Provides suggestions for two exercises designed to assist and involve students in understanding chemical concepts. Includes a laboratory experiment for determining the Ksp of a saturated solution of calcium sulfate and a scheme for naming oxyacids and their salts. (ML)

Describes a procedure for teaching the "generator orbital" (GO) approach of molecular orbital bonding in polyatomic molecules. Explains how the GO can be utilized with students in generating the vibrational, rotational, and translational modes of molecules in a completely pictorial manner. (ML)

Discusses electron-loss spectroscopy and the experimentally observed excitation energies in terms of qualitative MO theory. Reviews information on photoelectron spectroscopy and electron transmission spectroscopy and their relation to the occupied and unoccupied orbital levels. Focuses on teaching applications. (ML)

Reports on a study designed to identify the major factors that lead students to anticipate a major in chemistry. Findings indicated that students' recognition of a high aptitude for science, the influence of a high school chemistry or science teacher, and laboratory experience contributed to their decision. (ML)

Addresses the issue of whether traditional high school chemistry is needed for all students as preparation for the study of college level chemistry. Recommends an approach which stresses applications and societal issues for high school students. (ML)

Reviews three experiments which can be used to introduce microscale techniques. Highlights the benefits and advantages of having undergraduate students prepare and purify derivatives on the small scale. (ML)

Describes a lecture demonstration which illustrates changes in the visible spectra of oxygen transport proteins upon reversible oxygen binding. Provides a comparison of the physical characteristics of oxygen storage and transport proteins. Reviews essentials for preparation of the materials. (ML)

Presents three demonstrations suitable for undergraduate chemistry classes. Focuses on experiments with calcium carbide, the induction by iron of the oxidation of iodide by dichromate, and the classical iodine clock reaction. (ML)

Describes efforts in devising a method for determining sulfate quickly and accurately from rainwater samples. Explains the design and operation of the apparatus and identifies the solutions for the testing. (ML)

Presents a laboratory exercise that illustrates stoichiometry, limiting reagents, and proportionality. Highlights the safety and low cost factors of this exercise. Outlines procedures for the students. (ML)

Describes how a Polaroid camera can be modified for spectroscopic experiments. Reviews experimental procedures and discusses results that students can obtain within one normal laboratory period. Suggests additional experiments for investigating emission from other sources. (ML)

Describes the potential health hazards of using thioacetamide in introductory courses where students are involved in qualitative inorganic analysis. Describes the chemical as possessing carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, and mutagenic properties. Cautions that thioacetamide has caused various biochemical changes in the liver, and recommends limited uses…

Questions the use of the Reactivity Selectivity Principle (RSP) by teachers and authors of texts in discussing organic reaction mechanisms. Provides some applications and failures of the use of the RSP, reviews some quantitative aspects of the RSP, and discusses some of the rationalization of the RSP failures. (TW)

Discusses the classification of binary oxides as acidic, basic, or amphoteric. Demonstrates how a numerical scale for acidity/basicity of binary oxides can be constructed using thermochemical data for oxoacid salts. Presents the calculations derived from the data that provide the numeric scale values. (TW)

Contains seven articles about computer applications to chemistry instruction. Includes descriptions of a three-dimensional animation of a potential energy surface, numerical solutions of kinetic equations, applications for spectroscopy courses, a computer-controlled experiment on the tin/lead solid/liquid phase diagram, an inexpensive thermistor…