Co-Authored by Iain A. Smellie* and Iain L. J. Patterson**University of St Andrews, School of Chemistry, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9ST, United Kingdom
The Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum (CLC) Innovators Program is now accepting applications for the 2025 cohort! This program offers institutional teams from across the U.S. the chance to participate in a week-long summer institute and ongoing virtual support meetings during the 2025-2026 academic year.
Josh Kenney, Melissa Hemling, and I just published an article in the October 2024 Journal of Chemical Education. The article describes inquiry-based activities that highlight the chemistry behind “No-Mess” picture-coloring books.1 Well, it turns out that our timing is impeccable.
In my three decades of teaching, I have found that students understand chemistry much more easily when it is connected to real-world contexts—therefore, I try to drive home the relevance of chemistry by providing examples related to the environment, health and beauty, and the food industry, to name a few.
AP Teach had a great monthly meeting on Thursday, August 22nd. We had around 45 participants join us for an opportunity to learn, collaborate, and have fun! The meeting kicked off with a mention of changes to the AP Chemistry exam including the new hybrid digital exam format.
Galinstan is the tradename for a liquid metal alloy that is comprised of three elements: gallium (68.5%), indium (21.5%), and tin (10%).1 It behaves a lot like mercury but has significantly lower toxicity. Because of this, Galinstan is used as a replacement for mercury in a variety of applications.
During the first week of June, I participated in the AP Chemistry Reading in Tampa, Florida. I have been involved with the AP Reading since 2011, having served in various roles as a Reader, a Table Leader, and a Question Leader.