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JCE 95.04 April 2018 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Mon, 04/09/2018 - 06:51

Placing Chemistry into a World Context

The April 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: service-learning, safety, investigating student understanding of solutions, environmental chemistry, green chemistry, waste management, acid-base chemistry, natural products, materials science, activities and laboratory investigations, teaching resources, diving into the archives: marine chemistry.

Summer Reading/Book Review: Four Laws That Drive The Universe, by Peter Atkins

Lowell Thomson | Mon, 07/31/2017 - 14:49

In a previous blog post, I shared a book Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction, by Dr. Peter Atkins. For my summer reading I wanted to get back to reading some chemistry non-fiction. I did, however, diverge from my original plan to read Eric Scerri's The Periodic Table: It's story and significance. Instead. "Four Laws That Drive the Universe" (with an alternative title of The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction) became my next book as I so thoroughly enjoyed the writing style of Peter Atkins. The Kindle Version is only $6.15 and worth every penny in my opinion.

Chemical Thinking Interactives

Kaleb Underwood | Tue, 07/04/2017 - 15:52

As part of a two-week Chemistry Modeling Workshop™ in Houston, TX, I had the opportunity to read the Journal of Chemical Education article “When Atoms Want” by Vicente Talanquer of the University of Arizona. I researched Dr. Talanquer and discovered he created a collection of simulations called Chemical Thinking Interactives (CTI). These digital tools illustrate many chemistry topics with a focus on the particulate nature of matter.

Demonstration: Reaction of Magnesium and Silver Nitrate

Kaleb Underwood | Tue, 05/02/2017 - 08:55

I found a version of this demonstration online a couple of years ago. I admit, when I first tried it with my class it was mostly for a crowd pleaser to demonstrate the activity series of metals, but I then became very intrigued by the processes occurring. The original source only referenced the “single replacement reaction” between Mg(s) and AgNO3(aq). Therefore, when I saw a grayish product (silver) I was not surprised. However, I was surprised by the white flash and the production of a white product, which were reminiscent of the classic combustion of magnesium demonstration. This led to some research and my conclusions that follow. Read through to the end and you will find a video of the demo.

Time required: 

30 minutes including preparation time.

JCE 93.12 December 2016 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Tue, 12/13/2016 - 14:38

Improving Student Understanding

The December 2016 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: synthesis in the laboratory, examining and using a flipped classroom, improving labs through multimedia-based and student-directed learning, using applied math for better understanding, improving student understanding of thermodynamics, inclusive chemistry teaching, using manuscript review for assessment, climate chemistry, spectroscopy experiments, performing safe demonstrations.