Student choice literature-based take home exam question

Submitted by Hilary Eppley / DePauw University on Fri, 01/24/2014 - 15:27
Description

During my junior/senior level inorganic course, we did several guided literature discussions over the course of the semester where the students read papers and answered a series of questions based on them (some from this site!).  As part of my take home final exam, I gave the students an open choice literature analysis question where they had the chance to integrate topics from the semester into their interpretation of a recent paper of their own choice from Inorganic Chemistry, this time with limited guidance.

The Iron that Keeps and Kills Us
Description

This in-class activity requires that the students read an article in The Atlantic about an interesting (and modern) case of the plague.  The article provides a great platform to showcase the Inorganic side of broad societal themes like evolutionary biology, environmental and hereditary influences on disease, and the collaboration between biology, medicine, and history.  The article itself contains little chemistry, but can be used to guide students into learning about iron in bioinorganic chemistry.

 

Accompanying article found here:

Katherine Franz / Duke University, Department of Chemistry Mon, 09/16/2013 - 14:10

Building hybrid nanoparticles

Submitted by Angela Jovanovic-Bischof / Penn State on Thu, 06/27/2013 - 15:02
Description

This in-class activity was created at the NSF-TUES sponsored workshop at Penn State, June 2013.  It is based on the article from Ray Schaak’s group (Buck, Matthew R.; Bondi, James F.; Schaak, Raymond E. “A total-synthesis framework for the construction of high-order colloidal hybrid nanoparticles” Nature Chemistry 2012, 4, 37-44, DOI: 10.1038/NCHEM.1195), which Ray presented at the workshop.

QSAR and Inorganic Chemistry

Submitted by Vanessa / Albion College on Thu, 06/27/2013 - 14:59
Description

This presentation provides a short introduction to Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships and its use in Inorganic Chemistry. A brief introduction to Linear-Free Energy Relationships and the Hammett Equation is given, followed by three examples of how QSARs have been used in inorganic chemistry. 

Literature summary through student presentation - free choice of topic.

Submitted by Cameron Gren / University of North Alabama on Wed, 06/26/2013 - 07:59
Description

(1) Student choses and reads a journal article of his/her choice that is related to a topic we have discussed during the semester. (i.e. atomic structure, MO theory, group theory, solid state structure, band theory, coordination chemistry, organometallics, catalysis). Suggested journals include, but are not limited to JACS, Inorg. Chem., Organometallics, Angew. Chem., JOMC, Chem. Comm.)

(2) Student answers the following questions regarding their chosen article:

    (a) Describe, in 1 or 2 sentences the goal of this work. 

Chemical Acrostics for Fun and Active Learning
Description

Chemical acrostic is used as a teaching tool in descriptive inorganic chemistry. This is an active learning approach to engage the students with a fun classroom activity. The acrostics are designed by Simon Cotton and published in the Royal Society of Chemistry's education resource magazine "The Mole." The students are divided into groups of two or three to work on the acrostics. To come up with the answers, the students engage in meaningful group discussions that enhance conceptual understanding.

Charles Mebi / Arkansas Tech University Tue, 06/25/2013 - 06:14

Lithium Diazenide Surprise!

Submitted by Maggie Geselbracht / Reed College on Fri, 05/31/2013 - 23:00
Description

Students in a sophomore-level inorganic chemistry course were asked to read the paper “High-Pressure Synthesis and Characterization of the Alkali Diazenide Li2N2” (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 1873-1875. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201108252) in preparation for a class discussion.  For many students, this was a first exposure to reading the primary literature. 

Online Courses Directory

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Mon, 04/01/2013 - 07:41
Description

This website is a free and comprehensive resource that is a collection of open college courses that spans videos, audio lectures, and notes given by professors at a variety of universities. The website is designed to be friendly and designed to be easily accessed on any mobile device.

Dioxygen Activation in Non-heme Iron Enzymes

Submitted by Gerard Rowe / University of South Carolina Aiken on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 09:26
Description

This lecture provides a short introduction to the other half of biological iron chemistry:  enzymes that do not contain a porphyrin group that ligates the iron atom.  There are several important applications for non-heme iron in cells, both mammalian and bacterial.  Oxygen activating non-heme iron enzymes fall into a few basic categories and includes mononuclear iron monooxygenases and dioxygenases, and binuclear iron monooxygenases. The requirements to activate and utilize dioxygen will be given.

Exploring the Nanoworld Innovating through Materials from the University of Wisconsin Madison

Submitted by Patricia Stan / Taylor University on Thu, 07/19/2012 - 13:29
Description

This is a great web resource for all types of nano materials.  There are lesson plans, demos, activites, labs and lots of background information.  It is very easy to navigate and there are videos of the labs so you can see each step - very useful when doing a type of synthesis or technique new to you.

Subscribe to Descriptive chemistry