Teaching and Learning: A Team Effort
The June 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: Characterizing Color; Inquiry-Based Activities and Projects; Learning with Games; Culturally Relevant Chemistry; Exploring the Design and Building of Instrumentation; Teaching Nanochemistry; Laboratory Experiments; Computational Chemistry; Chemical Education Research; Teaching Resources; Banking on the Archives: Using Currency To Teach Chemistry; Call for Papers: Chemical Safety Education.
Cover: Characterizing Color
In "Characterizing Color with Reflectance", Simeen Sattar discusses how affordable, hand-held, fiber-optic reflectance spectrophotometers make it possible to advance students’ understanding of color. Reflectance spectra provide graphical information about color, whereas CIE L*a*b* color coordinates describe color quantitatively. The cover shows CIE color coordinates a* (green to red) and b* (blue to yellow) plotted for a selection of pigments (filled circles) and paint swatches (open circles) prepared by students.
For an additional exploration of reflectrography, art, and chemistry in this issue, see: Adapted-Consumer-Technology Approach to Making Near-Infrared-Reflectography Visualization of Paintings and Murals Accessible to a Wider Audience ~ Alexa Torres and McKenzie A. Floyd
Editorial: Flipped Instruction Revisited
Editor-in-Chief, Norbert Pienta examines recent findings on “flipped instruction” and how to prepare to teach a flipped class in his editorial, Introductory Chemistry Using the “Flipped” Environment: An Update.
Inquiry-Based Activities and Projects
Electrochemistry with Simple Materials to Create Designs and Write Messages ~ Thomas S. Kuntzleman
STEM Activities in Determining Stoichiometric Mole Ratios for Secondary-School Chemistry Teaching ~ Patcharee Chonkaew, Boonnak Sukhummek, and Chatree Faikhamta
BYOL: Bring Your Own Lime Hands-On Laboratory Experience ~ Mikhail Kurushkin, Chantal Tracey, and Maria Mikhaylenko
Lipase-Catalyzed Esterification: An Inquiry-Based Laboratory Activity To Promote High School Students’ Understanding and Positive Perceptions of Green Chemistry ~ Prempree Duangpummet, Pimchai Chaiyen, and Pirom Chenprakhon
One Discovery Leads to Another: An Interactive Summer Workshop on Sensors for Ninth Grade Students ~ Amie E. Norton, Jessica M. Ringo, Spencer Hendrickson, Jennifer M. McElveen, Francis J. May, and William B. Connick
Recipe for Developing High-School Research Projects Illustrated by a Student’s Interpretation of Historical Metal Casting ~ Roxanne P. Spencer and Yingyi Liang
Learning with Games
PChem Challenge Game: Reinforcing Learning in Physical Chemistry ~ Tugba G. Kucukkal and Ajda Kahveci
Chem and Roll: A Roll and Write Game To Illustrate Chemical Engineering and the Contact Process ~ Nicolas Dietrich
Culturally Relevant Chemistry
“A Is for Aspirin” Theme Prelab Video Resource in Foundation Organic Chemistry for General Health Sciences Training in Namibia ~ Timothy Rennie, Hilja Eelu, Monde Lusepani, Tuwilika Keendjele, Emily Julka, and Christian J. Hunter
Developing and Piloting Culturally Relevant Chemistry Pedagogy: Computer-Based VSEPR and Unit Cell Lesson Plans from Collaborative Exchange in East Africa ~ Philip P. Rodenbough and Majuto Clement Manyilizu
Exploring the Design and Building of Instrumentation
Simplified Low-Cost Colorimetry for Education and Public Engagement ~ J. O’Donoghue
Accurate, Photoresistor-Based, Student-Built Photometer and Its Application to the Forensic Analysis of Dyes ~ Anna L. Adams-McNichol, Rayf C. Shiell, and David A. Ellis
μdroPi: A Hand-Held Microfluidic Droplet Imager and Analyzer Built on Raspberry Pi ~ Meng Sun, Zhengda Li, and Qiong Yang
Design, Fabrication, and Optical Characterization of a Low-Cost and Open-Source Spin Coater ~ Mohammad Sadegh-cheri
Setup for Semimicro Pressure Filtration ~ Bruno Lunelli and Massimo Baroncini
Teaching Nanochemistry
Nanotechnology Course Designed for Non-Science Majors To Promote Critical Thinking and Integrative Learning Skills ~ Ellane J. Park
Exposure to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Using Guided-Inquiry-Based Activities with Silica Aerogel To Promote High School Students’ Motivation ~ Wichai Lati, Darapond Triampo, and Supan Yodyingyong
Electrodeposition of Silver Micro- and Nanoscale Wires in the Capillaries of PDMS Stamps Modified with Hydrophilic Polymers ~ Wesley C. Sanders, Glen Johnson, Ron Valcarce, Peter Iles, Hunter Fourt, Kyne Drystan, Dakota Edwards, Jarom Vernon, Spencer Ashworth, Amar Barucija, and Zachary Curtis
Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production over CdS Nanomaterials: An Interdisciplinary Experiment for Introducing Undergraduate Students to Photocatalysis and Analytical Chemistry ~ Xin Li, Yanping Deng, Zhimin Jiang, Rongchen Shen, Jun Xie, Wei Liu, and Xiaobo Chen
Laboratory Experiments
Effect of Chemical and Physical Modifications on the Wettability of Polydimethylsiloxane Surfaces ~ Carolyn L. Wanamaker, Brittany S. Neff, Azieta Nejati-Namin, Erin R. Spatenka, and Mong-Lin Yang
Understanding Thermodynamic Control in Covalent Self-Assembly: A Mixed Synthetic–Computational Experiment for the Undergraduate Organic-Chemistry Laboratory ~ Adam G. L. Schafer, Ellen J. Yezierski, and C. Scott Hartley
Using Transition-Metal Complexes as Catalysts for Radical Addition Reactions: A Laboratory Experiment Demonstrating the Important Role of Catalysts in an Organic Transformation Reaction ~ Journi E. Burke, Emily A. Khoury, Grant J. Koskay, Christopher J. LeWarne, Emily A. Reeson, Katherine L. Sandquist, Kayode D. Oshin, and Matthias Zeller
Chemical Bioconjugation of Proteins in an Undergraduate Lab: One-Pot Oxidation and Derivatization of the N-Terminus ~ Nicholas D. J. Yates, Robin L. Brabham, Richard J. Spears, Tessa Keenan, Philip A. Helliwell, David S. Pugh, Alison Parkin, Glenn A. Hurst, and Martin A. Fascione
Bioinspired Polydopamine Synthesis and Its Electrochemical Characterization ~ María T. Cortés, Christian Vargas, Diego A. Blanco, Ingrid D. Quinchanegua, Cristian Cortés, and Andres M. Jaramillo
Using the Luminescence and Ion Sensing Experiment of a Lanthanide Metal–Organic Framework to Deepen and Extend Undergraduates’ Understanding of the Antenna Effect ~ Min Yuan, Qun Tang, Ying Lu, Zhong Zhang, Xiao-Hui Li, Shu-Mei Liu, Xiu-Wei Sun, and Shu-Xia Liu
Computational Chemistry
3D-Printing Electron Density Isosurface Models and High-Resolution Molecular Models Based on van der Waals Radii ~ Anna S. Grumman and Felix A. Carroll
Empirically Corrected Electronic Structure Calculations Applied to the Enthalpy of Combustion Physical Chemistry Laboratory ~ James W. Mazzuca, Alexis R. Downing, and Christopher Potter
A Quantitative Explanation of the Dynamics Underlying the Franck–Condon Principle: A Mostly Classical Viewpoint ~ Marcus J. Thompson and Michael Messina
Chemical Education Research
The Evaluation of a Hybrid, General Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum: Impact on Students’ Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor Learning ~ Kory M. Enneking, Graham R. Breitenstein, Amelia F. Coleman, James H. Reeves, Yishi Wang, and Nathaniel P. Grove
Getting Past the Rules and to the WHY: Causal Mechanistic Arguments When Judging the Plausibility of Organic Reaction Mechanisms ~ Nicholas E. Bodé, Jacky M. Deng, and Alison B. Flynn
Development of a Method for Imputation of Missing Data Using ACS Exams as a Prototype ~ Keith A. Marek, Jeffrey R. Raker, and Kristen L. Murphy
Teaching Resources
Disseminating a Free, Practical Java Tool To Interactively Generate and Edit 2D Chemical Structures ~ Andreas Hofmann, Mark J. Coster, and Paul Taylor
Corrections to The Pauli Principle: Effects on the Wave Function Seen through the Lens of Orbital Overlap ~ David R. McMillin
Banking on the Archives: Using Currency To Teach Chemistry
The June issue includes a demonstration of shrinking paper money, a captivating and memorable demonstration that can be carried out using minimal equipment and reagents. How To Shrink Paper Money: A Macroscopic Demonstration of the Malaprade Reaction by E. Brandon Strong, Brittany A. Lore, Emily R. Christensen, Nathaniel W. Martinez, and Andres W. Martinez includes a video showing the procedure and a time lapse of the demonstration. Some other examples of currency in the service of chemistry from past issues include:
Teaching Experimental Design Using a GC-MS Analysis of Cocaine on Money: A Cross-Disciplinary Laboratory ~ Christopher A. Heimbuck and Nathan W. Bower
What Is in Your Wallet? Quantitation of Drugs of Abuse on Paper Currency with a Rapid LC–MS/MS Method ~ Patrick D. Parker, Brandon Beers, and Matthew J. Vergne
On ChemEdX:Attempts to Detect Cocaine on Money: A Great Exploration for National Chemistry Week 2016 ~ Tom Kuntzleman
Give Them Money: The Boltzmann Game, a Classroom or Laboratory Activity Modeling Entropy Changes and the Distribution of Energy in Chemical Systems ~ Bridget Michalek and Robert M. Hanson
On ChemEdX: Boltzmann Bucks—Helping Students Conceptualize Entropy ~ Ben Meacham
Call for Papers: Chemical Safety Education: Methods, Culture, and Green Chemistry
A Special Issue on Chemical Safety Education: Methods, Culture, and Green Chemistry with guest editors, Scott R. Goode, Jane E. Wissinger, and Frankie Wood-Black, has been announced. Deadline for submissions is February 3, 2020.
JCE and You: A Team Effort
With over 96 volumes of articles to explore, you can team up with JCE to find 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 Author Guidelines and Document Templates. In addition, the ACS Publishing Center, has resources for preparing and reviewing manuscripts for ACS journals.