence C. PilcherJoshua Coats
From the Archives: Bottle Chemistry
This issue includes a low-cost method by Dawid Siodłak for Building Large Molecular Models with Plastic Screw-On Bottle Caps and Sturdy Connectors. Articles in past issues of JCE have used soda bottles in a variety of innovate ways to teach chemistry:
Out of the Blue (JCE Classroom Activity on the Blue Bottle) ~ Mark E. Noble
Improvements to the Whoosh Bottle Rocket Car Demonstration ~ Dean J. Campbell, Felicia A. Staiger, and Chaitanya N. Jujjavarapu
The Dynamic Density Bottle: A Make-and-Take, Guided Inquiry Activity on Density ~ Thomas S. Kuntzleman
Kinetic Explorations of the Candy–Cola Soda Geyser ~ Trevor P. T. Sims and Thomas S. Kuntzleman
Exploring the Gas Chemistry of Old Submarine Technologies Using Plastic Bottles as Reaction Vessels and Models ~ Ryo Horikoshi, Fumitaka Takeiri, Yoji Kobayashi, and Hiroshi Kageyama
Sink or Swim: The Cartesian Diver (JCE Classroom Activity) ~ K. David Pinkerton
A New Quantitative Pressure-Volume Experiment Based on the "Cartesian Diver" ~ Judith U. S. Thompson and Kenneth A. Goldsby
More Chemistry in a Soda Bottle: A Conservation of Mass Activity ~ William O. Bare, Kenneth A. Goldsby, Daniel Q. Duffy, and Stephanie A. Shaw
Visualizing Gas Adsorption on Porous Solids: Four Simple, Effective Demonstrations ~ Ocean Cheung
Simple Soda Bottle Solubility and Equilibria ~ Cheryl A. Snyder and Dudley C. Snyder
A Million Reasons to Explore JCE
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