Limiting Reagent
Description
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 83 477 UST 3 1 585 12.0
Element Jeopardy!
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
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
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
Periodic Table of Haiku
Description
This is a great website that was forwarded to me by a friend. Broaden students' scientific communication skills by condensing the descriptive chemistry of an element down to a haiku.
Interactive Lewis Structures
Description
http://firstyear.chem.usyd.edu.au/iChem/lewis.shtml
A set of Flash-based, interactive tools for students to construct Lewis structures for electron deficient, octet rule obeying and hypervalent MLx molecules and ions (x = 2 - 6).
The user chooses the number of electrons and bond type (single, double or triple) and is steered towards the correct stucture.
For cases where resonance structures are possible, the user must construct each form to complete the puzzle.
Biological and medical examples in intro chem at MIT
Description
I read about these new biology examples for intro chem in a recent Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Washington Wire (December 2009, Issue II). Professor Catherine Drennan from MIT and her colleagues introduced "examples of biological and medical topics that demonstrate chemistry principles into her introductory chemistry lectures to highlight the connection between the fields of biology and medicine, that students often love, and chemistry." Their assessment showed that the examples increased student satisfaction with the course.
Metals in Acid Base Chemistry
Description
This is a simple in class exercise to review acid- base equilibria and to lead the students to thinking about metals as both Lewis and Bronsted- Lowry acids. I use it as a discussion starter when I introduce the role of metals in biological acid/base chemistry in my upper division inorganic course, but it can be used at any level once acid-base equilibria has been covered.
Free Rice...and Periodic Table Symbols?
Description
A neat site that quizzes you on chemical symbols (e.g., Ag for silver), and donates rice for right answers. Hey, if students are going to learn chemical symbols, they may as well do it in a game setting, and many will find it a touch less pointless if they're doing someone else some good at the same time.
Basic Chemistry Review
Description
This website is a self-paced review of concepts for gen chem and includes test questions (and answers) for the reader. It would be a great site to point your intro chem students to if they want/need extra review. It is a set of 10 units, covering things like stoichiometry, unit conversions, and basic acid-base chemistry.