Good visual ppt demo?
In gen chem we demonstrate the wonders of a precipitation reaction using the very nice, very visual, and very un-green Lead Nitrate + Potassium Iodide demo.
Forums
7 Things Students Need to Know About Solids
I had an extended conversation with a colleague over the weekend about what he (as a non-solid state chemist) should convey to students about solids. Happily, this conversation was made all the more pleasant by L'énorme (GIANT cone of Belgian fries) and some good beer. Here's what I think are the 7 things that students should know about solids coming out of an inorganic chemistry course. Maybe you don't have time or expertise do all 7, but some is better than none.
Forums
Tags
Coordination Chemistry in Gen Chem?
I was wondering how many folks include basic coordination chemistry in their General Chemistry course? Perhaps I will put together a poll on this topic. I used to teach coordination chemistry in Gen Chem, but it has since been removed in favor of more organic chemistry (eek!) that is more relevant for our contextual themes for the fall semester. Since I teach a 200-level (2nd year) inorganic course, I do not miss it too much in Gen Chem. I know that I will still have a chance to sink early inorganic hooks into our students. But it does mean that some of our students, most notably
Forums
Book reviews?
Is there anyone out there who would be interested/able to write a short review (and post it to the textbook review section of VIPEr) of either Glen E. Rodgers "Descriptive Inorganic" book or House and House's "Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry"? They're both published by Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.
Forums
Sources for tested computational chemistry student exercises?
Does anyone have some good sources for tested computational chemistry student exercises for inorganic chemistry? I know there are some good examples at the CCCE site: http://www.computationalscience.org/ccce/about/labs/labs.php and also some using WebMO at http://www.webmo.net/curriculum/index.html but most of these use organic reactions or structures as examples. I also notice that there's a couple examples on this site of computational extensions of some oft
Forums
pKa prediction for oxyacids (oxoacids?)
I have in my notes from 9 years ago, this handy equation for prediction of pKa's for oxyacids. I was using Huheey at the time, and the equation isn't there. In fact, I can't find it ANYWHERE. I am certain that I did not develop this equation.... Does anyone recognize it? Where is it from? And which electronegativity values does it use?
pKa ~ 10.5 -5n - (chi)X
for
(HO)mX(O)n; chi is the electronegativity of the central atom X, n is the number of oxos.
Forums
MO diagrams for NO and CO
OK, so we all love the homonuclear diatomics, and how the 2p sigma is *below* the 2p pi for O2 and F2, almost equal at N2, and above 2p pi for C2, B2, etc.
CO looks a lot like N2, but it's asymmetric...the 2p sigma is the HOMO. Disturbingly, the gap seems to be *larger* than in N2...why is that?!? Being isoelectronic, it seems like it should be about the same, but there should be *more* contribution from the oxygen orbitals in the *bonding* orbitals since O is more electronegative than C.
Forums
MacGyver problems
Story problems are often contrived. Puns are often unappreciated. But, if you can't have fun at work, why go to work at all! I like these kind of problems, since they usually make it clear which students are paying attention and which ones are just memorizing the facts. You need to internalize the information to answer these types of questions. Here are some of my faves from our first year course in the equilibrium section. Please post yours, or better yet, submit it as a learning object! You can expect to find these on the site shortly under the problem set question section.
Forums
Inorganic TA seeks single crystal compound for undergraduate lab synthesis, non-trivial structure solution, and maybe more.
I am looking for a straightforward synthesis of good single crystals for our Inorganic Chemistry students (juniors and seniors) to make in lab and then use to learn about collecting structural data and solving the single crystal structure using our software. The compound should be safe, stable, and easy to handle. It can be (but doesn't need to be) a molecular compound, and should be more complex than a simple salt. If anyone has ideas, suggestions, or recommendations, I would love to hear them. Thank you!
Forums
What's Your Favorite Lecture?
After introducing my Gen Chem students to the Quantum Mechanical Model of the Atom today and waiting...waiting for that lovely question..."but how does an electron get from one side of the p orbital to the other?", I decided this might be my favorite lecture of the semester.
Forums