Student Literature-Based Organometallic Lecture

Submitted by Jeffrey Rood / Elizabethtown College on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 14:42
Description
I taught an advanced inorganic chemistry course for the first time this past fall. I focused strictly on organometallic chemistry and we used Spessard and Miessler's book. Because this book is focused on transition metal organometallics, I wanted the students to appreciate some of the organometallic chemistry of the s- and p-block (and zinc). Students worked in pairs (the class size was 12) and had most of the semester to research the literature and develop a 40-50 minute lecture. I also had them develop homework questions and an in class activity to help engage the other students.

Synthesis and characterization of 12-tungstosilicic acid - a modification

Submitted by Randall Hicks / Wheaton College on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 23:25
Description
This lab experiment is an update on the synthesis of the title acid. An account of this synthesis can be found in William Jolly's book, The Synthesis and Characterization of Inorganic Compounds. The synthetic procedure is reliable and was retained. However, I modified some content and added components to extend to a two-week experiment. This lab now covers the synthesis, an acid-base titration with error analysis, and the use of TGA to complement the titration results.

First Isolation of the AsP3 Molecule

Submitted by Anne Bentley / Lewis & Clark College on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 13:47
Description

Early in 2009, Christopher Cummins’ group at MIT reported (in Science) the synthesis of AsP3, a compound that had never been isolated at room temperature.  Later that year, a full article was published in JACS comparing the properties and reactivity of AsP3 to those of its molecular cousins, P4 and As4.  The longer article is full of possibilities for discussion in inorganic chemistry courses, with topics including periodic trends, NMR, vibrational spectroscopy, electrochemistry, molecular orbital theory, and coordination chemistry.

Element Jeopardy!

Submitted by Keith Walters / Northern Kentucky University on Thu, 07/15/2010 - 11:44
Description

Like many inorganic faculty (especially those faced with trying to teach "all" of inorganic chemistry in a one-term junior/senior course), I have found it increasingly difficult over the years to include any significant descriptive chemistry content in my course. Moreover, I have a constant interest in trying to convey some of the "story behind the story" in chemistry, which in this area centers on the discovery of the elements. I was mulling this over at an ACS meeting one time and happened to be in an inorganic teaching session where Josh van Houten (St.

Descriptive Chemistry Wikipedia project

Submitted by Lori Watson / Earlham College on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 16:11
Description

Students select, research, and then post an article on an inorganic compound to Wikipedia. The compounds are chosen from a list of “stubs” (short articles that need to be expanded) found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Inorganic_compound_stubs and might include such items as the synthesis, processes of isolation, structure, interesting facts about the compound in history, and/or an application of the compound.

The Chemmies: A Descriptive Chemistry Audio/Video Research Project

Submitted by Neal Yakelis / Pacific Lutheran University on Mon, 03/29/2010 - 01:31
Description

This project was initiated as a way to enhance the descriptive inorganic chemistry unit presented in our General Chemistry II curriculum.  As the time available in the term prohibited the amount of lecture time needed to cover this vast array of material, the idea of a research project allowed for students to investigate an inorganic chemistry topic of keen interest to them over the course of the semester.  A previous term's attempt using a research paper project was quite unpopular, so the idea of a multimedia presentation was devised as an alternative to achieve similar learning goals.  S

The Berry Pseudorotation in PF5

Submitted by Maggie Geselbracht / Reed College on Sat, 03/20/2010 - 00:37
Description

This activity makes use of Jmol animations created by Prof. Marion Cass at Carleton College to illustrate the Berry Pseudorotation in trigonal bipyramidal molecules such as PF5.  Students explore the animations and answer a series of questions that lead to a description of this intramolecular motion that exchanges equatorial and axial atoms in trigonal bipyramidal molecules.  

Link to Jmol animations of Berry Pseudorotation

Bioinorganic Chemistry- Metals in Purely Structural Roles

Submitted by Sheila Smith / University of Michigan- Dearborn on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 14:28
Description
This is a discussion leader to bring students into the topic of "Metals in Biochemistry- Structural Roles" by reminding them of pieces they already know from General Chemistry and other courses.

One hour lanthanides overview

Submitted by Ana de Bettencourt-Dias / University of Nevada, Reno on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 14:51
Description
This is a set of 36 slides with an overview on the history, production, industrial applications, coordination and organometallic chemistry of the lanthanides.  This is a condensed version of a semester long course for graduate students.  It does not include any lanthanides spectroscopy.  Some of the content was obtained from Prof. Jean-Claude Bunzli's lectures on lanthanides and actinides.
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