Discusses the technique of utilizing "silent" demonstrations, demonstrations with a minimal of instructor initiated information, for teaching secondary level chemistry. (SL)

Discusses uses of programmable pocket electronic calculators in the secondary level classroom. Uses discussed include: grading, laboratory, exercises, computing T-scores, and a quantitative approach to chemical equilibrium. (SL)

Describes six commercially available toys useful in demonstrating various chemical principles in the secondary school classroom. (SL)

Short articles are presented discussing the Rutherford experiment, distribution curves for 1s electrons, and titrimetric determination of the oxidation states of vanadium. (SL)

Outlines five minicourses presented by the Rochester Institute of Technology for secondary school chemistry teachers which allow the participation of high school students along with their teachers. (SL)

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)

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)

Describes two demonstrations to illustrate characteristics of substances. Outlines a method to detect the changes in pH levels during the electrolysis of water. Uses water pistols, one filled with methane gas and the other filled with water, to illustrate the differences in these two substances. (TW)

Reports on a study that examined and compared the cognitive effectiveness of a traditional hands-on laboratory exercise with a computer-simulated program on the same topic. Sought to determine if coupling these formats would provide optimum student comprehension. Suggests hands-on exercises be followed by computer simulations as postlaboratory…

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)

Proposes that preparative chemistry is an important and integral part of chemistry as a whole, and an excellent way to introduce students to descriptive chemistry. Provides an outline for students to follow for converting and transforming salts. Suggests a set of general guidelines for studying anion and cation transformations. (TW)

Outlines five simple and inexpensive methods for students to use in identifying unknown substances. Provides a table of general solubility data for ions, a suggested list of unknown substances that can be tested using the methods described, and some prelaboratory information. (TW)