Relevant Topics for Instruction and Assessment
The August 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: the chemistry of candy and sugar, examining virtual learning for laboratories, strengthening student understanding of acid-base chemistry, building scientific communication skills, emphasizing learning, sustainability and green chemistry, cost-effective resources and techniques, laboratory investigations, ConfChem conference on mathematics in undergraduate chemistry instruction, erupting from the archive: soda geysers.
Cover: The Chemistry of Candy and Sugar
Candy-making is a sweet endeavor that appeals to chemists and cooks alike. In the article Chemistry of Candy: A Sweet Approach to Teaching Nonscience Majors, Jennifer Logan Bayline, Halie M. Tucci, David W. Miller, Kaitlin D. Roderick, and Patricia A. Brletic describe a course that combines laboratory experiments and candy-making exercises to teach general chemistry principles and data collection. Making candy incorporates chemistry concepts into a course, such as solution concentration, colligative properties, and phase transformations, while flavoring and color reflect synthesis or extraction.
For additional sweet articles in this issue, see:
Sweet, Sweet Science: Addressing the Gender Gap in STEM Disciplines through a One-Day High School Program in Sugar Chemistry ~ Mindy Levine and Dana J. DiScenza
Ancient Alchemy in the Classroom: A Honey-Based, Deflagrating Pyrotechnic ~ Adrian V. Wolfenden and Nathan L. Kilah
Examining Virtual Learning for Laboratories
Whether and How Authentic Contexts Using a Virtual Chemistry Lab Support Learning ~ Jodi L. Davenport, Anna N. Rafferty, and David J. Yaron (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS Editors’ Choice program)
Online Prelaboratory Videos Improve Student Performance in the General Chemistry Laboratory ~ Mike Stieff, Stephanie M. Werner, Bill Fink, and Dianne Meador
Strengthening Student Understanding of Acid-Base Chemistry
Using Lexical Analysis To Predict Lewis Acid–Base Model Use in Responses to an Acid–Base Proton-Transfer Reaction ~ Amber J. Dood, Kimberly B. Fields, and Jeffrey R. Raker
Using Writing Assignments as an Intervention to Strengthen Acid–Base Skills ~ Charles T. Cox, Jr., Jennifer Schwartz Poehlmann, Caitlin Ortega, and Julio C. Lopez
Building Scientific Communication Skills
The Three-Minute Slide as an Effective Tool for Developing Oral Communication Skills ~ Michelle S. Applebee, Ami P. Johanson, Kimberly A. Lawler-Sagarin, Eugene N. Losey, and Colleen Munro-Leighton (discussed by Erica Jacobsen in Especially JCE: August 2018)
“PubScience—The Long Night of Experiments”: Students Present Chemical Experiments in Dining Facilities ~ Marco Beeken and Michael Budke
Writing Prompts Help Improve Expression of Conceptual Understanding in Chemistry ~ Talitha Visser, T. Maaswinkel, F. Coenders, and S. McKenney
Action Research: Integrating Chemistry and Scientific Communication To Foster Cumulative Knowledge Building and Scientific Communication Skills ~ Ilse Rootman-le Grange and Liezel Retief
Emphasizing Learning
Emphasizing Learning: Using Standards-Based Grading in a Large Nonmajors’ General Chemistry Survey Course ~ Sarah B. Boesdorfer, Emilee Baldwin, and Kyle A. Lieberum
Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Chemical Kinetics: Experiment Selection Criteria To Address Students’ Intuitive Conceptions ~ Ainoa Marzabal, Virginia Delgado, Patricia Moreira, Lorena Barrientos, and Jeannette Moreno
Sustainability and Green Chemistry
Simple and Effective Integration of Green Chemistry and Sustainability Education into an Existing Organic Chemistry Course ~ Brian J. J. Timmer, Fredrik Schaufelberger, Daniel Hammarberg, Johan Franzén, Olof Ramström, and Peter Dinér
Fruit and Vegetable Peels as Efficient Renewable Adsorbents for Removal of Pollutants from Water: A Research Experience for General Chemistry Students ~ Cindy Samet and Suresh Valiyaveettil
Application of Thermal Analysis in Determining Properties of Herbaceous Materials ~ Ewa Iwanek (née Wilczkowska) and Marek Gliński
Introducing Students to Thermogravimetry Coupled with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy ~ Marisol Fernández Rojas, Angélica M. Giorgi Pérez, María F. Agudelo Hernández, and Luz A. Carreño Díaz
Continuous-Flow Chemistry in Undergraduate Education: Sustainable Conversion of Reclaimed Vegetable Oil into Biodiesel ~ Frank A. Leibfarth, M. Grace Russell, David M. Langley, Hyowon Seo, Liam P. Kelly, Daniel W. Carney, Jason K. Sello, and Timothy F. Jamison
Making Sustainable Biofuels and Sunscreen from Corncobs To Introduce Students to Integrated Biorefinery Concepts and Techniques ~ Hua Zhou, Wang Zhan, Liuyang Wang, Lijun Guo, and Yun Liu
Cost-Effective Resources and Techniques
A Simple Paper Model Illustrates How To Cyclize Monosaccharides from Fischer Projections to Haworth ~ Chi H. Mak
Economical High-Temperature Water Bath Control and Monitoring with a Sous Vide Cooking Device ~ Thomas R. Rybolt and Robert C. Mebane
Modified Siwoloboff–Wiegand Procedure for the Determination of Boiling Points on a Microscale ~ Timothy L. Troyer, Kristen R. Mounsey, William J. King, Laura M. Givens, Jessica A. Hutton, Melissa Hood Benges, Kindra N. Whitlatch, and Jacob D. Wagoner
Simple and Inexpensive Microfluidic Thread Based Device for Teaching Microflow Injection Analysis and Electrochemistry ~ Deonir Agustini, Márcio F. Bergamini, and Luiz Humberto Marcolino-Junior
Inexpensive Method for Creating Robust Barium Sulfate Plates for Use in a UV–Vis Integrating Sphere ~ Eric V. Campbell and Joel S. Miller
Laboratory Investigations
Facile Synthesis of Three Kobolds: Introducing Students to the Structure of Pigments and Their Characterization ~ Pablo Martín-Ramos, Maria Susano, Francisco P. S. C. Gil, Pedro S. Pereira da Silva, Jesús Martín-Gil, and Manuela Ramos Silva
Ammonia Borane Acid–Base Complex: An Experiment Involving 1H and 11B NMR Spectroscopy and the Gas Laws ~ Navamoney Arulsamy
Combining Electrochemistry and Computational Chemistry to Understand Aryl-Radical Formation in Electrografting Processes ~ Miriam C. Rodríguez González, Alberto Hernández Creus, and Pilar Carro
Using Biological Organisms as Chemical Sensors: The MicRoboCop Project ~ Sarah E. G. Porter, Amorette E. Barber, Olivia K. Colella, and Tanya D. Roach
Investigation of the Ternary Phase Diagram of Water–Propan-2-ol–Sodium Chloride: A Laboratory Experiment ~ Cory C. Pye, M. Angelique Imperial, Coltin Elson, Megan L. Himmelman, Jacquelyn A. White, and Fuhao Lin
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction
ConfChem online conferences are free, open to the public, and run by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE). The fall 2017 ConfChem conference discussed mathematics in undergraduate chemistry instruction and a summary of the conference papers are discussed in the following papers:
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Introduction to the Fall 2017 ConfChem ~ Jennifer L. Muzyka, Eric A. Nelson, W. Cary Kilner, Robert Belford, and Richard Spinney
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: MUST-Know Pilot Study—Math Preparation Study from Texas ~ Joselyn Del Pilar Albaladejo, Susan Broadway, Blain Mamiya, Amy Petros, Cynthia B. Powell, G. Robert Shelton, Deborah Rush Walker, Rebecca Weber, Vickie M. Williamson, and Diana Mason
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Impact of Quick Review of Math Concepts ~ Jayashree S. Ranga
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Strengthening Students’ Math Fluencies through Calculator-Free Chemistry Calculations ~ Doreen Geller Leopold
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Building Student Confidence with Chemistry Computation ~ Peter R. Craig
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: The Chem-Math Project ~ W. Cary Kilner
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Applied Mathematics for Chemistry Majors ~ Rachel Neville, Patrick D. Shipman, Nancy E. Levinger, and Amber T. Krummel
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Addressing Math Deficits with Cognitive Science ~ Eric A. Nelson
Erupting from the Archive: Soda Geysers
This issue includes an article on Tribonucleation: A New Mechanism for Generating the Soda Geyser by Thomas S. Kuntzleman, Michael W. Nydegger, Brooke Shadley, Ninad Doctor, and Dean J. Campbell. Various explorations of this beloved demonstration--the soda geyser--have been discussed in the pages of the Journal, including the following:
The Ultrasonic Soda Fountain: A Dramatic Demonstration of Gas Solubility in Aqueous Solutions ~ John E. Baur, Melinda B. Baur, and David A Franz
Quantifying the Soda Geyser ~ Christopher J. Huber and Aaron M. Massari
Mentos and the Scientific Method: A Sweet Combination ~ Heather Patrick, Brenda Harmon, Janet Coonce, and Jack F. Eichler
Kinetic Explorations of the Candy-Cola Soda Geyser ~ Trevor P. T. Sims and Thomas S. Kuntzleman
New Demonstrations and New Insights on the Mechanism of the Candy-Cola Soda Geyser ~ Thomas S. Kuntzleman, Laura S. Davenport, Victoria I. Cothran, Jacob T. Kuntzleman, and Dean J. Campbell (Tom Kuntzleman discusses the background to this paper in his ChemEdX post, Exploring the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment)
Relevant Content in the Journal of Chemical Education
With 95 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education, you will always find something relevant, 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.
Do you have something to share? Write it up for the Journal! For some advice on becoming an author, it’s always very helpful to read Erica Jacobsen’s Commentary. In addition, numerous author resources are available on JCE’s ACS Web site, including recently updated: Author Guidelines and Document Templates.