ERIC Number: EJ828696
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Feb
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Synthesis and Hydrogenation of Disubstituted Chalcones: A Guided-Inquiry Organic Chemistry Project
Mohrig, Jerry R.; Hammond, Christina Noring; Schatz, Paul F.; Davidson, Tammy A.
Journal of Chemical Education, v86 n2 p234-239 Feb 2009
Guided-inquiry experiments offer the same opportunities to participate in the process of science as classical organic qualitative analysis used to do. This three-week guided-inquiry project involves an aldol-dehydration synthesis of a chalcone chosen from a set of nine, followed by a catalytic transfer hydrogenation reaction using ammonium formate and Pd/C. The question each two-student team addresses is "Which of the functional groups of a multifunctional chalcone undergo hydrogenation in the reaction?" The regioselectivity is discovered by IR, NMR, and GC-MS spectrometric analysis. Students present their experimental results and conclusions to the entire lab section in a post-laboratory discussion held during the third week of the project, before their written results are due. The chalcone project was assessed at a large university in a laboratory class of 550 organic chemistry students using graduate-student teaching assistants. Student feedback was heavily favorable, both on the use of spectroscopy to determine the selectivity of hydrogenation and on the value of the post-lab discussion. The TA training and the faculty response are also discussed. (Contains 5 tables.)
Descriptors: Organic Chemistry, Laboratory Experiments, Science Instruction, Inquiry, Active Learning, College Science, Science Activities, Discussion (Teaching Technique), Instructional Effectiveness, Spectroscopy, Teaching Assistants, Training, Undergraduate Students, Student Attitudes
Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society. Subscription Department, P.O. Box 1267, Bellmawr, NJ 08099-1267. Tel: 800-691-9846; Tel: 856-931-5825; Fax: 856-931-4115; e-mail: jchemed@egpp.com; Web site: http://www.jce.divched.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A