In my sophomore level inorganic course, I have experimented with the idea of a living syllabus as a way to develop my own specific learning objectives and to help the students connect the material to the tasks that will be expected of them in assessing their learning.
This spoof of the song "Isn't It Ironic" (by Alanis Morissette) summarizes the properties of ionic compounds in verse. Suitable for General Chemistry classes as well as Inorganic Chemistry, although a reference is made to the Born-Meyer equation.
These Five Slides About examine the structure and function of the iron binding and transport protein transferrin. Students learn that transferrin also acts as an iron buffer and as a potential antimicrobial agent. The structure of the protein is explored in detail; it consists of a single polypeptide (80kDa) folded into two lobes, each of which can bind a single iron in a high affinity region. Changes in the protein as a result of iron uptake is discussed. The iron binding region and the requirement of a bidentate synergistic anion (carbonate) are examined.
Over several decades of teaching General Chemistry I have utilized various methods to get students to draw appropriate Lewis Dot Structures. About 10 years ago I learned about a process which I call the "Account Ledger Method". In this method all valence electrons are assumed to initially belong to the molecule (and placed in a ledger) and not to specific individual atoms. As the molecule is put together those electrons are distributed systematically and removed from the ledger.
In this literature discussion, students read a paper about a cobalt metallopeptide that imitates the active site of the enzyme nitrile hydratase. Specifically, the model complex is oxidized by air to produce a coordination sphere with both cysteine thiolate and sulfinic acid ligands, much like the post-translationally oxidized cysteine ligands in the biological system.
This is a literature discussion based on the paper “Spectroscopic Elucidation of the Inhibitory Mechanism of Cys2
This activity is designed to give students a deeper understanding of what post-translational modification does in a metalloenzyme using nitrile hydratase (NHase) as a model system. The metallo-active site of NHase contains a cobalt(III) center that is bound to an unusual coodination sphere containing bis-amidate, cysteinate, sulfenate (RSO-), and sulfinate (RSO2-) ligands.
This is a fun chemistry project where students make model compounds to learn various structural aspects of the compound. This is an individual project that is each student is assigned with one compound. They can use any item (for e.g. Styrofoam balls etc) to make their very own model compound. The model should contain all the atoms (visually distinctive), bonds, lone pairs. Student is expected to create something novel rather using molecular model kit. They can use text book and lecture material for the resources.
This in-class activity is to introduce the pairing of diatomic MO diagrams and photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). I will be testing this out in the fall, and will post how it goes.
In this literature discussion, students are asked to read an article describing a series of uranyl halide compounds that contain an alkali counterion that interacts with one or more of the uranium's ligand atoms. This paper stands out as a great example of the binding preferences of acids and bases, and can be explained very well using simple HSAB concepts.