Discusses the relative instability of organic oxidants, citing early attempts at overcoming the solubility limitations in organic reaction systems. Describes the more recent introduction of new types of organic oxidant salts that have demonstrated more promising levels of stability, though unexpected explosions have still occurred. (TW)

Describes a technique used extensively in the chemical industry to find and control unanticipated safety hazards. Discusses how a team of individuals can consider how equipment or processes operate and deviations from normal conditions. Suggests this technique could be used in educational laboratories. (TW)

Provides a summary of the events occurring at the Ninth Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, held in Bozeman, Montana, on July 27-August 2, 1986. Contains brief descriptions of sessions on the role of chemists, demonstrations of laboratory experiences, learning chemistry with computers, teacher training, and chemistry for elementary school…

Describes a program in which six experiments in chemistry were used in an elementary school science program. Discusses the problems encountered in initiating the program, and some of the ways the problems were solved. Lists the six experiments, along with the reaction or process being studied, and the application of each. (TW)

Lists 40 things to do to have a safer chemistry laboratory. Discusses the evolution of these guidelines for schools from safety suggestions originally developed by industry. Categorizes the 40 steps into those requiring minimal cost and those requiring moderate expense. (TW)

Compares the amount of research being published by personnel from 37 undergraduate institutions of higher learning during the 1970's with the amount published from 1980-1985. Lists the number of student co-authored publications in chemistry from the leading 11 institutions for 1980-1985. (TW)

Describes a laboratory exercise designed to introduce students to the Pourbaix diagram for cobalt. Discusses the use of a Pourbaix diagram as a potential-pH plot which displays some of the most thermodynamically stable species for a given element. Outlines a laboratory demonstration and a student investigation. (TW)

Discusses the properties of carbon dioxide in its solid "dry ice" stage. Suggests several demonstrations and experiments that use dry ice to illustrate Avogadro's Law, Boyle's Law, Kinetic-Molecular Theory, and the effects of dry ice in basic solution, in limewater, and in acetone. (TW)

Encourages instruction about disposal of hazardous wastes in college chemistry laboratories as an integral part of experiments done by students. Discusses methods such as down-the-drain disposal, lab-pack disposal, precipitation and disposal, and precipitation and recovery. Suggests that faculty and students take more responsibility for waste…

Discusses the current state of space-related research and manufacturing techniques. Focuses on the areas of spectroscopy, materials processing, electrochemistry, and analysis. Provides examples and classroom application for using these aspects of the space program to teach chemistry. (TW)

Describes a summer institute for elementary secondary science teachers held at the University of California, Irvine, which is designed to update and refine the scientific knowledge of the teachers and to build a scientific foundation for crossover teachers who are teaching without an adequate science background. (TW)

Provides a series of short articles about various uses of computers and courseware in teaching chemistry. Addresses topics such as a programming utility for animation, an organic synthesis program, a program for the allocation of organic qualitative analysis of unknowns, color images of molecules, and enhancing spreadsheet capabilities. (TW)

Urges chemistry teachers to have students annotate the chemical reactions in aqueous-solutions that they see in their textbooks and witness in the laboratory. Suggests this will help students recognize the reaction type more readily. Examples are given for gas formation, precipitate formation, redox interaction, acid-base interaction, and…

Describes a method designed to balance oxidation-reduction chemical equations. Outlines a method which is based on changes in the oxidation number that can be applied to both molecular reactions and ionic reactions. Provides examples and delineates the steps to follow for each type of equation balancing. (TW)

Discusses many of the distinctions that chemists draw between theoretical chemistry and descriptive chemistry, along with the tendency for chemical educators to adopt the type of chemistry they feel is most important to teach. Uses examples to argue that theoretical chemistry and descriptive chemistry are, at the bottom line, the same. (TW)