Cultivating Chemical Curiosity
The September 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: exploring the chemistry of natural materials; research in chemical education; undergraduate research and project-based laboratories; innovative organic chemistry teaching; organic laboratory instruction; analytical chemistry investigations and instrumentation; nanochemistry; inorganic chemistry; teaching kinetics; exploring kinetic-molecular theory; from the archives: biodiesel.
Cover: Exploring the Chemistry of Natural Materials
In Chemical Curiosity on Campus: An Undergraduate Project on the Structure and Wettability of Natural Surfaces, Anthony Katselas, Alice Motion, Chiara O’Reilly, and Chiara Neto describe a student-focused experiment in which undergraduates investigate the wettability of natural surfaces and explore concepts of surface structure, wettability, superhydrophobic surfaces, and self-cleaning. Students choose local samples of leaves and flowers, examine the surface structure and chemistry of these materials by microscopy and contact angle measurements, and, using their understanding of the literature on the wettability of rough surfaces, relate the two while discovering the beauty and functionality of natural surfaces.
For another article in this issue that explores surface chemistry, see:
Bouncing Droplets: A Hands-On Activity To Demonstrate the Properties and Applications of Superhydrophobic Surface Coatings ~ Carolina Cionti, Tommaso Taroni, and Daniela Meroni
Additional articles in this issue that explore chemistry through the plants, leaves, and flowers include:
Educational Modules for Increasing Indigenous Australian Students’ Involvement in Chemistry ~ Colin A. Scholes
Reversed Phase High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography of Aqueous Samples in Student Laboratories Using the Example of Anthocyanin Patterns from Flower Petals ~ Rudolf Binder and Carina Lämmle
Flower Color Change Demonstration as a Visualization of Potential Harmful Effects Associated with Ammonia Gas on Living Organisms ~ Andrzej Sienkiewicz, Iwona Rusinek, Anna Siatecka, and Sonia Losada-Barreiro
Teaching Collaborations and Scientific Practices through a Vertically Scaffolded Biodiesel Laboratory Experience ~ Kelly Y. Neiles, Geoffrey M. Bowers, Daniel T. Chase, Amanda VerMeulen, Douglas E. Hovland, Elan Bresslour-Rashap, Leah Eller, and Andrew S. Koch
Introducing Students to Fundamental Chemistry Concepts and Basic Research through a Chemistry of Fashion Course for Nonscience Majors ~ Karen A. Tallman
Commentary on Contextualizing Chemical Education Research
Jon-Marc G. Rodriguez and Marcy H. Towns of Purdue University provide suggestions to help researchers contextualize their work for practitioners in Alternative Use for the Refined Consensus Model of Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Suggestions for Contextualizing Chemistry Education Research
Research in Chemical Education
Development of the Enthalpy and Entropy in Dissolution and Precipitation Inventory ~ Timothy N. Abell and Stacey Lowery Bretz
Drawing for Assessing Learning Outcomes in Chemistry ~ Stephanie A. C. Ryan and Mike Stieff
Investigating Student Understanding of London Dispersion Forces: A Longitudinal Study ~ Keenan Noyes and Melanie M. Cooper
Transitioning to ebooks: Using Interaction Theory as a Lens To Characterize General Chemistry Students’ Use of Course Resources ~ Elizabeth L. Day and Norbert J. Pienta
Undergraduate Research and Project-Based Laboratories
Translatable Research Group-Based Undergraduate Research Program for Lower-Division Students ~ Matthew R. Hauwiller, Justin C. Ondry, Jason J. Calvin, Anne M. Baranger, and A. Paul Alivisatos
Teaching Research Best Practices through Early Career Experiential Learning ~ Paul A. E. Piunno, Michael deBraga, Troy A. Dexter, and Marc Laflamme
Implementing a Practical, Bachelor’s-Level Design-Based Learning Course To Improve Chemistry Students’ Scientific Dissemination Skills ~ Michael G. Debije (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS AuthorChoice program)
Design and Implementation of a Six-Session CURE Module Using Biofilms to Explore the Chemistry–Biology Interface ~ Sabrina H. Werby and Lynette Cegelski
Monoclonal Antibody Production: A Project-Based Laboratory Program for Final Year Biotechnology Undergraduate Students ~ Andrew J. Lindsay
Innovative Organic Chemistry Teaching
Organic Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything (OCLUE): A Transformed Organic Chemistry Curriculum ~ Melanie M. Cooper, Ryan L. Stowe, Olivia M. Crandell, and Michael W. Klymkowsky (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS Editors’ Choice program)
Adapting Meaningful Learning Strategies for an Introductory Laboratory Course: Using Thin-Layer Chromatography to Monitor Reaction Progress ~ Nancy Wu, Ariana O. Hall, Sameer Phadke, Danielle M. Zurcher, Rachel L. Wallace, Carol Ann Castañeda, and Anne J. McNeil
Chemical Exploration with Virtual Reality in Organic Teaching Laboratories ~ Jonathon B. Ferrell, Joseph P. Campbell, Dillon R. McCarthy, Kyle T. McKay, Magenta Hensinger, Ramya Srinivasan, Xiaochuan Zhao, Alexander Wurthmann, Jianing Li, and Severin T. Schneebeli
You’ve Got Mail (and Homework): Simple Strategies for Promoting Student Engagement with Prelecture Videos ~ Robert L. Woodward and Carolyn S. Reid
Introducing Diversity through an Organic Approach ~ Irosha N. Nawarathne
Organic Laboratory Instruction
Benchtop NMR Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis of the cis- and trans-Stilbene Products of the Wittig Reactionn ~ Mark Edgar, Benita C. Percival, Miles Gibson, Jinit Masania, Ken Beresford, Philippe B. Wilson, and Martin Grootveld
Three Ways to Polyamides: The Impact of Polymerization Mechanism on Polymer Properties ~ Elizabeth S. Sterner
Shedding Blue Light on the Undergraduate Laboratory: An Easy-to-Assemble LED Photoreactor for Aromatization of a 1,4-Dihydropyridine ~ David A. Contreras-Cruz, Margarita Cantú-Reyes, Juan M. García-Sánchez, Daniel Peña-Ortíz, Miguel A. Sánchez-Carmona, and Luis D. Miranda
Analytical Chemistry Investigations and Instrumentation
Designing ColorX, Image Processing Software for Colorimetric Determination of Concentration, To Facilitate Students’ Investigation of Analytical Chemistry Concepts Using Digital Imaging Technology ~ Silvija Šafranko, Pavo Živković, Anamarija Stanković, Martina Medvidović-Kosanović, Aleksandar Széchenyi, and Stela Jokić
New Activity for Instrumental Analysis: Laser Beam Profiling ~ Katherine Purvis, Richard Cisek, and Danielle Tokarz
Comparing Free Radicals in Sunscreen-Treated Pig Skin by Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ~ Rosalynn Quiñones, Derrick R. J. Kolling, Deben Shoup, Amanda L. Smythers, Sarah Nickel, Tamara D. Westfall, Courtney Epperly, and Miranda Coplin
Nanochemistry
Workshop on Environmental Nanosafety: Biological Interactions of Plastic Nanoparticles ~ Tommy Cedervall, Mikael T. Ekvall, Karin Mattsson, and Martin Lundqvist
Novel Experimental Modules To Introduce Students to Nanoparticle Characterization in a Chemical Engineering Course ~ Amid Vahedi and Amir M. Farnoud
Inorganic Chemistry
Custom-Printed 3D Models for Teaching Molecular Symmetry ~ Brian K. Niece
Teaching Kinetics
Michaelis–Menten Graphs, Lineweaver–Burk Plots, and Reaction Schemes: Investigating Introductory Biochemistry Students’ Conceptions of Representations in Enzyme Kinetics ~ Jon-Marc G. Rodriguez, Nicholas P. Hux, Sven J. Philips, and Marcy H. Towns
Using a Guided-Inquiry Approach To Teach Michaelis–Menten Kinetics ~ Jesse A. Phillips, Gregory H. Jones, and Erin V. Iski
Exploring Kinetic-Molecular Theory
Rumford’s Experimental Challenge to Caloric Theory: “Big Science” 18th-Century Style with Important Results for Chemistry and Physics ~ Frederic E. Schubert
Alternative Derivation of the Maxwell Distribution of Speeds ~ Francisco Rivadulla
From the Archives: Biodiesel
Kelly Y. Neiles, Geoffrey M. Bowers, Daniel T. Chase, Amanda VerMeulen, Douglas E. Hovland, Elan Bresslour-Rashap, Leah Eller, and Andrew S. Koch describe Teaching Collaborations and Scientific Practices through a Vertically Scaffolded Biodiesel Laboratory Experience. Biodiesel has been the topic of numerous JCE articles in recent years, including:
Biodiesel and Integrated STEM: Vertical Alignment of High School Biology/Biochemistry and Chemistry ~ Andrea Burrows, Jon Breiner, Jennifer Keiner, Chris Behm
Soybean Oil: Powering a High School Investigation of Biodiesel ~ Paul De La Rosa, Katherine A. Azurin, and Michael F. Z. Page
Synthesis and Determination of Biodiesel: An Experiment for High School Chemistry Laboratory ~ Jun Yang, Chunli Xu, Baoxin Li, Guijia Ren, and Lu Wang
Releasing Stored Solar Energy within Pond Scum: Biodiesel from Algal Lipids ~ Jillian L. Blatti and Michael D. Burkart
Biodiesel from Seeds: An Experiment for Organic Chemistry ~ Steven W. Goldstein
Organic Chemistry and the Native Plants of the Sonoran Desert: Conversion of Jojoba Oil to Biodiesel ~ Lisa V. Daconta, Timothy Minger, Valentina Nedelkova, and John N. Zikopoulos
Showcasing Chemical Engineering Principles through the Production of Biodiesel from Spent Coffee Grounds ~Sophie Bendall, Max Birdsall-Wilson, Rhodri Jenkins, Y.M. John Chew, Christopher J. Chuck
Continuous-Flow Chemistry in Undergraduate Education: Sustainable Conversion of Reclaimed Vegetable Oil into Biodiesel ~ Frank A. Leibfarth, M. Grace Russell, David M. Langley, Hyowon Seo, Liam P. Kelly, Daniel W. Carney, Jason K. Sello, and Timothy F. Jamison
Comparative Analysis of Fuel Composition and Physical Properties of Biodiesel, Diesel, Kerosene, and Jet Fuel ~ Timm A. Knoerzer, Elise M. Hill, Todd A. Davis, Scott T. Iacono, Jane E. Johnson, and Gary J. Balaich
Making Sustainable Biofuels and Sunscreen from Corncobs To Introduce Students to Integrated Biorefinery Concepts and Techniques ~ Hua Zhou, Wang Zhan, Liuyang Wang, Lijun Guo, and Yun Liu
Cultivate Your Curiosity with JCE
Satisfy your curiosity about the teaching and learning of chemistry with over 96 volumes of articles you can explore in the Journal of Chemical Education—including the articles mentioned above. Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable) are also available. (For more information on how to access the articles cited above, see Deanna Cullen’s post on Accessing Cited Articles.)
Do you have something to share? Write it up for the Journal! For example, consider submitting a contribution to the Special Issue on Chemical Safety Education: Methods, Culture, and Green Chemistry (submission deadline: February 3, 2020). Erica Jacobsen’s Commentary provides excellent advice about becoming an author. 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.