Journal of Chemical Education最新文献

Since ancient times, man has prepared medicines and used them in healing practices. Therefore, there has always been a great interest in the part of people in general and students in particular about medicines. The “Medicines, the Haute Couture of Pharmacy” summer camp has the objective to promote and improve the literacy in medicines and make participants aware of, and become interested in, pharmaceutical sciences. It is a five-day summer camp where high-school students learn about medicines, how they are constituted, how they work, and how they are formulated. This occurs through hands-on synthesis and isolation of bioactive molecules, namely, acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen, and limonene, and subsequent formulation of pharmaceutical forms such as tablets, capsules, suppositories, and creams. Participant survey responses showed that they are very satisfied with this summer camp and the knowledge acquired, which may help them make their future career choices.

In undergraduate inorganic chemistry, group theory and symmetry principles are used to understand vibrational modes, predict infrared (IR) and Raman bands, and accurately assign and interpret observed spectra. As a fundamental component of undergraduate inorganic chemistry education, group theory provides a foundation for understanding the bonding and spectroscopic features of molecules via symmetry operations. Students are traditionally instructed to visualize symmetry operations using three-dimensional inorganic model kits or as mental visualizations. This often leads to challenges with understanding connections between their visualizations and the associated abstract mathematics contributing to these operations to deduce the vibrational modes and their IR and Raman activity en route to the correct interpretation of the vibrational spectra. With the rising demand to integrate computational coding into undergraduate chemistry curricula to help prepare chemists for the workforce, an interactive notebook, hosted on Google Colaboratory and employing Python programming language, was developed for undergraduate students enrolled in Advanced Inorganic Chemistry. The developed notebook, SymmSpec, uses group theory to predict the IR and Raman activity of VSEPR molecules. With an aim to enhance student understanding of the complex underlying concepts of group theory while also adding introductory elements of computational coding to the curriculum, SymmSpec has been developed to aid undergraduate inorganic students in the visualization of abstract, mathematically based concepts relevant to molecular symmetry. Students enrolled in an Advanced Inorganic Chemistry course at a large research institution were recruited to participate, use the tool, and respond to a survey of their experience.

In philosophy and science, a first principle is a basic proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. Ancient Greek philosophy Aristotle defined the first principle as “the first basis from which a thing is known.” First-principles thinking (or reasoning from first-principles) is a way of thinking and problem-solving that breaks down a complex problem into its most basic assumptions, facts, concepts, or ideas and then reassembles them from the bottom-up. In this paper, we reported our attempts to harness first-principles thinking into problem-based learning (PBL) in chemistry education. Two PBL projects were elaborately designed for two student groups. By utilizing the inquiry-based technique and jigsaw technique, understanding of the fundamental principles of chemistry was employed to guide the student research activity and strengthen the learning of chemistry. We also observed signs of increased creativity during the process. This communication indicated that first-principles thinking could be harnessed to increase studentlearning depth and promote creativity in chemical education.

Given that visual representations play a fundamental role in the construction of knowledge, we analyze their positioning as either technical or epistemic objects by preservice teachers. These representations positioned as technical objects have a predefined function, unlike those positioned as epistemic objects, which are open to investigation. Our analyses revealed that preservice teachers alternated the role of visual representations, positioning them as epistemic objects until they became technical ones and vice versa. By positioning visual representations as epistemic objects, preservice teachers explore and construct their knowledge about organic reactions, thus favoring learning. As an implications of this research, we argue that the teaching of organic chemistry can be enriched through an investigative approach that promotes the positioning of visual representations as epistemic objects, allowing students to construct and question their knowledge.

Calorimetry is an essential part of most introductory chemistry laboratory courses, but for deployment in large enrollment laboratory classes it is often the case that compromises are necessitated through limitations of budget, apparatus suitability or chemical compatibility. Most often these will include choosing an inexpensive calorimeter such as a polystyrene coffee cup, or assuming the heat capacity of an aqueous solution is the same as that of pure water, or sometimes not experimentally measuring the calorimeter constant. To solve these problems, a new calorimeter design has been tested that employs use of a flexible polyimide resistive heater mounted to the outside of a glass beaker inserted into an inexpensive education-grade calorimeter jacket. Along with the use of other common laboratory equipment, this calorimeter is able to operate using a wide range of reagents without any chemical compatibility issues, is able to perform calibration measurements for each individual reaction mixture, is easy for students to use, and can be easily built at a fraction of the cost of commercially available isobaric calorimeters with comparable properties. This approach is also more pedagogically satisfying, as it removes many of the assumptions that students are forced to make when using other calorimeter apparatus.

Spectroscopy is an integral part of chemical research, and the operation of any spectroscopic instrument is critical in chemical education. This study presents a low-cost, do-it-yourself (DIY) style spectrophotometer system that can be adapted for UV–vis spectrophotometry, fluorimetry, and atomic emission spectroscopy applications. The DIY system is constructed with commonly available hardware and 3D-printed parts, totaling less than $100 USD. Python code is also provided to process the color spectrum image into intensity vs wavelength data, similar to any commercial-level instrument. The functionality of the DIY spectrophotometer is demonstrated with the absorption of KMnO₄, fluorescence of fluorescein and atomic emission of LiCl, NaCl, BaCl₂, and SrCl₂. All of the collected spectra show accurate results compared to a commercial instrument or existing literature. The goal of this project is to provide a hands-on platform for undergraduate students to see and modify the individual components of a spectrophotometer, which will enhance their understanding of the underlying principles.

This activity report describes a novel pedagogical approach to teach undergraduate dentistry students about the degree of conversion of dental resin-based composites (RBCs) using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Six final-year dentistry students participated in a hands-on laboratory exercise where they prepared RBC samples, collected FTIR spectra before and after polymerization, and calculated the degree of conversion using the obtained data. The activity aimed to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, allowing students to better understand this important concept in dental materials science. Participants found the exercise engaging, informative, and valuable for future professional practice. The activity successfully reinforced students’ comprehension of the degree of conversion process and provided them with hands-on experience in using analytical techniques to characterize dental materials. This approach demonstrates the feasibility and benefits of incorporating advanced characterization methods into undergraduate dentistry curricula, enhancing students’ technical skills and scientific understanding.

This study reports a successful adaptation of an inquiry-based laboratory experiment for a qualitative evaluation of the factors that affect lipid oxidation. The experiment was implemented in two consecutive 1.5 hour lab periods in the undergraduate course Fundaments of Food Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. The research question was presented to the students in a semistructured problem format, asking them to explore and discover the factors that affect the oxidation of fats and oils in the foods they frequently consume. The students’ ideas were discussed, and in collaboration, the students decided on the selection of lipids, antioxidants, and pro-oxidants based on literature research. The instructor guided the students through the planning of the experimental process and then performed qualitative tests without knowing what results to expect beforehand. The groups took notes, shared them, and analyzed the qualitative test results based on the theory and their experimental findings to answer the question related to the experiment. The students’ learning experience was assessed through pre- and postassessment tests, a student’s perception questionnaire, and the postassignment. The potential advantages of this guided-inquiry laboratory experiment are its adaptability to virtual or at-home settings, its accessibility through the use of commercially available products such as pro-oxidants or antioxidants, and its enhanced convenience, cost-effectiveness, and safety.

The editorial team of the Journal of Chemical Education regularly considers the suite of manuscript types available for authors who are interested in publishing in the Journal. Therefore, changes occur occasionally to the available manuscript types. As the year 2025 gets started, there are two new manuscript types available, Tutorial and Perspective manuscripts. This editorial introduces these new options and includes the initial author guidelines.

In the face of accelerating climate change, effective education is paramount to fostering informed citizens and enacting meaningful action. Effective climate instruction contextualizes content so that students are engaged emotionally (affect) and can translate science into action. This paper describes six courses that use integrated approaches to science instruction which encourage perspective taking through narrative analysis, storytelling, and/or embodied pedagogy. Students engage in content by learning different historical, cultural, or experiential perspectives of the topic. Several courses also use embodied pedagogy, which integrates physical movement and sensory experiences into the learning process. The manuscript provides a summary of each course, then uses a newly developed climate change integration rubric to complete a thematic analysis, describing how these approaches connect climate change learning across a curriculum and empower students to action. The final section describes specific ways in which these principles could be incorporated into chemistry curricula.