Describes the water-repelling behavior of "magic sand". Suggests some demonstrations and activities to compare the properties of magic sand with those of regular sand. (WRM)

Surveys the roots of the common names of organic compounds most likely to be encountered by undergraduate organic chemistry students. Includes information for 19 amino acids, 17 aromatic compounds, and 21 carboxylic acids. (WRM)

Discusses the importance of fostering critical thinking in chemistry. Presents strategies to improve critical thinking that were used in general chemistry for science and engineering majors, a similar course for less-prepared science and engineering majors, and a course for nonscience students. (JRH)

Describes a demonstration that illustrates the red chemiluminescence due to singlet molecular oxygen that can be observed when aqueous solutions of hypochlorite ion and hydrogen peroxide are mixed. (MLH)

Presents three brief articles that consider the recovery of silver from film, field trips as a supplement to science major general chemistry laboratory, and the construction of a low-cost colorimeter. (MLH)

Discusses a theoretical model that uses a game as a base for studying processes of a stochastic nature, which involve chemical reactions, molecular systems, biological processes, cells, or people in a population. (MLH)

Discusses the preparation of compounds representing six oxidation states of manganese; demonstrations involving these compounds are described. (MLH)

Describes an experiment in which students answer a set of questions about the structure of a simple molecule given the computer output of a Patterson map obtained by X-ray diffraction. (MLH)

Describes a card game that uses chemical symbol and number cards to represent chemical formulas. Also discusses an end-of-term review game that utilizes competing teams. (MLH)

Describes three experiments illustrating some technological applications of liquid crystal substances, which are currently used to display numbers and letters by scattering of ambient light. (MLH)

Illustrates some important characteristics of photosynthesis, concentration dependencies of reaction rates, temperature effects, and effects of changes in actinic wavelength. (GS)