Colored Note Cards as a Quick and Cheap Substitute for Clickers

Submitted by Chris Bradley / Mount St. Mary's University on Tue, 07/17/2012 - 10:23
Description

For many years I have resisted using clickers, mainly because at our university there is no standard universal clicker. I wanted to keep student costs as low as possible but also desired the type of live feedback during a lecture that clicker questions can provide. In both my general chem. (200-300 students) and upper division courses (50-75 students), I now pass out 4 or 5 colored notecards on the first day of class and make sure everyone has one of each color.

Effects of defects on the properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Submitted by Sherri Lovelace-Cameron / Youngstown State University on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 21:49
Description

I teach advanced inorganic chemistry and wanted to find ways to bring in the primary literature, applications, and current research areas.  Students read the article, "Role of Defects in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Chemical Sensors" by Eric S. Snow, Nanoletters 2006, 6 (8) pp.

Writing assignment series related to topics discussed in organometallic chemistry - Assignment 2 Literature Highlights

Submitted by Abby O'Connor / The College of New Jersey on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 15:15
Description

Searching and reading the literature is an important tool in teaching organometallic chemistry. This overall project focuses on the improving students' writing skills and to begin to think critically about articles in the literature through a series of different writing assignments. This project is used in a semester long course on organometallics and reaction mechanisms. The first assignment (this LO) is a summary, the second is related to the NSF highlight, and the third is a literature critique.

Application of Organometallic Chemistry – Breaking the Inert C-H Bond

Submitted by John Lee / University of Tennessee Chattanooga on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 11:39
Description

This learning object is a literature discussion based on a paper published in Nature (Labinger, J. A.; Bercaw, J. E. Nature 2002, 417, 507-514; doi:10.1038/446391a) discussing the mechanisms of C-H activation by transition metal complexes. This is a topic that could be covered at the end of a section on organometallic chemistry that shows a “newer” application.

Assignment of thiocyanate bonding mode by FT-IR data

Submitted by Anne Ryter / Western State Colorado University on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 11:16
Description

This in class activity focuses on the ambidentate ligand thiocyanate.  Students compare data for known compounds to data for unknowns to make the bonding assignments. Data is provided from Baer, C.; Pike, J. J. Chem. Ed. 2010, 87, 724 where the authors  have the students synthesize all the compounds and then complete the data analysis.  My course does not include a lab component but I want the students to use literature to support their learning.

Writing assignment series related to topics discussed in organometallic chemistry - Assignment 1 Literature Summary

Submitted by Abby O'Connor / The College of New Jersey on Mon, 07/16/2012 - 10:58
Description

Searching and reading the literature is an important tool in teaching organometallic chemistry. This overall project focuses on the improving students' writing skills and to begin to think critically about articles in the literature through a series of different writing assignments. This project is used in a semester long course on organometallics and reaction mechanisms. The first assignment (this LO) is a summary, the second is related to the NSF highlight, and the third is a literature critique.

High Energy Density Materials: A laboratory and literature investigation (Christe)

Submitted by Kevin Hoke / Berry College on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 21:12
Description

The synthesis of the nitrogen triiodide ammoniate shock-sensitive explosive is a simple laboratory exercise, but it does require a lengthy time for the material to dry before it is active.  This activity uses that time to have students investigate some simple thermodynamics behind their explosive, as well as consult the literature on high energy density materials from the work of Karl O. Christe.

There is also a shorter version of the activity posted as an in-class activity that omits most of the literature investigation.

Modeling the FeB center in Bacterial Nitric Oxide Reductase: A Reading Guide

Submitted by Sheila Smith / University of Michigan- Dearborn on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 11:52
Description

In 2011, I was fortunate to have Nicolai Lehnert come and speak to my bioinorganic class on his work modeling the FeB (non heme iron) center in bacterial Nitric Oxide reductase.  He suggested this paper to prepare the students for his talk and I developed this reading guide to help them (the students) get more out of the reading.