This year in IB Chemistry with my Year 1 students, I have tried something a bit different. I've long felt that the biggest difference in achievement at the higher levels is making connections between the topics we study. Take something as simple as drawing the Lewis structure of water:

Water Lewis Structure

How many connections can be made between all of the topics? For example, electronegativity trends (related to periodic properties) can explain the polar bonds between hydrogen and oxygen. VSEPR shapes and hybridization can explain the predicted angle of 109.5 and the actual angle of 104.5 due to heightened repulsion of the two lone pairs. This, of course, can relate to the discussion about whether one Lewis structure is preferred over another. Water can act as both an acid and a base, andhis thus amphiprotic. When water accepts a proton, it forms a coordinate (aka dative) bond with the hydrogen ion to form hydronium. (Obvious connections to acid-base chemistry here). Water also participates in its own equilibrium, the auto-ionization of water - thus influencing the meaning of the term "neutral pH." Manipulating this equilibrium's temperature can help students understand why neutral does not automatically mean 7.0 . Water is the main solvent we use for making solutions - which leads to many more connections, such as water's role in single-replacement reactions, which can lead to a discussion of redox. I'm sure I have missed many, many more connections that can be made with just a simple water molecule to our entire IB Chemistry curriculum.

To give my students a bit more guidance with this process of seeing the "big picture" and making connections, I am using an article from Dr. Peter Atkins*, "Chemistry's Core Ideas." The article can be found without a paywall HERE in the August 2010 edition of Chemistry in New Zealand. Dr. Atkins has written a full book highlighting these ideas. I reviewed the book in a Pick published on ChemEd X.* But I wanted something simpler and more accessible to my students, hence my use of the article.

So here's how I have made it work thus far: During our first week of IB Chemistry class, I had the students read the article, without much prompting. No guiding questions. Just "Read the article and be ready to discuss next class" as my only directions. During that next class, I gave about 5 minutes for the table groups to engage in discussion of the article. I still didn't prompt their discussion - hoping to gather some data of my own about which groups would be good at this form of academic free-flow, and which groups would need more guidance in the future.

Students then selected a partner and set to work completing a Google Slides Presentation, as a group. You can find the template in the supporting information at the conclusion of this post. 

My expectation is that students work to consider the details of the 8 core ideas as they complete Section 1. While completing Section 2, I hope they begin to see how our IB curriculum will fit into these 8 core ideas. This first round of discussion followed by group editing of their documents took about 30 minutes. Most groups were finished, but a few needed to put in some time on their own. The slowest part in the beginning was finding syllabus subtopics related to the content, as they were not yet familiar with the structure of the IB Syllabus.

Twice now, after a unit assessment, I have had the students revisit their Google Slides document to make updates to relevant sections. For example, after we completed atomic structure and periodic properties I had them revisit Main Idea 1 and Main Idea 2. More recently, in the middle of our unit on covalent bonding, the students went back to their slides relating to Main Idea 3 and Main Idea 4. Then as an opportunity to review intermolecular forces, we discussed Main Idea 5, "Molecules Interact With One Another." I have found these revisits to be of utmost importance, as the content in the article certainly caused much anxiety at the beginning of the year. As an example, Dr. Watkins says, "More succinctly, it accounts for the importance of the number 2 in chemistry." After studying electron configuration and an in-depth look at covalent bonding, this statement has much greater meaning and relevance to the framework of knowledge the students have created.

I plan to continue this process throughout my two years of IB Chemistry, hoping that students consolidate their understanding of the core ideas, and strengthen the connections between topics throughout the curriculum. Near the end of the course, we'll re-read the entire article and make one last edit to our Google Slides presentations. My hope, of course, is that this will solidify some of the big picture ideas and connections I have highlighted throughout my blog post.

Do you have any suggestions for required reading, either for chemistry teachers, or to share with our classes?

*Dr. Atkins is a prolific auther, and his name has come up a few times are at ChemEd X.

1. "The Ten Great Ideas in Science" in 2004.
2. Hal Harris also reviewed"The Four Laws that Drive the Universe" in 2007.
3. Earlier in 2017, I reviewed "Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction.
4. And also this year, I purchased  "The Four Laws that Drive the Universe" and provided my own perspective.

People tie dye cloth. People study chemistry. What makes putting the two things together such a popular activity in chemistry classrooms and science clubs? Recently, a photo showcasing American Chemical Society (ACS) ChemClub students in their completed shirts from a National Chemistry Week tie-dye event popped up in my Twitter feed. Others appear in social media regularly.

Chem Club celebrated #NationalChemistryWeek by hosting a tie dye event for our students.. Check out their finished products! @KammasKerschpic.twitter.com/MSqpjhAM1X

— St. Elizabeth High (@StElizabethHigh) November 7, 2017

I have done it myself as a year-end activity with an Advanced Placement Chemistry class after the pressure of the exam was over. I have done it with a homeschool chemistry club in a chilly garage to dye white baby onesies to donate to a local pregnancy center. I have done it with my sister-in-law with cotton squares as a quilting experiment. I have seen socks, lab coats, and goggles that have been tie dyed. There’s a lot of tie dye activity taking place within chemistry, but often it is just a stand-alone fun activity. A more complete integration of the chemistry learning that can accompany it can be more challenging and is often missing.

The November 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education offers a potential solution, particularly for high school and undergraduate level students. Tie-Dye! An Engaging Activity To Introduce Polymers and Polymerization to Beginning Chemistry Students (available to JCE subscribers) highlights the polymer roots of tie dye with a three-part activity. The article is part of a special JCE issue—Polymer Concepts Across the Curriculum. The activity begins with students each sketching and building models of β-D-glucose, then combining them with another student’s model to form a dimer, then tetramer, finally to a macromolecular polymer of cellulose.

From there, the activity takes the usual path to the “tie” and the “dye.” I like the connection of such a common fabric, cotton, to polymers. When I think of polymers, my mind automatically jumps to my blue recycling bin, with its plastic yogurt containers and milk jugs. The natural polymer examples, such as the cellulose, wool, and silk mentioned in the article, are good reminders of the variety of polymers in our world. For the dyeing step, the author provides a tip to use dishpans and plastic draining racks, which are saved from year to year. The dye station also uses plastic pipettes, although I have found plastic squeeze bottles an easy (although potentially less precise) way to thoroughly soak the fabric. It wraps up with a visit to the primary literature. Bonneau’s The Chemistry of Fabric Reactive Dyes from JCE (available to subscribers) is only two pages long and contains several figures of the reactions that occur during tie dyeing. Overall, based on feedback, students appreciated the chance to get a more visual representation of polymer formation using the model kits, and to have an opportunity to read through an accessible example from the literature.

What have you done to connect tie dyeing more directly to your curriculum? What tips and tricks have you developed for a smooth activity?

More from the November 2017 Issue

Another article from this special issue of JCE, Polymer Day: Outreach Experiments for High School Students is open access for readers without a subscription through the AuthorChoice program. The authors describe the objectives, outcomes and other details about hands-on activities that are part of an annual high school level Polymer Day at the University of Minnesota. The supporting information link will be of special interest to instructors that wish to duplicate any or all of the activities. 

How have you used Journal resources? We want to hear! Start by submitting a contribution form, explaining you woudd like to contribute to the Especially JCE column. Then, put your thoughts together in a blog post. Questions? Contact us using the ChemEd X feedback form.

Polymer Concepts across the Curriculum

The November 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. The entire issue is focused on polymer concepts across the curriculum. This special issue provides useful ideas and tools for chemistry instructors of all levels.

Cover: Polymer Concepts across the Curriculum

Plastics, fibers, elastomers, and adhesives pervade our daily lives, ranging from commodity items made from poly(ethylene) and poly(vinyl chloride) to high-tech materials for aerospace, electronics, and medicine. Some are natural biopolymers such as cellulose and wool; most are products of synthetic chemistry. Because of the real-world applications experienced every day, students are motivated to learn about how polymers are made; how the unique thermal, mechanical, and optical properties of polymers are possible because of long-chain molecules. In response to a call for papers on polymer chemistry, this Journal of Chemical Education special issue provides useful ideas and tools for chemistry instructors of all levels, including foundational undergraduate courses as well as secondary school, general, and advanced chemistry courses, in addition to outreach efforts such as workshops and demonstrations for the public. These papers offer ideas and models for instructors to incorporate polymer chemistry into their own courses.

Editorial

Warren T. Ford served as the guest editor for this special issue. As a professor at Oklahoma State University, he taught organic chemistry and polymer chemistry for many years before retiring to teach at Portland State University. In his Editorial, he introduces and contextualizes the Journal of Chemical Education’s “Special Issue: Polymer Concepts across the Curriculum”.

Polymers in the Curriculum

Inclusion of Synthetic Polymers within the Curriculum of the ACS Certified Undergraduate Degree ~ Laura L. Kosbar and Thomas J. Wenzel

History of Polymer Education in the United States through the Efforts of the Committee on Polymer Education and the Intersociety Polymer Education Council ~ Charles E. Carraher Jr., Erik Berda, Frank D. Blum, John P. Droske, Warren T. Ford, Bob A. Howell, John M. Long, and Sarah E. Morgan

Teaching Polymer Science in the Department of Polymers at the University of Concepción, Chile: A Brief History ~ Patricio Flores-Morales, Víctor H. Campos-Requena, Nicolás Gatica, Carla Muñoz, Mónica A. Pérez, Bernabé L. Rivas, Susana A. Sánchez, Mario Suwalsky, Yesid Tapiero, and Bruno F. Urbano

Polymer Chemistry Courses

The Contribution of IUPAC to Polymer Science Education ~ Chin Han Chan, Christopher M. Fellows, Michael Hess, Roger C. Hiorns, Voravee P. Hoven, Gregory T. Russell, Cláudio G. dos Santos, Adriana Šturcová, and Patrick Theato

A Primer on Polymer Nomenclature: Structure-Based, Sourced-Based, and Trade Names ~ H. N. Cheng and Bob A. Howell

Hybrid Course Design: A Different Type of Polymer Blend ~ Spence C. Pilcher

Investigation of the Influence of a Writing-to-Learn Assignment on Student Understanding of Polymer Properties ~ Solaire A. Finkenstaedt-Quinn, Audrey S. Halim, Timothy G. Chambers, Alena Moon, R. S. Goldman, Anne Ruggles Gere, and Ginger V. Shultz

Introductory Activities and Demonstrations

Polymer Day: Outreach Experiments for High School Students ~ Jeffrey M. Ting, Ralm G. Ricarte, Deborah K. Schneiderman, Stacey A. Saba, Yaming Jiang, Marc A. Hillmyer, Frank S. Bates, Theresa M. Reineke, Christopher W. Macosko, and Timothy P. Lodge (This article is available to non-subscribers through ACS AuthorChoice.)

Augmenting Primary and Secondary Education with Polymer Science and Engineering ~ Rose K. Cersonsky, Leanna L. Foster, Taeyong Ahn, Ryan J. Hall, Harry L. van der Laan, and Timothy F. Scott

Tie-Dye! An Engaging Activity To Introduce Polymers and Polymerization to Beginning Chemistry Students ~ A. M. R. P. Bopegedera (Also discussed in Erica Jacobsen's Especially JCE: November 2017.)

Using Polymer Semiconductors and a 3-in-1 Plastic Electronics STEM Education Kit To Engage Students in Hands-On Polymer Inquiry Activities ~ Jessica L. Enlow, Dawn M. Marin, and Michael G. Walter

Writing Without Ink: A Mechanically and Photochemically Responsive PDMS Polymer for Science Outreach ~ Cameron L. Brown, Meredith H. Barbee, Jeong Hoon Ko, Heather D. Maynard, and Stephen L. Craig

The Preparation and Simple Analysis of a Clay Nanoparticle Composite Hydrogel ~ David S. Warren, Sam P. H. Sutherland, Jacqueline Y. Kao, Geoffrey R. Weal, and Sean M. Mackay

Demonstrating Unique Behaviors of Polymers ~ Jialong Shen and Alan E. Tonelli

General Chemistry

Lengthening the Chain: Polymers in General Chemistry ~ John W. Moore and Conrad L. Stanitski

Modules for Introducing Macromolecular Chemistry in Foundation Courses ~ Chris P. Schaller, Kate J. Graham, Henry V. Jakubowski, and Brian J. Johnson

Investigating Saltwater Desalination by Electrodialysis and Curriculum Extensions To Introduce Students to the Chemical Physics of Polymeric Ion-Exchange Membranes ~ Kevin Tkacz, Samuel T. E. Nitz, William White, and Shane Ardo

Identification and Formulation of Polymers: A Challenging Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Chemistry Lab Assignment ~ Wanda J. Guedens and Monique Reynders

Organic Chemistry

Structure–Property Relationships of Small Organic Molecules as a Prelude to the Teaching of Polymer Science ~ Gary E. Wnek

Incorporating Polymer Science Lecture Topics into the Beginning Organic Chemistry Course To Engage Students’ Interest in Current and Future Applications ~ Bob A. Howell

The Distribution of Macromolecular Principles throughout Introductory Organic Chemistry ~ Joel I. Shulman

Using 1H NMR Spectra of Polymers and Polymer Products To Illustrate Concepts in Organic Chemistry ~ Mary L. Harrell and David E. Bergbreiter

Synthesis of Polystyrene and Molecular Weight Determination by 1H NMR End-Group Analysis ~ Jay Wm. Wackerly and James F. Dunne

Inorganic Chemistry

Methods for Introducing Inorganic Polymer Concepts throughout the Undergraduate Curriculum ~ Daniel T. de Lill and Charles E. Carraher Jr.

The Art of Silicones: Bringing Siloxane Chemistry to the Undergraduate Curriculum ~ Taylor B. Longenberger, Kaleigh M. Ryan, William Y. Bender, Anna-Katharina Krumpfer, and Joseph W. Krumpfer

Copolymerization of Epoxides and CO2: Polymer Chemistry for Incorporation in Undergraduate Inorganic Chemistry ~ Donald J. Darensbourg

Analytical Chemistry

The Use of ATR-FTIR in Conjunction with Thermal Analysis Methods for Efficient Identification of Polymer Samples: A Qualitative Multi-instrument Instrumental Analysis Laboratory Experiment ~ Nicole M. Dickson-Karn

Discovering Volatile Chemicals from Window Weatherstripping through Solid-Phase Microextraction/Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry ~ Cornelia Rosu, Rafael Cueto, Lucas Veillon, Connie David, Roger A. Laine, and Paul S. Russo

Polymers and Green Chemistry

Green and Smart: Hydrogels To Facilitate Independent Practical Learning ~ Glenn A. Hurst

Polymeric Medical Sutures: An Exploration of Polymers and Green Chemistry ~ Cassandra M. Knutson, Deborah K. Schneiderman, Ming Yu, Cassidy H. Javner, Mark D. Distefano, and Jane E. Wissinger

Developing Students’ Understanding of Industrially Relevant Economic and Life Cycle Assessments ~ Claudia J. Bode, Clint Chapman, Atherly Pennybaker, and Bala Subramaniam

Illustrating Plastic Production and End-of-Life Plastic Treatment with Interlocking Building Blocks ~ Stephan Enthaler

From the Archives: A Feast of Polymer Activities

The Journal of Chemical Education has a long history of publishing polymer chemistry content. A sampling of some of the polymer activities in JCE in past issues include:

Polymer Basics: Classroom Activities Manipulating Paper Clips To Introduce the Structures and Properties of Polymers ~ Yunusa Umar

JCE Classroom Activity #11: What's Gluep? Characterizing a Cross-Linked Polymer ~ JCE staff

The Gelation of Polyvinyl Alcohol with Borax: A Novel Class Participation Experiment Involving the Preparation and Properties of a "Slime" ~ E.Z. Casassa, A.M. Sarquis, and C.H. Van Dyke

JCE Classroom Activity #80: Ions or Molecules? Polymer Gels Can Tell ~ Brett Criswell

JCE Classroom Activity #106. Sequestration of Divalent Metal Ion by Superabsorbent Polymer in Diapers ~ Yueh-Huey Chen, Jia-Ying Lin, Li-Pin Lin, Han Liang, and Jing-Fun Yaung; JCE Classroom Activity Connections: NaCl or CaCl2, Smart Polymer Gel Tells More ~ Yueh-Huey Chen, Jia-Ying Lin, Yu-Chen Wang, and Jing-Fun Yaung

JCE Classroom Activity #107. And the Oscar Goes to...A Chemist! ~ Collin R. Howder, Kyle D. Groen, and Thomas S. Kuntzleman; Creating and Experimenting with Fire Gel, an Inexpensive and Readily Prepared Insulating Material ~ Thomas S. Kuntzleman, Dakota J. Mork, Levi D. Norris, and Christopher D. Maniére-Spencer (These two papers are discussed further at ChemEdX in Holding Fire in the Palm of Your Hand by Tom Kuntzleman)

Bustin’ Bunnies: An Adaptable Inquiry-Based Approach Introducing Molecular Weight and Polymer Properties ~ Sean P. Mc Ilrath, Nicholas J. Robertson, and Robert J. Kuchta

Demonstrating the Effects of Processing on the Structure and Physical Properties of Plastic Using Disposable PETE Cups ~ Kendra A. Erk, Morgan Rhein, Matthew J. Krafcik, and Sophie Ydstie

Lithography of Polymer Nanostructures on Glass for Teaching Polymer Chemistry and Physics ~ Adi Sahar-Halbany, Jennifer M. Vance, and Charles Michael Drain

Microfluidics for High School Chemistry Students ~ Melissa Hemling, John A. Crooks, Piercen M. Oliver, Katie Brenner, Jennifer Gilbertson, George C. Lisensky, and Douglas B. Weibel

Take-Home Nanochemistry: Fabrication of a Gold- or Silver-Containing Window Cling ~ Dean J. Campbell, Richard B. Villarreal, and Tamara J. Fitzjarrald

Look to JCE for Many Concepts across the Curriculum

With over 94 years of content from the Journal of Chemical Education available, many concepts in chemistry have been discussed extensively—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.

I recently corresponded with Bob Worley of CLEAPSS in the U.K. He was hoping to make the common “brass penny” activity safer for students. You can read Bob Worley's blog post about brass pennies about the topic. He provides a link to a 1975 Journal of Education (JCE) article that was a feature, Chem13 News Digest, edited by R.J. Friesen. The part that Bob was interested in is “Brass”, authored by P.D. McCormick of Ontario. The author suggests using a spoonful of powdered zinc covered with 3 to 10 M NaOH in an evaporating dish. Copper tokens are added and the solution is heated until the token turns silver. After rinsing and drying, the token is placed in a Bunsen burner flame. The copper of the token and the zinc coating mix to form the alloy, brass. Many of you have seen directions similar to this in labs with names like “Gold Pennies” and “Alchemy”.  With some time in the lab, Bob did find that he could produce the same brass coating using a much lower concentration of NaOH. Thinking that the idea of using a lower NaOH concentration was an original idea, he was excited to share. But, with a little research, he found that the idea to use a lower concentration was actually published in a JCE (Robinson and Morris) article in 1994. The authors shared that they had used .5 M NaOH and replaced the Bunsen burner with a hot plate.

zinc_coated_penny_in_flame.png

I have used a procedure with the lower concentration of NaOH. We have also placed the zinc-coated coins on a hotplate with success, but I allow students to use the bunsen burner for the last step if they prefer (see the photo above). Of course, you can find numerous links online about making brass pennies. I took time to look through some of them and was surprised that the most common version I found used 6M NaOH and a procedure like the one outlined in the 1975 JCE article mentioned previously.

Less than a week after Bob contacted me, a member of the NSTA chemistry listserv mentioned a similar activity she was using published as a Flinn ChemFax ,“Turning Copper Pennies into “Silver” and “Gold”! . This activity does not include the use of NaOH at all. A solution of ZnCl₂ is used instead. I have not used this method, but I have heard that the zinc coating turns out to be a dull gray, rather than a silver color. But, I have also heard that after heating the zinc coated coin, the resulting brass coating is just as impressive as when using the NaOH procedure.

If you have not made brass pennies yet, I encourage you to try the activity. It is something that your students will remember.

Thanks to Bob Worley for all he does to help teachers find alternative and safer methods. Check out his website, Microchemuk.

Note that zinc powder is extremely flammable. If you try any of these versions, you will want to read the safety and disposal guidelines for the specific chemicals used.

“What are we doing to help kids achieve?”

Nomenclature is a tough topic. I tell students that we are living in the land of symbols while we study nomenclature. It is important but it is difficult to get them excited. I started fishing for resources. The American Association for Chemistry Teachers (AACT) has been a great resource to help me try new things.

A quick search of the AACT website allowed me to find a simple and effective nomenclature assignment with a twist. This was developed by Ms. Kathy Kitzmann of Mercy High School in Farmington Hills Michigan (retired). It is a relatively simple idea. The teacher prepares a series of vials of inorganic compounds. I made sure to glue the vials sealed and also glued them onto a small board. There are labels that provide either the names or the symbols of the substance in each specific container. Students rotate from station to station and examine the vials. Given the symbols, they must provide the formulas or given the formulas they must provide the symbols.

This activity has many advantages. One advantage is that it is a nice review. It also gets the students up and moving. There is an opening for the teacher to provide information about where the compounds are found. It is nice to examine the compounds with bright colors and talk about transition metals.

Student reaction to the activity was positive. They were encouraged to walk around, work in groups and apply the rules that we have been talking about to write the correct name or formula for each substance. It was different than just doing a worksheet or flipped assignment. It broke up the monotony of nomenclature.

Here is another crazy idea I am considering trying. What would happen if we used nomenclature to introduce bonding? Bonding is such a huge topic...could this be a way to “front load”?

Do you have a clever way to bring more interaction to a topic that sometimes might be a bit boring for students? Where does it fall in your curriculum? How does it work for you? Would love to hear from you.

It looks as though I’ve discovered that density bottles can be used to explore differences between heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures! For those of you that are unfamiliar with this experiment, a density bottle contains two immiscible liquids enclosed in a bottle.^1-4 The two liquids are usually some organic fluid (usually isopropyl alcohol or acetone) and a solution of an ionic salt (usually sodium chloride or potassium carbonate). When the bottle is shaken, the two liquids form an emulsion that separates back into the organic layer and salt water layer in about a minute. The layers can be colored using a variety of dyes, which can lead to some interesting effects.^5,6 I have used density bottles to have my students investigate topics such as density, miscibility, polarity, and intermolecular forces. As stated previously, just this semester I have discovered that these bottles can also be used to demonstrate the difference between heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures. Check it out in the video below:

To prepare the two liquids used in the video above, I dissolved 120 grams of potassium carbonate into 480 mL of water. After pouring the resulting solution of potassium carbonate into a 1 L soda bottle, I added 480 mL of 70% isopropyl alcohol. If you watch the above video all the way through, you will notice that light is scattered by a “solution” of soapy water. I don’t know about you, but I was quite surprised to see this result. I thought a soap solution was indeed a solution, so I did not expect soapy water to scatter light. I don’t know what the composition of the particles are in soapy water that causes light to be scattered. Do dirt and dust particles scatter the light in soapy water? Could it be extremely small air bubbles that are doing the trick? Or is it something else? If anyone has any insight into how this might be happening, please let me know in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

References:

1. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed500830w

2. https://www.chemedx.org/blog/chemistry-bottle

3. https://www.teachersource.com/product/poly-density-kit/density

4. https://www.flinnsci.com/salting-out---density-bottle-kit/ap7931/

5. https://www.chemedx.org/blog/solution-chemical-mystery-8-go-blue

6. https://www.chemedx.org/blog/chemical-mystery-8-go-blue

It is time for us as chemistry teachers to move beyond the Le Châtelier Principle as justification for why disturbances to equilibrium systems cause particular “shifts”. I came across the idea of ditching Le Châtelier in an article by Eric Scerri for the Royal Society of Chemistry in which he summarizes the shortcomings, and outright failures, of the principle. He expands on this idea in a post on his blog. I suggest you read both of these articles in full, as I will only summarize Scerri’s key points. I will then focus on how I approached equilibrium in my class this year to give my students a more rigorous understanding of the concept that can be more broadly applied.

The Problem with Le Châtelier

The Le Châtelier Principle is generally stated along the lines of: “If a system in a state of equilibrium is disturbed, the position of equilibrium will shift in order to counteract the change”. Other terms used in lieu of “counteract” are “oppose”, “relieve”, or “reduce”.

My immediate problem with this statement has always been that it is teleological. That is, the explanation for why the phenomenon occurs is the existence of an intrinsic nature for it to occur: the shift in equilibrium happens in order to restore equilibrium. This often lends itself to personification, “the system wants to restore equilibrium” or “needs to restore equilibrium” and other such appealing, yet fallacious statements. A priori arguments justifying the change based on the result should be replaced with a more rigorous a posteriori logic based on the value of the reaction quotient, Q.

Scerri points out that the Le Châtelier Principle accurately predicts shifts in only one case: changes of concentration. In the cases of pressure and temperature changes students can use sound judgement and come to incorrect conclusions. Consider a system at equilibrium is contained in a closed vessel. The volume of the vessel is reduced. A student could soundly reason that the reaction would counteract the change in volume by shifting to produce more gas so that the volume increases. This counteracts the change, but of course is incorrect. The system actually shifts to produce fewer gas particles.

I agree with Scerri that a principle that fails two out of three times should be abandoned. What follows is how I went about this in my AP Chemistry class this year. In this post, I will discuss concentration and pressure disturbances to equilibrium. I will address temperature disturbances in an upcoming post.

My In-Class Sequence

I do not cover equilibrium in my first year chemistry course, so this is my AP students’ first exposure to the topic. This comes immediately after we have studied chemical kinetics. The first activity I do is a variation on a common activity with bingo chips in which students simulate different equilibrium systems.¹ From this activity, students uncover the meanings of dynamic equilibrium, the reaction quotient, the equilibrium constant, and the effects of adding or removing reacting species from an equilibrium mixture.

Following this activity, we summarize our findings in a class discussion and briefly review notes on equilibrium and the relationship between Q and K. Then, students complete the new AACT Simulation as a homework assignment to build their fluency with Q and K.

The next class I present the students with two equilibrium systems with discussion questions. 

     1. If additional Cl^- ions were added to the system, would the rate of the forward or reverse reaction increase?

     2. If CuCl₄^2- is added to the system, would the rate of the forward or reverse reaction increase?

To both of these questions, I am looking for a kinetic argument along the lines of, “If additional Cl^- ions are added, there are more likely to be successful collisions between reactant molecules that increase the rate of the forward reaction to produce more products.”

Following the discussion, I demonstrate this for my students by adding 12 M HCl dropwise to a test tube containing 0.5 M CuCl_2(aq). The solution turns a bright yellow/green color, confirmation of their prediction.

Then I ask them the “challenge question”: if the system is diluted by the addition of water, will this affect the equilibrium position? If so, will the rate of the forward reaction or the reverse reaction increase?

My class is small, only six students, so they discussed the question together. With larger classes, I would break them in to groups and let them use whiteboards. The conversation that followed was a rich discussion. Some students initially thought no change would occur because water does not appear in the equilibrium expression, but eventually the conversation turned to Q and K. In doing their analysis, they independently assumed 1 M concentrations at equilibrium and did the following analysis:

They correctly concluded that the value of Q would increase regardless of the actual value of K, so the reverse reaction rate would increase and more reactants would be produced.

To see if they are correct, we use a wash bottle to add water to the green/yellow solution from the first demonstration and they observe that the solution turns back to blue/green, evidence that the reverse reaction has increased in rate to produce more Cu²⁺_(aq) ions.

Figure 1 - 0.5 M CuCl₂ (left); After adding 12M HCl (center); Center tube diluted with DI water (Right)

Then we turned our attention to System 2.

I ask them what would happen if various species were added or removed from the equilibrium system, and we discussed the effect on Q. Then I asked them the challenge question for this example, “If the volume of the container were halved, would this affect the position of equilibrium. If so, would the rate of the forward or reverse reaction increase?” Having the experience with the first system, they decided to assume 1 atm equilibrium partial pressures and realized that halving the volume would double each of the individual partial pressures of each gas:

Q is now greater than K. Therefore, the reaction will proceed to produce more SO₂Cl_2(g).

The students tried to solve a problem based on knowledge they already had about the reaction quotient, and came to the correct conclusion. Using the Le Châtelier Principle, using their previous knowledge could lead them to an incorrect conclusion, but using the reaction quotient, they will be correct.

Conclusion

Treating disturbances in equilibrium in this manner allows students to logically reason through any situation and even address difficult situations, like dilution, with ease and accuracy. Any existing chemistry curricular materials can be easily modified to remove the teleological Le Châtelier Principle and replace it with more rigorous Q vs. K arguments that connect everything back to the simple idea of the ratio of reactants and products in a system. Students will now be able to produce logical justifications instead of relying on the crutch response of “because Le Châtelier!”

For AP teachers, this approach would have made approaching the notorious 2016 Free Response Question #6 much easier. Part (b) of this question asks about the effect of dilution on an aqueous system, the mean score was 0.45/4, and the modal score was zero. I hear many AP teachers say that Q vs. K arguments are now “in vogue”, as if with resentment, but these arguments represent more logically sound chemistry. Isn’t that what we all aspire to teach?

¹ My activity is based on “Penny-Ante Equilibrium” from Flinn ChemTopics Volume 15: Equilibrium. You can find it below under Supporting Information.

Improving Student Perception and Performance 

The December 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: functional nanomaterials and chemical detection; improving student performance; peer-led instruction; simulations and computer-based learning; engaging and interactive instruction; synthesis laboratories; NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry; innovative physical chemistry investigations; ConfChem Conference on select 2016 BCCE presentations; from the archives: music and chemistry.

Editorial

Norbert J. Pienta highlights Journal of Chemical Education content in 2017 and acknowledges contributors to the Journal in Volume 94 in Review.

Cover: Functional Nanomaterials and Chemical Detection

Carbon nanomaterials have promising utility in chemical sensing, including applications in preserving occupational safety, monitoring of environmental pollution, and human health. In Fabrication of Solid-State Gas Sensors by Drawing: An Undergraduate and High School Introduction to Functional Nanomaterials and Chemical Detection, Merry K. Smith, Daphnie G. Martin-Peralta, Polina A. Pivak, and Katherine A. Mirica describe a safe and engaging laboratory exercise in which hand-drawn graphite electrodes and carbon nanotube sensing materials mechanically abraded on thermally shrinkable polymer films produce functional gas sensors capable of detecting gaseous analytes. The resulting fully-drawn miniaturized gas sensors introduce students to fundamental and applied aspects of solid-state device fabrication, chemical detection, and data analysis.

Improving Student Performance

Reforming a Large Foundational Course: Successes and Challenges ~ Vicente Talanquer and John Pollard (this article is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS’s Editors’ Choice program.)

Concept Inventories: Predicting the Wrong Answer May Boost Performance ~ Vicente Talanquer

Improving General Chemistry Course Performance through Online Homework-Based Metacognitive Training ~ Brock L. Casselman and Charles H. Atwood 

Comparing Student Performance Using Computer and Paper-Based Tests: Results from Two Studies in General Chemistry ~ Anna A. Prisacari, Thomas A. Holme, and Jared Danielson

Practicing What We Preach: Assessing “Critical Thinking” in Organic Chemistry ~ Ryan L. Stowe and Melanie M. Cooper

Boot Camp To Improve Student Perception and Performance in Sophomore Organic Chemistry? Hoorah! ~ Matthew R. Siebert, Todd E. Daniel, and Brian D. High

Peer-Led Instruction

Tailoring Clicker Technology to Problem-Based Learning: What’s the Best Approach? ~ Russell J. Pearson (This article is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS’s AuthorChoice program.)

Peer Mentor Program for the General Chemistry Laboratory Designed To Improve Undergraduate STEM Retention ~ Fehmi Damkaci, Timothy F. Braun, and Kristin Gublo

Developing and Implementing Lab Skills Seminars, a Student-Led Learning Approach in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory: Mentoring Current Students While Benefiting Facilitators ~ Kalyani Sabanayagam, Vivek. D. Dani, Matthew John, Wanda Restivo, Svetlana Mikhaylichenko, and Shadi Dalili

Teaching Students To Be Instrumental in Analysis: Peer-Led Team Learning in the Instrumental Laboratory ~ Jacob L. Williams, Martin E. Miller, Brianna C. Avitabile, Dillon L. Burrow, Allison N. Schmittou, Meagan K. Mann, and Leslie A. Hiatt

Compute-to-Learn: Authentic Learning via Development of Interactive Computer Demonstrations within a Peer-Led Studio Environment ~ Mina Jafari, Alicia Rae Welden, Kyle L. Williams, Blair Winograd, Ellen Mulvihill, Heidi P. Hendrickson, Michael Lenard, Amy Gottfried, and Eitan Geva

Evaluating the Impact of the “Teaching as a Chemistry Laboratory Graduate Teaching Assistant” Program on Cognitive and Psychomotor Verbal Interactions in the Laboratory ~ A. Flaherty, A. O’Dwyer, P. Mannix-McNamara, and J. J. Leahy

Simulations and Computer-Based Learning

Introduction to Stochastic Simulations for Chemical and Physical Processes: Principles and Applications ~ Charles J. Weiss

Visualization of Metal Ion Buffering via Three-Dimensional Topographic Surfaces (Topos) of Complexometric Titrations ~ Garon C. Smith and Md Mainul Hossain

Engaging and Interactive Instruction

Where Science Intersects Pop Culture: An Informal Science Education Outreach Program ~ R. Burks, K. D. Deards, and E. DeFrain

Learn on the Move: A Problem-Based Induction Activity for New University Chemistry Students ~ Dylan P. Williams

Teaching Classes of Organic Compounds with a Sticky Note on Forehead Game ~ Kevin P. O’Halloran

Addition to “Gas Law Property Demonstrations Using Plastic Water Bottles”: Safety Comment and Extension ~ Miah M. Montes and Dean J. Campbell

Synthesis Laboratories

Nanoparticle Synthesis, Characterization, and Ecotoxicity: A Research-Based Set of Laboratory Experiments for a General Chemistry Course ~ Zoe N. Amaris, Daniel N. Freitas, Karen Mac, Kyle T. Gerner, Catherine Nameth, and Korin E. Wheeler

A Tale of Two Metabolites: Using the Separation of Urea and Cholesterol To Bridge the Gap between General and Organic Chemistry ~ Nicola Y. Edwards, Frank Yepez Castillo, and Gina Baiamonte

Combining Novel Visualizations and Synthesis To Explore Structure–Property Relationships Using Cobalt Complexes ~ Justin M. Pratt, James P. Birk, David L. Tierney, and Ellen J. Yezierski

Trispyrazolylborate Complexes: An Advanced Synthesis Experiment Using Paramagnetic NMR, Variable-Temperature NMR, and EPR Spectroscopies ~ Timothy N. Abell, Robert M. McCarrick, Stacey Lowery Bretz, and David L. Tierney

Correction to “Pericyclic or Pseudopericyclic? The Case of an Allylic Transposition in the Synthesis of a Saccharin Derivative” ~ Stephanie R. Hare and Dean J. Tantillo

NMR Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry

An Analysis of Ethanol in Commercial Liquors via Quantitative NMR Spectroscopy ~ Rebecca A. Hill and Christopher P. Nicholson

qHNMR Analysis of Purity of Common Organic Solvents—An Undergraduate Quantitative Analysis Laboratory Experiment ~ Peter T. Bell, W. Lance Whaley, Alyssa D. Tochterman, Karl S. Mueller, and Linda D. Schultz

Scaffolding Students’ Skill Development by First Introducing Advanced Techniques through the Synthesis and 15N NMR Analysis of Cinnamamides ~ Sara Shuldburg and Jennifer Carroll

Introducing Graduate Students to High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) Using a Hands-On Approach ~ Naomi L. Stock

Innovative Physical Chemistry Investigations

How Is the Freezing Point of a Binary Mixture of Liquids Related to the Composition? A Guided Inquiry Experiment ~ Sally S. Hunnicutt, Alexander Grushow, and Rob Whitnell

Musical Example To Visualize Abstract Quantum Mechanical Ideas ~ Forrest W. Eagle, Kyser D. Seaney, and Michael P. Grubb

Determining the Speed of Sound and Heat Capacity Ratios of Gases by Acoustic Interferometry ~ Thomas D. Varberg, Bradley W. Pearlman, Ian A. Wyse, Samuel P. Gleason, Dalir H. P. Kellett, and Kenneth L. Moffett

ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations

ConfChem online conferences are free, open to the public, and run by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE). The fall 2016 ConfChem conference discussed selected 2016 BCCE (Biennial Conference in Chemical Education) presentations.

ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Introduction ~ Jennifer L. Muzyka, Tanya Gupta, and Robert Belford

ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Radical Awakenings—A New Teaching Paradigm Using Social Media ~ Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh

ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Specifications Grading in the Flipped Organic Classroom ~ Joshua Ring

ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Changing Roles for Changing Times—Social Media and the Evolution of the Supplemental Instructor ~ Emily Alden

ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Tracking Student Use of Web-Based Resources for Chemical Education ~ Robert Bodily and Steven Wood

ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Putting Your Own Personal Twist on a Flipped Organic Classroom and Selling the Idea to Students ~ Ashleigh L.P. Thomas

ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Twentieth Year of the OLCC ~ Robert E. Belford

From the Archives: Music and Chemistry

This issue contains a laboratory using a Musical Example To Visualize Abstract Quantum Mechanical Ideas by Forrest W. Eagle, Kyser D. Seaney, and Michael P. Grubb. Music and chemistry have been coupled in past issues of JCE in such articles as:

Guitar Strings as Standing Waves: A Demonstration ~ Michael Davis, Todd P. Silverstein, and Dean J. Campbell

Musical Chemistry: Integrating Chemistry and Music ~ Mahadev Kumbar

Music Generated by a Zn/Cu Electrochemical Cell, a Lemon Cell, and a Solar Cell: A Demonstration for General Chemistry ~ Susan G. Cady

Sonified Infrared Spectra and Their Interpretation by Blind and Visually Impaired Students ~ Florbela Pereira, João C. Ponte-e-Sousa, Rui P. S. Fartaria, Vasco D. B. Bonifácio, Paulina Mata, Joao Aires-de-Sousa, and Ana M. Lobo

Chemistry and Song: A Novel Way To Educate and Entertain ~ Cory C. Pye

Combining Chemistry and Music To Engage Students’ Interest. Using Songs To Accompany Selected Chemical Topics ~ Arthur M. Last

Amino Acid Jazz: Amplifying Biochemistry Concepts with Content-Rich Music ~ Gregory J. Crowther and Katie Davis

Viewing Scenes of the History of Chemistry through the Opera Glass ~ João Paulo André

Opera and Poison: A Secret and Enjoyable Approach To Teaching and Learning Chemistry ~ João Paulo André

Facing the Music: How Original Was Borodin's Chemistry? ~ Michael D. Gordin

Emil Votocek (1872-1950): A Tribute to the Chemist-Composer-Lexicographer ~ Frantisek Jurik, Ian D. Rae, and George B. Kauffman

Lejaren A. Hiller, Jr.: A Memorial Tribute to a Chemist-Composer ~ Christian A. Wamser and Carl C. Wamser

JCE: Improving Student Performance for 94 Years

With over 94 years of content from the Journal of Chemical Education available, many concepts in chemistry have been discussed extensively—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. 

“What are we doing to help kids learn?”

It was close to the end of the semester and we were covering gas laws. Students were stressed over the idea of finals, final projects due, tests before finals and the holidays. Since we were finishing up the topic and it was important to end with one last assessment and/or lab but the timing was not good and the stress level for everyone was at an all time high. A different course of action was needed.

Inspiration struck with the experiment proposed by Mike Morgan with magnesium and hydrochloric acid. At the start of the week before exams it was announced that the last grade was a type of “lab practical”. The experiment was going to happen, but with a little “tweak”. You can find my modified student and teacher documents below this post.

Students were given a preview of the experiment at the beginning of the week. They were given as little information as possible. Students were told that they would have to predict the exact amount of gas at the end of the experiment and turn in their written prediction before the experiment took place. They could ask for data they thought they needed at the beginning of the class. Demonstrating the experiment and stating the problem at the beginning of the week created a “need to know” basis to succeed on their last graded assignment. Students were given a review type handout that went over most concepts of first semester (see below). They asked questions all week in anticipation of the last day and the experiment. Here are some of my favorite questions that students asked.

Student: “What will the pressure be when we do the experiment?”

Me: Don’t know. I can’t predict the weather that well.

Student: “How do we find the pressure on the day of the experiment?”

This turned out to be a great question that opened a “Pandora Box” of answers. We have a weather station on the roof of our school that reports to our classroom. You would think the pressure would be accurate. Teachers using the pressure were getting high experimental errors with simple experiments. This put the data into question. The question was put to local meteorologist, Scott Dimmich. Scott explained that essentially, weather data is reported is collected all over the world and put out to the internet. People from all over the country and the world might use it. The problem is that if people examine the air pressure in Denver (high altitude) and Cincinnati (low altitude) there could be a big difference on a clear dry day due to the altitude and not the weather. Scientists adjust these pressures for sea level so they are uniform. The goal is to cancel out the altitude and just get a reading of pressure that could help predict dry or humid air regardless of altitude. Our station at school was adjusting for altitude and not giving us a true reading. So how could we get a “true” reading? Well...there is an app for that. One of my most extremely resourceful students who loves to take things apart (I have to keep an eye on him…) informed me that the newer iphones are equipped with really good barometers. Sure enough, we were able to get a “station reading”, an “altitude”, and an adjusted reading for “sea level”. The station reading did the trick.

Student: “What is the balanced equation?”

Me: Don’t know...that is not data.

Student: “How many moles of magnesium are going to be used?”

Me: Check out the answer to the last question.

Student: “What about water vapor mixed with the gas?”

Me: Ahhh...now they were thinking. This lead to a great discussion about Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressure. We talked about how to account for the vapor pressure of water.

Students came in the day of the lab practical. They had twenty minutes to ask questions about data. Some of the answers they liked and some they did not (see above). They were told that everyone had to turn in some neat and clean data, some calculations and a prediction. I did not care who they talked to or who they consulted. It was a bit of a free for all. Some trusted their partners and some did not. Students were forced to justify their answers and think about their data and calculations. The good news is that most students predicted within three percent of the actual value. They were able to use the Ideal Gas law and Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures to actually DO something. In an ideal world it would have been great to have students do this experiment themselves. As we all know, the world of school is not always ideal and sometimes we have to do the best we can with a “plan B”. Do you have a “plan B” that you like? Please let me know….I would love to hear from you and share it with others...

Especially JCE posts usually focus on the content of the Journal of Chemical Education—highlighting and discussing articles of potential interest to high school chemistry educators. As the 2017 year of JCE issues and my related Chem Ed Xchange posts wrap up, I’m temporarily shifting the focus this month to the interconnected web of people behind the articles you see each year.

At the forefront are those who choose to contribute to JCE. Authors are the foundation of the Journal, as they share the work they do in classrooms, science museums, online, and elsewhere. I appreciate their willingness to submit their innovative resources to the review process for possible publication. It takes time, it takes energy, it takes courage.

Peer reviewers are another major group in the publication process. They bring their specific background expertise to a review, chiming in with their unique viewpoints to help associate editors and the editor-in-chief make recommendations for an always-flowing stream of manuscripts. The behind-the-scenes work of these anonymous voices can point out possible changes to authors that can make a good paper even better.

Current editor-in-chief Norb Pienta’s editorial Volume 94 in Review this month recognizes the contributions of members of JCE’s editorial group that take an article from its first electronic submission to the moment you, the reader, can access it on Articles ASAP (As Soon As Publishable) on the JCE website. He also calls attention to the work of partners that make the continued running of the Journal possible. I encourage you to read his editorial to connect names to the pages you see.

At the same time, I also take on a cheerleader (arm twister?) role to ask you to seriously think about becoming an author and/or peer reviewer if you haven’t already. My 2011 article Become a Journal of Chemical Education Authorspeaks to some of the common obstacles for high school teachers writing for JCE, with ways to overcome them.

More from the December 2017 Issue

A special shout-out to Mary Saecker, who puts together the monthly Issues Highlights. Pienta’s editorial announces that she has taken over the role of JCE managing editor upon Jon Holmes’ retirement from the University of Wisconsin. Her post JCE 94.12 December 2017 Issue Highlights will give you a quick overview of the latest issue.

Are you a high school teacher who has reviewed or written for the Journal? Share your experience with others! Start by submitting a contribution form, explaining you’d like to contribute to the Especially JCE column. Then, put your thoughts together in a blog post. Questions? Contact us using the ChemEd X contact form.

“What are we doing to help kids achieve?”

I feel like every year I face the same old dilemma. It starts with an idea in mind of what and how something should be taught. This idea is fine until it is discovered that students this year are different than students last year. The idea is changed or “tweaked”. The process is feels similar to having to “reinvent” the wheel each year. This gets exhausting.

The present group of students were struggling with balancing equations. The students could balance them on paper. They also could explain the conservation of mass with experiments. Students really struggled with showing, developing and explaining models. They were not able to clearly show or explain how the reactants are used up and the products are formed. Students did well on the Atomsmith balancing activity. It became clear through this activity that they still needed a more hands on approach.

In the past, students had completed an activity from Grand Valley State University Target Inquiry Program. The activity called “How many reactants does it take to make a product” by Sarah Toman had students physically construct and deconstruct reactants and products with models of interlocking blocks. This was met with some success in the past but it was felt that this group of students would require adaptations to the activity.

Students were given a small cup of different colored candies. They were instructed to separate out the green “G”, blue “B” and red “R” candies and the rest went in a second cup that they would get to eat later after successful completion of the activity.

The “reactor” was the only person allowed to “build” as many compounds with the green, blue and red candies. He or she had to construct as many units of the compound “R2B” and the separate element “G” as possible. Students had to record the number of compound and elements. Any extra candies could be eaten.

The “producer” had to examine the products. The formed products were the compounds “GBR” and “R2”. The ONLY person allowed to pass reactants to products was the “Gatekeeper”. The “Gatekeeper” could not tear apart any compounds from the reactants. The “Producer” was instructed to arrange the compounds and elements from the “reactors” to match the products “GBR” and “R2”. There could be no stray elements. They had to match “GBR” and “R2” or they had to stay as the reactants. Students were told to record ALL reactants and products both before and after the process.

It should be noted that we stopped as a class at three key stages. First, there was the "reactant" stage. The next stage was explaining the "gatekeeper". The last stage demonstrated how the "producer" should make the products. This was modeled at each stage by the instructor, me. Students were required to keep track of the reactants and products and record data.

At the end of these three stages, we looked at the data as a class. Students were asked to place the data in a table that had the headings: "Before", "Change", and "After" (BCA tables). This idea is used widely by people that use Modeling Instruction strategies.

So, what was the end result? One result is that over the three class periods, the activity evolved. Students from some periods had a wide range of academic and language abilities. In some cases, a bit more modeling and/or direct instruction was required on my part. I also discovered that it was really helpful for the students and myself to break the activity down into the stages of "Before", "Change" and "After". It was advantageous to have groups of four people. One person was the "Reactor", one the "Producer", one the "Gatekeeper" and one person who recorded data for the group. Each person had a specific role. Data from every group was slightly different but the data fit extremely well into "BCA" tables. Teacher notes can be found below this post as Supporting Information. The ratio of reactants to products in the "Change" row always provided the balanced equation. Students quickly picked up on the idea of "limiting reagents", "excess reagents" and fundamental stoichiometry which is our next topic. It is true that we never react "candies". Students saw a demonstration of sodium in water forming sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. They compared the symbols in that reaction to the one with the candies and found them to be practically identical. Finally, the candy provided a great motivator for tired students at the end of the semester.

Have you "morphed" or "evolved" an activity due to student abilities? Did you find that it worked better than expected? I would love to hear from you.

Science Week at Pittcon – Orlando 2018

Teachers and students will appreciate the generous Science Week options at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando this February. This is an annual event offering professional development, outreach programs and grant money from the proceeds of the Pittcon convention.

The weekend of February 24 - 25, K-12 teachers can attend workshops offering professional development covering a variety of topics. A small registration fee required to reserve a spot for teacher workshops is refunded at the event. Lunch and parking are both covered by Science Week. Individual teachers that attend can receive 500 dollars to purchase resources for their classrooms. Schools that send a team of teachers can receive up to 2000 dollars in grant money. These grants are provided on a first come first serve basis. Schools within a 150 mile radius of Orlando will receive first priority, but there may be grants available for those outside if funds permit.

Science Week also offers student workshops for 1st through 4th grade on Monday and Tuesday (February 26 - 27) and for 5th through 7th grade on Wednesday and Thursday (February 28 - March 1). There are a wide variety of workshop topics to choose from. Best of all, these workshops are completely FREE! Registration closes February 16, 2018.

Teacher Workshops - https://pittcon.org/science-week/teacher-workshops/

Teacher Equipment Grants - https://pittcon.org/science-week/equipment-grants/

Student Workshops - https://pittcon.org/science-week/student-workshops/

Happy New Year from one of your overseas colleagues. Despite the amazing political changes, the language of chemistry continues bind us together, usually in the effort to make such a simple subject as chemistry understood! To do this, many of you have focused on the triangle developed by Alex Johnstone. You can see a nice example of this in a previous ChemEd X post written by Erica Posthuma-Adams, Integrating Three Types of Chemical Representation (see Figure 1). I am sad to relay that Alex died just before Christmas at age 89. I have written a short tribute to him (Those Light Bulb Moments) because although I never knew him, he helped me make sense of why most of the time we fail, and that when we succeed... it is a triumphal moment! Liberato Cardellini published An Interview with Alex H. Johnstone (open access) in the Journal of Chemical Education in 2000 that includes Johnstone's "Ten Educational Commandments". His language is without psychological verbiage which make many unable relate to the findings of a psychological approach to chemical understanding. And, he has some outrageous findings!

Figure 1 - Example of Johnstone's Triangle as used in Erica Posthuma-Adams post mentioned above.

PS. We also lost another character who made popular The Great Egg Races in the 1980s on our televisions. You might be interested in viewing a Trailer of the Great Egg Races on YouTube. This character was Professor Heinz Wolff. Many of us contributed some chemical versions to the Royal Society of Chemistry. Please do a risk assessment because these are 40 years old and I suspect there is some updating required. Heinz was a real eccentric. He worked at our University and he came to my colleague and I for help. It appeared that at a white tie and tails dinner he tried the electrolysis of molten cryolite during his after dinner speech about aluminium. (Yes, we were horrified too). He burned the table (thankfully a cheap one!) So, he wondered if he could do a thermit reaction. We showed him a safe method and off he went, happy as anything and sent us a lovely letter of thanks after the next speech.

Scrub Daddy is a cleaning supply that was invented by Aaron Krause¹ and is sold as America’s Favorite Sponge.² After being featured on ABC’s television show Shark Tank, Scrub Daddy has gone on to be Shark Tank’s most successful product, selling over 10 million products and generating $50 million in sales.³ Part of the appeal of the Scrub Daddy sponge is that it changes from soft to hard, depending upon temperature. This allows a single sponge to be transformed into a hard scrubber or soft sponge, depending upon the temperature of water into which it is placed. Check it out:

When I first learned about Scrub Daddy sponges, I immediately wondered what might be the science behind its temperature-driven, hard-to-soft transformation. My initial hunch was that chemistry (of course!) was somehow involved. Upon finding and reading the patent for Scrub Daddy, I learned that a Scrub Daddy sponge is comprised of a mixture of polymers, or long-chained molecules.¹ Further, it is likely polycaprolactone¹ (Figure 1) or some derivative thereof that is responsible for the hard-to-soft transition as the Scrub Daddy sponge is warmed.

chemical structure of polycaprolactone

Figure 1 - Structure of polycaprolactone. Several units of the monomer shown link together in a chain to form the polymer.

Polycaprolactone belongs to a class of polymers known as thermoplastics, which change in degree of stiffness as they move from cold (rigid) to hot (soft). It is interesting to note that polycaprolactone is used in a variety of biomedical devices such as drug delivery agents, sutures, and bone/cartilage fabrication.^4–6

I purchased a Scrub Daddy sponge to investigate at what temperature the hard-to-soft transition occurred. To test this, I first measured the thickness of the Scrub Daddy. Next, I put some very hot tap water into a large bowl, and immersed the Scrub Daddy in the water for 30 seconds. After checking the temperature of the water, I placed the Scrub Daddy on a hard surface, placed six pounds of weight on top, and measured the thickness of the Scrub Daddy with the weights on top. I repeated this process at a variety of temperatures (Figure 2).

Compression of Scrub Daddy sponge at different temperatures

Figure 2 - Compression of Scrub Daddy with 6 pounds of added weight at (L to R) 60^oC, 23^oC, and 10^oC.

I then plotted the compression of the sponge as a function of temperature (Figure 3), with compression, C, taken as:

Equation for compression

Where h₀ is the thickness of the sponge without added weight and h is the thickness of the sponge with added weight. Thus, a high value of C corresponded to an easily deformed sponge, while a low C value corresponded to a sponge that did not easily deform. The Scrub Daddy showed a marked change in compression in the 15 – 30^oC temperature range, with lower temperatures displaying less compression than higher temperatures.

Effect of temperature on compression

Figure 3 - Effect of temperature on the compression of a Scrub Daddy sponge. The error bars represent one standard deviation (at least 3 trials were conducted for each data point displayed).

The range over which the sponge softened was substantially lower than the melting temperature of polycaprolactone of 58^oC.⁷ This made me wonder if it was really some other polymer – and not polycaprolactone – that was responsible for the temperature dependent softening observed in the Scrub Daddy. I therefore decided to take an infrared spectrum (IR) of the Scrub Daddy sponge (Figure 4).

FTIR spectrum of Scrub Daddy sponge

Figure 4 -FTIR spectrum of a Scrub Daddy sponge.

The spectrum displayed several features that were very similar to a previously reported IR spectrum of polycaprolactone.⁸ Therefore, a Scrub Daddy sponge almost certainly contains polycaprolactone! It is my guess that polymers other than polycaprolactone have been added to a Scrub Daddy in order to lower the temperature at which the sponge softens, and also to keep it from getting sticky at very high temperatures. My guess is consistent with statements in the Sponge Daddy patent, which reports that polymer blends are used in the sponge.¹

Polycaprolactone is quite easy to obtain,⁹ so I purchased some to investigate its properties. You can see some of these investigations in the video below.

I plan on using some of the experiments reported here in my classes. If you do the same, let me know in the comments how things work out for you. Also, please consider commenting if you have suggestions on how to extend any of these experiments. I’d also like to hear from you if you think any of my interpretations of what is going on in these experiments are off base. Happy experimenting!

References:

1. https://www.google.com/patents/US20140075699
2. https://scrubdaddy.com/
3. http://www.businessinsider.com/scrub-daddy-shark-tank-success-story-2017-3
4. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ed2004615
5. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00835
6. http://artelon.com/pdf/WoodruffMAProgrPolymerSciInPress2010.pdf
7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290808994_Polymer_Data_Handbook
8. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299537578_Synthesis_of_Polycaprolactone_via_Ring_Opening_Polymerization_Catalyzed_by_Candida_Antarctica_Lipase_B_Immobilized_onto_an_Amorphous_Silica_Support
9. https://www.teachersource.com/product/thermoplastic-polymer-and-pigments/chemistry

What are we doing to help kids achieve?

I’ll cut to the chase. Here is one thing you can do for both yourself and your students to start the new year. Consider attending BCCE 2018 this year. Why attend? There are many reasons.

Great Professional Development. It is difficult, especially this time of the year, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Professional conferences such as this one is kind of like rocket fuel for the professional development soul. You get to totally geek out and submerge yourself with other people who are in the same boat. Each time you sit next to someone different at this conference just ask one question…”What is the favorite lab or activity you do in the classroom?” It will be impossible not to get at least five new great ideas to try out to energize your teaching and your students.

The Wardrobe. I have multiple mole day shirts. I have four periodic table ties and a periodic table bow tie. I have custom-made periodic table shoes. I have multiple t-shirts with science themes and periodic tables. I have a mole day tie. I can wear them ALL and fit right in! I won’t have a single one of my kids rolling their eyes and saying “Daaaddd…..” and trying to walk twenty steps in front of me or twenty steps in back because they will be a couple hundred miles away. It is a little slice of heaven….

Great Friends.  There are some awesome people that we probably all follow on twitter or on ChemedX. It is one thing to email them. It is something else to actually get to see them and talk to them. It is great to be in a place without bells ringing to talk about ideas in a relaxed atmosphere with others who really care about kids and their profession.

Time to ‘Tweak’ activities that you have been working on. We all have those days when an activity or lab goes well but it just was not “great”. Something about the day could have gone better. We say the we will “get to it” or “fix it” when we have time. Keep it on a Post-it-Note and bring it to the conference. That is the perfect time to “fix it” and get help from others.

You are smarter than you think.If you are reading this, you are probably a chemistry teaching rock star in your own right….you just don’t realize it yet. You really do have super powers. There are ways that you reach kids that you do without even thinking. People need to hear your story. We need your expertise and passion so we can pass that on to our students. Please do not be afraid to share. You are and can be a continued inspiration to others.

Getting the cost covered. Money can be a factor. Here are a few ideas that tend to work. First, think about applying for a Hach Grant. Ask your local ACS section, PTO and/or your principal. You are a professional who is seeking your own professional development on your own time and you are ultimately trying to help kids. You would be surprised what you can get if you just ask.

It is a second honeymoon. “Honey, how would you like to go on a second honeymoon? I thought we could go to Notre Dame this summer and spend a long weekend on a college campus with about a couple hundred of my fellow science teaching friends from all over the world. Yes, it is home to a nationally ranked college football team who unfortunately won’t be there playing any games. But there will be something better...a cool cover band called ‘Al D. Hyde and the Ketones’. O.K...this last one is a bit of a stretch……but the band is real and they are pretty good. They have a killer horn section.

Hopefully, this has peaked your interest. I know you might have another worry. “What if I go and I just can’t find a good session to go to?” I personally think this is impossible. But to help ease your fears, I have you covered. I plan to attend and present in a symposium hosted by ChemEd X along with others that have contributed to ChemEd X. My presentation is still in the preliminary stage. I want you, the reader, to pick my topic. I have created a POLL listing a few items that you might find helpful. Pick the one that interests you the most. I will base my presentation on the topic with the most votes. I hope to hear from you soon...and I can’t wait to meet you at BCCE 2018.

PLEASE MAKE YOUR CHOICE ON MY POLL.

P.S. I have a tendency to get a little too excited about this conference. I may make too many promises and just might be double booked and in a little bit of trouble. I am seriously thinking of selling (at cost of course) “Save Chad” T-shirts…….stay tuned….

One of my goals for 2017 was to read more chemistry non-fiction. I accomplished that with three and a half books read. That doesn't seem like much, but given how busy I've been lately it was quite an accomplishment! (You can go back and read my reviews of "Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction" by Peter Atkins, and "Four Laws That Drive The Universe" also by Peter Atkins.) I offer a brief review of my most recent book here, "The Alchemy of Air" by Thomas Hager.

First of all, I wish I could offer an attribution or a hat-tip to the wonderful soul that suggested this book. I'd like to buy her/him a cup of coffee and engage in some conversation about a wonderful book. But alas, I can't find the suggestion anywhere in my memory (or my Twitter timeline, for that matter).

Within the IB Chemistry curriculum that I teach, the "Haber Process" is mentioned quite often. This reaction involves the synthesis of ammonia in an equilibrium with nitrogen and hydrogen as follows:

N₂ (g)  +  3 H₂ (g)  <---->   2 NH₃ (g)

This equilibrium is interesting on many levels. First, the value of Kc is relatively small, so the equilibrium certainly doesn't favor the product, ammonia. Second, it is an exothermic reaction. Thus, heating the reaction to make it go faster also decreases the yield of ammonia. But if the temperature is too low, the reaction is so slow that it takes far too long for the ammonia to be produced. Thus, there is a "sweet spot" of temperature, around 400-450 Celsius, used in industry. Third, the product is incredibly important for the fertilizer industry - and in the manufacture of explosives. And all of these things are commonly discussed in most chemistry texts when the Haber Process is mentioned. But there is so much more! And that's where "The Alchemy of Air" comes to life.

The book starts with a nice hook, mentioning a "prophecy" made in the fall of 1898 by Sir William Crookes. With human population on the rise - and quickly! - Sir Crookes suggested to the British Academy of Sciences that by around 1930 humans would start to die due to starvation. Unless chemistry could find a solution.

And thus the race was on to find suitable fertilizers to prevent the depletion of soils. Did you know that in the 1840s, South American bird guano (used for fertilizer) from the Chincha islands off the coast of peru was one of the most valuable substances on Earth at the time? When the islands became depleted of their guano after intensive mining, Chilean saltpetre from the Atacama desert was the replacement - essentially sodium nitrate with some other impurities. But what happens when this runs out?

German chemistr Fritz Haber began working on how to "fix" nitrogen from the air into a usable form for fertilizer. Haber's name is associated with the reaction due to his solving many of the problems associated with the reaction. As alluded to above, heating lowers the value of Kc, thus it does not favor the production of ammonia. But make it too low and the reaction is too low. And how to collect the ammonia gas? As it turns out, Haber had quite a bit of help from Carl Bosch. In many ways, Bosch played chemical engineer to Haber's role as the chemist. Solving the problems of temperature and pressure took many iterations and trial runs, but as the reaction vessels were scaled up, the reaction eventually became economically viable - and of course quite profitable soon enough.

The viability of this reaction provided a great deal of economic value to Germany - but proved even more valuable during WWI when munitions created from the ammonia were used to fortify German positions on the front lines with France. And Haber - in an effort to gain stature within the German government - helped develop chemical weapons for use as well. So the chemist that is credited with discovering/developing one of the most important and influential reactions in the world is a complicated figure. Without the fertilizer from this reaction, Earth would not likely be able to support our current population of over 7 billion people. Yet ammonia is used to produce explosives that have killed countless soldiers and civilians. Life is so rarely black and white, I suppose.

This book is filled with connections and intrigue:

History, war, greed, human ingenuity, population growth, ethics, and so much more.

So while the actual chemistry in the book is a bit light (by Thomas Hager's own admission, as he intended this for a lay audience), there are copious source notes and a complete bibliography if you'd like to delve into the detail hinted at throughout the text.

I don't consider myself a book critic, but I'd give this a 5-star review on Amazon, as I found it incredibly engaging and full of so much more detail than I ever imagined could be written about one single chemical equilibrium.

Have you read "The Alchemy of Air?" If so, what did you think?

Notes

1. For a concise summary of the Haber process, I suggest the ChemGuide UK page dedicated to this reaction. 

2. For an interesting interactive about the Haber Process, visit https://www.learner.org/courses/chemistry/haberplant/haber.html. You can control the conditions and see the output from the reaction.

3. I was familiar with Thomas Hager's writing, as I had previously read "Force of Nature: The Life of Linus Pauling." While not reviewed here, it is an incredible journey through Pauling's life as a chemist and activist.

4. Chem Ed X-change's own Doug Ragan suggested "Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us" by Sam Kean (of "Disappearing Spoon" fame) as a nice follow-up to "The Alchemy of Air."

5. Some previous ChemEd X posts related to the Haber Process:

•      A review of "Fritz Haber: Chemist, Nobel Laureate, German, Jew" by Hal Harris, from 2013.
•      A review of Elizabeth Kolbert's book, "Head Count: Fertilizer, fertility, and the Clashes Over Population Growth" by Hal Harris, also from 2013.
•      A brief review of the film, "Haber - The Father of Chemical Warfare" by Deanna Cullen, from 2015. (Including a comment from reader Mary Saecker suggesting Radio Lab's podcast about Fritz Haber.)

Registration is now open for the ChemEd X Virtual Conference: Tools for Integrating Green Chemistry in Your Classroom.

Tools for Integrating Green Chemistry in Your Classroom features a hybrid of published Journal of Chemical Education articles, Beyond Benign lesson plans and additional supporting resources. Join us to gain a deeper understanding of how to integrate green chemistry principles and practices into your classrooms, by investigating novel technologies, exploring green chemistry alternatives to traditional experiments, and evaluating a fresh perspective on chemical modeling. Our goal is to spark interactive dialogue related to increasing the adoption of green chemistry principles and practices throughout the K-20 chemistry education spectrum.

ChemEd X, the Journal of Chemical Education, and Beyond Benign are sponsoring the virtual conference to support the chemistry education community.

This is not your typical virtual conference. This is not a series of webinars. Using the ChemEd X Conference platform allows the authors to augment their published articles and activities with additional information and resources beyond those offered in their original publications. The original JCE article or Beyond Benign laboratories will be augmented with other materials that the author chooses to share like video, power point or text. The attendees have reading/viewing time before the session is open for conversation. This gives attendees a chance to write thoughtful comments/questions that they can post during the conversation time. The attendees will be updated by notifications (through email or Twitter) as the conversation proceeds. As conversation about the first session concludes, the next session will be open for reading. At this point, the first session will be closed. This is done to encourage attendees to direct their full attention to the next session. Note that during the last session, the Panel Discussion, the first three sessions will be re-opened. Note that once the conference ends, attendees will still be able to log into the conference and view the entire conference, but note that the conference will not be open for comments after the conclusion of the final session.

The organizers hope to engage high school chemistry teachers, pre-service chemistry education students, professors working with pre-service students, chemical education researchers, college professors, science majors and anyone else with a stake in improving green chemistry practices in education in this conference.

The homepage of the Tools for Integrating Green Chemistry in Your Classroom conference offers a list of sessions and provides specific details about the conference. Each consecutive session will last several days. Participants wishing to attend a specific session will have access to all of the materials the author(s) has provided and have ample time to construct thoughtful commentary. Invited authors and those posting comments should respond to questions in a timely fashion.

The conference is hosted by Kate Anderson, Director of K-12 Education, Beyond Benign and Mollie Enright, K-12 Program Manager, Beyond Benign. Beyond Benign is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and disseminating green chemistry and sustainable science educational resources that empower educators, students and the community at large to practice sustainability through chemistry.

The conference website offers detailed pages with information about how to register for the conference and also provides a “How To” guide for how to attend this new platform. Only those who create an account at ChemEd X Conferences can participate in the conversation. All that are interested are invited to register free of charge. As a sponsor, the Journal of Chemical Education will make the JCE articles highlighted in the first two sessions open access.

The conference is scheduled to run January 29- February 14, 2018.

In preparation for the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or individual states variations of the standards, there has been much professional development offered around the country to support teachers. Regardless of whether your state has chosen to adopt them or not, the standards’ focus on students engaging in science and engineering practices can be incorporated into your classroom.

NGSS standards offer a unique three dimensional structure composed of: core ideas, cross cutting concepts and science and engineering practices and is typically pictured as an entwined rope. The disciplinary core ideas are essentially the content that teachers will teach or what information their students are required to know. The cross cutting concepts are the key themes that emerge time and again across science curricula, such as patterns and cause and effect, and are used to explain how students think about science. The science and engineering practices are how teachers will teach the information and what students will actually do in the classroom. The science and engineering practices listed in the NGSS framework include asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence and lastly obtaining, evaluating and communicating information.

In this article, the focus will be on how to incorporate the first science and engineering practice, asking questions, into your chemistry instruction. The most common professional development technique I’ve encountered regarding this practice is Question Formulation Technique, QFT. QFT was developed by the Right Questions Institute, tested and modified to intentionally teach students how to ask questions and provide teachers with the skills necessary to teach the students how to do so. Essentially, QFT is a series of steps that allows for students to ask numerous questions, improve them and prioritize them in order of importance.

QFT begins with a question focus chosen by the teacher, typically something students will look at and be curious about, stimulating them to ask questions. The question focus can be a short video, a visual model that students can look at or even a short statement. The question focus itself is not a question and has a focused intention of jumpstarting student questions in a direction that provokes student thought in a different vein that the traditional approach likely would not. For instance, if teachers were using a short video to introduce nuclear chemistry by showing a slow-motion clip of an atomic bomb detonating instead of a clip discussing the historical impact of the atomic bomb then the conversation would be better able to focus on solely on the chemistry of the explosion rather than its historical, political or emotional implications. For instance, while typical lessons might begin with a “Do Now” from a teacher, the question focus is a different approach that will allow students to develop their own questions to guide the following lessons.

The second step of QFT, is a protocol that must be followed where students produce as many questions as they can without stopping for a discussion, judgement or even answer to their questions. Questions are recorded exactly as they are stated and any statements listed are changed into questions. So often, teachers want to re-phrase student questions: “So what you’re really asking is…” while here the intention is the students’ questions will be validated, no matter how they are articulated. All student input is valued in this method and is a student-centered as opposed to teacher centered approach. Additionally, the teacher needs to stress the importance of following the rules. For instance, groups cannot stop to debate or discuss a question, the rationale for this being that they will lose focus and not be able to continue to generate questions.

The next phase of QFT calls for students to classify their questions as closed versus open by labeling them as “C” for closed ended and “O” for open ended. Closed ended questions are those that can be answered with a yes or no response such as: “is the balloon inflated?” as opposed to an open-ended question which could be: “what caused the balloon to inflate?”. Students are then asked to change a closed ended question to open ended and vice versa if desired in order to show how manipulation of a question allows for different information to be obtained in order to arrive at an answer. Finally, students prioritize questions in order of importance. Typically, teachers ask for students’ top three questions which, depending on the question set, will shape future assignments. For instance, if the class was going to proceed in developing an experiment from the question focus, this could be how students prioritize information, such as asking students to pick which questions would be appropriate to investigate or three questions to which they would most like to know the answer. This exercise is one where students need to analyze, compare and determine which of the questions posed would best yield the information they want to obtain.  This can be concluded by students reporting out priority questions along with a rationale for why they chose those questions. Finally, the technique ends with a reflection where students analyze their thinking in the QFT process and what they learned individually.

Professional development is important for teachers to grow and develop new pedagogical techniques. I was first introduced to this technique last spring at a workshop where the presenter showed a YouTube clip of a tidal wave. Working in groups my colleagues and I were asked to come up with as many questions as possible about the video we observed (without judgement of the questions). The instructions were to begin each question with the statement “I wonder…” or “I notice…” as the video played on the smartboard over and over.   This was followed by us indicating if the questions were open (providing multiple answers) or closed ended questions (yes/no type responses) for each one and finally which one we could conduct an investigation about and to determine what the variables would be for that particular investigation. Similarly, at a recent department meeting, my director showed four clips on a loop and we had to choose one of the images to generate questions about. The images for this sort of activity can be obtained from YouTube clips or https://www.ngssphenomena.com/. Together, the group developed questions over a three- minute period, which felt long and grew increasingly difficult. The questions were categorized as open or closed and the closed ended questions were re-phrased to become open ended questions. The group questions were written on chart paper and prioritized into the top three the group would like to investigate.

This past month, I used QFT with my students on a unit discussing gas laws. The question focus was a demonstration in which a balloon animal was placed in liquid nitrogen. Students observed the balloon shrink and then the balloon was taken out and returned to its original configuration, a variation of which is shown here. The students then were led through the QFT technique. Some of the questions derived included: “what is the relationship between temperature and pressure?”, “what affects volume more temperature or pressure?”, “what causes balloons to expand and contract?”,” how would the shape change if it were a different gas?”, “what would happen if there were more molecules in the balloon from the beginning of the experiment?”. All of these were ideas which I typically would have used to drive discussion or generate lessons from. Here, the students generated the questions and took ownership of the lesson flow as I would show how the students’ questions were related to the aim of that particular lesson. The same content was taught, but the order in which it was presented was slightly different to address the students’ questions as the lesson aim.

In summary, QFT is a protocol where students generate their own questions, improve them and prioritize them. My own personal reflection is that whenever I have tried this technique, the participants are all involved in the process and engaged for the entire duration of time. For my quieter students, I am continually impressed by their confidence in asking questions. I found throughout my unit of instruction, there was greater interest and comprehension of the topics. Moreover, in my after-school department meeting, my colleagues all participated and were curious about each other’s questions. Even after the meeting, we were talking about the clips, which is definitely not the case for all department meetings. Finally, the protocol is well tested in a variety of educational settings and across diverse student groups. It’s a technique that I would recommend to new teachers as it may help with classroom management by providing students with rules and steps to follow at each point of the process.For more information about QFT, visit the Right Institute for resources. Additionally, there is a great resource written by Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana called Make Just One Change that thoroughly describes the technique and provides much insight into how to incorporate into professional practice.

Resources:

Rothstein, D. & Luz, S. (2011). Make Just One Change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press

https://www.nextgenscience.org/three-dimensions

http://rightquestion.org/education/

Check out a previous activity published at ChemEd X: Mini-Project Sequence - Orange Peels and Polarity

The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education is one of the best professional development opportunities available for chemistry educators. The 2018 conference will be held at Notre Dame in South Bend, IN, July 29 - August 3. The ACS Division of Chemical Education sponsors this national meeting. There is excellent programming available for middle school science teachers, high school chemistry teachers, graduate students and college faculty. You do not have to be a member of ACS or the Division of Chemical Education to attend and/or present. 

You can find a long list of symposia on the BCCE2018 website. You might consider presenting in one or more of these. The website provides guidelines for submitting an abstract. The organizers are now using the online national Meeting Abstracts Programming System (MAPS) of the American Chemical Society, used by ACS authors, Program Chairs, and Symposium Organizers to submit, review and edit abstracts for the ACS National Meetings.  MAPS system for accepting submissions. You are allowed to participate as the leading author in only two of the following (in any combination): oral presentation, poster session, workshop, symposium. Abstract submission is now open. You have until February 20th to submit your abstract. If you submit it now, you can still edit it until the February 20 deadline. 

You can expect to find information about early registration and housing by February 20th. There are many hotels in the area, but staying on campus is a great option for a conference like this. Several on-campus meals are covered as part of the conference registration as well.

This is the 25th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education. Whether you have attended before or this is your first, it is sure to be a fantastic conference. Add the dates to your calendar now!

Do you need funding to help offset the expense of attending? Fill out an application for an ACS Hach Grant. They accept applications from February 1 through April 14th. 

For more information, check out the conference website: http://bcce2018.org. You can also follow the organizers on Twitter: @2018BCCE and Facebook: BCCE 2018.

Celebrating Ninety-Five Years

The January 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: exploring magnetic properties; examining outreach practices; spectroscopy; understanding chemical changes over time; laboratory curriculum reform; teaching scientific communication; analytical chemistry activities; biochemistry laboratories; 3D printing molecular models; from the archives: chemistry outreach.

Cover: Exploring Magnetic Properties

In Microscale Extraction of Liquid Oxygen from a Cryogenic Mixture Formed through Condensation of Ambient Air, Jeffrey Statler describes a simple and inexpensive demonstration, in which small amounts of liquid oxygen can be safely collected and observed through condensation using a small neodymium magnet. Several techniques are suggested that allow for efficient handling and display of the magnet used for the extraction. The cover shows a small neodymium magnet suspended from the end of a bent paper clip, extracting liquid oxygen from a cryogenic mixture by virtue of its paramagnetism. The cryogenic mixture was collected in 25 minutes via condensation from air into a previously empty test tube as it was partially submersed in liquid nitrogen. Other articles in this issue that explore magnetic properties include:

Synthesizing and Playing with Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Comprehensive Approach to Amazing Magnetic Materials ~ Anne-Laure Dalverny, Géraldine Leyral, Florence Rouessac, Laurent Bernaud, and Jean-Sébastien Filhol

Demonstrating Hund’s Rule in Action by Exploring the Magnetic Properties of Metal Complexes with 3dⁿ and 4fⁿ Configurations ~ Sean N. Natoli and David R. McMillin

Commentaries

Melanie M. Cooper of Michigan State University discusses The Replication Crisis and Chemistry Education Research in her editorial. 

Barbara Cascella and Joseph M. Jez of Washington University examine Beyond the Teaching Assistantship: CURE Leadership as a Training Platform for Future Faculty. 

Examining Outreach Practices

Characterizing the Landscape: Collegiate Organizations’ Chemistry Outreach Practices ~ Justin M. Pratt and Ellen J. Yezierski  (this article is available to non-subscribers as part of ACS’s Editors’ Choice program.)

Spectroscopy

Development of the Flame Test Concept Inventory: Measuring Student Thinking about Atomic Emission ~ Stacey Lowery Bretz and Ana Vasquez Murata Mayo

iSpec: A Web-Based Activity for Spectroscopy Teaching ~ Thomas Vosegaard

Demonstrating Principles of Spectrophotometry by Constructing a Simple, Low-Cost, Functional Spectrophotometer Utilizing the Light Sensor on a Smartphone ~ Bill S. Hosker

Colorimetric Measurements of Amylase Activity: Improved Accuracy and Efficiency with a Smartphone ~ Manchuta Dangkulwanich, Kaness Kongnithigarn, and Nattapat Aurnoppakhun

UV–Vis Spectrophotometric Analysis and Quantification of Glyphosate for an Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Laboratory ~ Daniel E. Felton, Martina Ederer, Timothy Steffens, Patricia L. Hartzell, and Kristopher V. Waynant

A Low-Cost Time-Resolved Spectrometer for the Study of Ruby Emission ~ George C. McBane, Christian Cannella, and Stephanie Schaertel

Understanding Chemical Changes over Time

Analyzing General Chemistry Texts’ Treatment of Rates of Change Concepts in Reaction Kinetics Reveals Missing Conceptual Links ~ Sherry Seethaler, John Czworkowski, and Lynda Wynn

Geometrical Description of Chemical Equilibrium and Le Châtelier’s Principle: Two-Component Systems ~ Igor Novak

Asymmetric Aldol Additions: A Guided-Inquiry Laboratory Activity on Catalysis ~ Jorge H. Torres King, Hong Wang, and Ellen J. Yezierski

Experimental Determination of Activation Energy of Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution on Porphyrins ~ Waqar Rizvi, Emaad Khwaja, Saim Siddiqui, N. V. S. Dinesh K. Bhupathiraju, and Charles Michael Drain

Laboratory Curriculum Reform

Relating Chemistry to Healthcare and MORE: Implementation of MORE in a Survey Organic and Biochemistry Course for Prehealth Students ~ Lianne Schroeder, Joshua Bierdz, Donald J. Wink, Maripat King, Patrick L. Daubenmire, and Ginevra A. Clark

Teaching Analytical Chemistry to Pharmacy Students: A Combined, Iterative Approach ~ Jinit Masania, Martin Grootveld, and Philippe B. Wilson

Transforming the Organic Chemistry Lab Experience: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Reformed Experimental Activities—REActivities ~ Christina G. Collison, Thomas Kim, Jeremy Cody, Jason Anderson, Brian Edelbach, William Marmor, Rodgers Kipsang, Charles Ayotte, Daniel Saviola, and Justin Niziol

From Cookbook to Research: Redesigning an Advanced Biochemistry Laboratory ~ Debra Boyd-Kimball and Keith R. Miller

Teaching Scientific Communication

Preparing Chemistry Majors for the 21st Century through a Comprehensive One-Semester Course Focused on Professional Preparation, Contemporary Issues, Scientific Communication, and Research Skills ~ Anne E. Marteel-Parrish and James M. Lipchock

Stepwise Approach To Writing Journal-Style Lab Reports in the Organic Chemistry Course Sequence ~ Jay Wm. Wackerly

Write My Next Lecture: Prelecture Problem Classes and In-Lecture Discussion To Assist Case-Study Teaching of Synthesis ~ Richard A. R. Blackburn

Analytical Chemistry Activities

Incorporating Student Design in an HPLC Lab Activity Promotes Student Metacognition and Argumentation ~ Ryan S. Bowen, Danielle R. Picard, Susan Verberne-Sutton, and Cynthia J. Brame

Using Photocatalytic Oxidation and Analytic Techniques To Remediate Lab Wastewater Containing Methanol ~ Qing Xiong, Mingliang Luo, Xiaoming Bao, Yurong Deng, Song Qin, and Xuemei Pu

Biochemistry Laboratories

Bisubstrate Kinetics of Glutathione S-Transferase: A Colorimetric Experiment for the Introductory Biochemistry Laboratory ~ Lazaros Stefanidis, Krystal V. Scinto, Monica I. Strada, and Benjamin J. Alper

Biological Interaction of Molybdenocene Dichloride with Bovine Serum Albumin Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy ~ Moralba Domínguez, José E. Cortés-Figueroa, and Enrique Meléndez

Experimental Determination of pK_a Values and Metal Binding for Biomolecular Compounds Using ³¹P NMR Spectroscopy ~ Mason A. Swartz, Philip J. Tubergen, Chad D. Tatko, and Rachael A. Baker

3D Printing Molecular Models

A Simplified Method for the 3D Printing of Molecular Models for Chemical Education ~ Oliver A. H. Jones and Michelle J. S. Spencer

MolPrint3D: Enhanced 3D Printing of Ball-and-Stick Molecular Models ~ Paul J. Paukstelis

From the Archives: Chemistry Outreach

In the article, Characterizing the Landscape: Collegiate Organizations’ Chemistry Outreach Practices (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS’s Editors’ Choice program), Justin M. Pratt and Ellen J. Yezierski examine practitioners’ expected outcomes of outreach events, the types of activities and chemistry content widely practiced, and how outreach practitioners evaluate the success of events. The top three most frequently mentioned activities have been discussed extensively in past issues of JCE:

using liquid nitrogen (including making ice cream)

I Scream, You Scream…: A New Twist on the Liquid Nitrogen Demonstrations ~ Brian P. Coppola, James W. Hovick, and Douglas S. Daniels

The Joys of Liquid Nitrogen ~ William T. Nolan and Thaddeus J. Gish

elephant toothpaste reaction(catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide)

Demonstration of the Catalytic Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide ~ Alfred R. Conklin Jr. and Angela Kessinger

Modified Demonstration of the Catalytic Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide ~ Carlos Alexander Trujillo, Edward Senkbeil, and Paul Krause 

the creation of slime (gelation of polyvinyl alcohol with borax)

The Gelation of Polyvinyl Alcohol with Borax ~ E.Z. Casassa, A.M. Sarquis, and C.H. Van Dyke

Using Greener Gels To Explore Rheology ~ Brendan Garrett, Avtar S. Matharu, and Glenn A. Hurst

What's Gluep? Characterizing a Cross-Linked Polymer ~ JCE staff

Thousands of Reasons to Explore JCE 

With well over 1,000 issues of the Journal of Chemical Education to examine, you will always find 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.

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.