Enhancing Student Success in Chemistry
The September 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: student thinking and student success; computational thinking; using games to teach: developing and making tools for teaching; understanding catalysis; green chemistry; food chemistry in the laboratory; exploring edible fats and oils; NMR spectroscopy; laboratory cross-course collaboration; physical chemistry; distilling the archives: scents and smellability; announcing the search for the next Editor-in-Chief.
Cover: Student Thinking and Student Success
In Students’ Concept-Building Approaches: A Novel Predictor of Success in Chemistry Courses, Regina F. Frey, Michael J. Cahill, and Mark A. McDaniel discuss the use of an online concept-building task to differentiate students based on their concept-building approach. Recent basic cognitive science research suggests that some learners tend toward rote concept learning (exemplar learners), whereas other learners tend to use abstraction concept learning (abstraction learners). Students in general and organic chemistry completed a concept-building task, and their subsequent course performances were tracked. Abstraction learners consistently outperformed exemplar learners, with performance differences most pronounced among students taking the higher-level course, Organic Chemistry 2. Performance patterns differentiated by concept-building approach were evident even when standard ability indices (college entrance exam scores and prior chemistry performance) were factored into the analysis. One implication is that as chemistry content demands more abstraction, the way students approach learning concepts becomes more critical for success in chemistry courses. (Photograph courtesy of George Chafin and used with permission.)
The association of thinking processes and success are also discussed in:
Thinking Processes Associated with Undergraduate Chemistry Students’ Success at Applying a Molecular-Level Model in a New Context ~ Melonie A. Teichert, Lydia T. Tien, Lisa Dysleski, and Dawn Rickey (This article is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS Editors' Choice program.)
Computational Thinking
The Development of Computational Thinking in a High School Chemistry Course ~ Paul S. Matsumoto and Jiankang Cao
Teaching the Growth, Ripening, and Agglomeration of Nanostructures in Computer Experiments ~ Jan Philipp Meyburg and Detlef Diesing
Using Games To Teach
Analogue Three-Dimensional Memory Game for Teaching Reflection, Symmetry, and Chirality to High School Students ~ Daniel de Melo Silva and Carlos Magno Rocha Ribeiro
CHEMCompete: An Organic Chemistry Card Game To Differentiate between Substitution and Elimination Reactions of Alkyl Halides ~ Kristin Gogal, William Heuett, and Deana Jaber
Making a Game Out of It: Using Web-Based Competitive Quizzes for Quantitative Analysis Content Review ~ James P. Grinias
Developing and Making Tools for Teaching
Three-Dimensional Printing of a Scalable Molecular Model and Orbital Kit for Organic Chemistry Teaching and Learning ~ Matthew R. Penny, Zi Jing Cao, Bhaven Patel, Bruno Sil dos Santos, Christopher R. M. Asquith, Blanka R. Szulc, Zenobia X. Rao, Zaid Muwaffak, John P. Malkinson, and Stephen T. Hilton
Hands-On Data Analysis: Using 3D Printing To Visualize Reaction Progress Surfaces~ Carolyn S. Higman, Henry Situ, Peter Blacklin, and Jason E. Hein
Developing a Magnetic Circular Dichroism Apparatus Equipped with Neodymium Magnet for Students To Investigate the Electronic Structures of Transition Metals and Lanthanoids ~ Abdallah Yakubu, Takayoshi Suzuki, and Masakazu Kita
Understanding Catalysis
Heterogeneous Catalytic Oxidation of Simple Alcohols by Transition Metals ~ Leon Jacobse, Sebastiaan O. Vink, Sven Wijngaarden, and Ludo B. F. Juurlink (This demonstration is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS AuthorChoice program.)
Misconceptions in the Exploding Flask Demonstration Resolved through Students’ Critical Thinking ~ Rick Spierenburg, Leon Jacobse, Iris de Bruin, Daan J. van den Bos, Dominique M. Vis, and Ludo B. F. Juurlink (This article is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS AuthorChoice program.)
Green Chemistry
Reaction Scale and Green Chemistry: Microscale or Macroscale, Which Is Greener? ~ Rita C. C. Duarte, M. Gabriela T. C. Ribeiro , Adélio A. S. C. Machado
Designing and Using a Safer, Greener Azole Oxamide for Chemiluminescence Demonstrations ~ Fabrizio Roncaglia
Teaching Green Chemistry with Epoxidized Soybean Oil ~ Homar Barcena, Abraham Tuachi, and Yuanzhuo Zhang
Introducing the Concept of Green Synthesis in the Undergraduate Laboratory: Two-Step Synthesis of 4-Bromoacetanilide from Aniline ~ Ratul Biswas and Anuradha Mukherjee
Introduction of a Simple Experiment for the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Demonstrating the Lewis Acid and Shape-Selective Properties of Zeolite Na-Y ~ Vincent Maloney and Zach Szczepanski and Keith Smith
Food Chemistry in the Laboratory
Investigating the Antioxidant Capacity of Fruits and Fruit Byproducts through an Introductory Food Chemistry Experiment for High School ~ Cristina Soares, Manuela Correia, Cristina Delerue-Matos, and M. Fátima Barroso
Determination of Titratable Acidity in Wine Using Potentiometric, Conductometric, and Photometric Methods ~ Dietrich A. Volmer, Luana Curbani, Timothy A. Parker, Jennifer Garcia, Linda D. Schultz, and Endler Marcel
Introduction to Validation of Analytical Methods: Potentiometric Determination of CO2 ~ A. Ricardo Hipólito-Nájera, M. Rosario Moya-Hernández, Rodolfo Gómez-Balderas, Alberto Rojas-Hernández, and Mario Romero-Romo
Introducing Undergraduate Students to Metabolomics Using a NMR-Based Analysis of Coffee Beans ~ Peter Olaf Sandusky
Exploring Edible Fats and Oils
Lipid Residue Analysis of Archaeological Pottery: An Introductory Laboratory Experiment in Archaeological Chemistry ~ Clare S. Harper, Faith V. Macdonald, and Kevin L. Braun
A First Laboratory Utilizing NMR for Undergraduate Education: Characterization of Edible Fats and Oils by Quantitative 13C NMR ~ Charles G. Fry, Heike Hofstetter, and Matthew D. Bowman
Identification of Edible Oils by Principal Component Analysis of 1H NMR Spectra ~ Shauna L. Anderson, David Rovnyak, and Timothy G. Strein
NMR Spectroscopy
Biomolecular NMR Assignment: Illustration Using the Heme Signals in Horse Cytochrome c ~ Ana V. Silva and Ricardo O. Louro
Building “My First NMRviewer”: A Project Incorporating Coding and Programming Tasks in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curricula ~ Francisco M. Arrabal-Campos, Alejandro Cortés-Villena, and Ignacio Fernández
Quantifying the Product Distribution of a Chemical Reaction by 1H NMR Spectroscopy: A Cooperative Learning Approach for the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory ~ Craig J. Yennie, Russell Hopson, and Kathleen M. Hess
Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution—Addition and Identification of an Amine ~ Steven W. Goldstein, Ashley Bill, Jyothi Dhuguru, and Ola Ghoneim
Chiral Analysis by Tandem Mass Spectrometry Using the Kinetic Method, by Polarimetry, and by 1H NMR Spectroscopy ~ Patrick W. Fedick, Ryan M. Bain, Kinsey Bain, and R. Graham Cooks
Laboratory Cross-Course Collaboration
Cross-Course Collaboration in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum: Isotopic Labeling with Sodium Borodeuteride in the Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory ~ Richard A. Kjonaas, Richard W. Fitch, and Robert J. Noll
Cross-Course Collaboration in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum: Primary Kinetic Isotope Effect in the Hypochlorite Oxidation of 1-Phenylethanol in the Physical Chemistry Laboratory ~ Robert J. Noll, Richard W. Fitch, Richard A. Kjonaas, and Richard A. Wyatt
Physical Chemistry
To Be or Not To Be Symmetric: That Is the Question for Potentially Active Vibronic Modes ~ Sarah F. Tyler, Eileen C. Judkins, Dmitry Morozov, Carlos H. Borca, Lyudmila V. Slipchenko, and David. R. McMillin
Some Considerations on the Fundamentals of Chemical Kinetics: Steady State, Quasi-Equilibrium, and Transition State Theory ~ Joaquin F. Perez-Benito
Phase Relations in Ternary Systems in the Subsolidus Region: Methods To Formulate Solid Solution Equations and To Find Particular Compositions ~ Victor E. Alvarez-Montaño, Mario H. Farías, Francisco Brown, Iliana C. Muñoz-Palma, Fernando Cubillas, and Felipe F. Castillón-Barraza
Distilling the Archives: Scents and Smellability
This issue includes two laboratory experiments that involve scents and smell:
Synthesis of the Commercial Fragrance Compound Ethyl 6-Acetoxyhexanoate: A Multistep Ester Experiment for the Second-Year Organic Laboratory ~ James V. McCullagh and Sophia P. Hirakis
Testing the Vibrational Theory of Olfaction: A Bio-organic Chemistry Laboratory Experiment Using Hooke’s Law and Chirality ~ Rajeev S. Muthyala, Deepali Butani, Michelle Nelson, and Kiet Tran
Past issues of JCE also contain many engaging olfactory articles. Here is a small sampling:
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 (highlighted at ChemEdX by Erica Jacobsen in Especially JCE: February 2017)
The Chemistry of Perfume: A Laboratory Course for Nonscience Majors ~ Jennifer L. Logan and Craig E. Rumbaugh (includes extensive references to JCE literature on fragrances in the Supporting Information)
Using Flavor Chemistry To Design and Synthesize Artificial Scents and Flavors ~ Jessica L. Epstein, Michael Castaldi, Grishma Patel, Peter Telidecki, and Kevin Karakkatt
Discovering Chemical Aromaticity Using Fragrant Plants ~ Tanya L. Schneider
Introducing Bond-Line Organic Structures in High School Biology: An Activity That Incorporates Pleasant-Smelling Molecules ~ Andro C. Rios and Gerald French
A Closer Look at Acid–Base Olfactory Titrations ~ Kerry Neppel, Maria T. Oliver-Hoyo, Connie Queen, and Nicole Reed
Isolation and Analysis of Essential Oils from Spices ~ Stephen K. O’Shea, Daniel D. Von Riesen, and Lauren L. Rossi
The Scent of Roses and Beyond: Molecular Structures, Analysis, and Practical Applications of Odorants ~ Albrecht Mannschreck and Erwin von Angerer
The Enantioselectivity of Odor Sensation: Some Examples for Undergraduate Chemistry Courses ~ Philip Kraft and Albrecht Mannschreck
Esterification Reaction Utilizing Sense of Smell and Eyesight for Conversion and Catalyst Recovery Monitoring ~ Nikki Janssens, Lik H. Wee, and Johan A. Martens
How Does an Orange Peel Pop a Balloon? Chemistry, of Course! ~ Tom Kuntzleman, Tori Talaski and Charles Schaerer (at ChemEdX, an activity that involves limonene)
Editorial News
The Board of Publication of the Division of Chemical Education has announced the opening of a search for the ninth Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chemical Education. The September issue contains details of the Announcement and Description of the Journal of Chemical Education Editor-in-Chief Position. A discussion of this is also available on ChemEdX, including direct access to a video of the current Editor, Norbert Pienta, discussing the job and its responsibilities.
Enhance the Success of Your Students by Using JCE
With over 94 years of content from the Journal of Chemical Education available, you will always discover something useful—including 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.