Jay A. Young King's College w i l k e s - B ~ Pennsylvania ~~~,
The Content of the First Course in College Chemistry A survey o f e x a m i n a t i o n questions
N o objective survey has been made heretofore to determine which topics are taught and which are excluded in the first year college chemistry course. It is well known that these topics have changed during the past several years, particularly since 1946, but information concerning the details has usually been ohtained casually by word of mouth in informal conversations. The closest approach to a formal survey was undertaken by Nechamkin' who furnished a preselected list of topics to he rated according to a scale ranging from "essential for inclusion" to "unnecessary and should be omitted" in a questionnaire to which approximately 100 respondents replied. Information pertaining to the content of a course obtained informally or by rating of topics selected by another professor can he criticized. Such replies, though useful, will reflect what the respondent thinks he ought to be teaching as well as what he does, in fact, teach. Hence, a less subjective source of information would be desirable. It is reasonable to assume that the questions and problems covered on a final examination for any course will reflect the actual en~phasis placed upon the topics in the course, though by no means will all the topics be mentioned in any single examination. To obtain this information, letters were sent to approximately 100 randomly selected colleges, universities, and junior colleges asking for copies of the final examinations in the first year chemistry course or courses a t those institutions for the academic year September 1962 to June 1963. The addressees were also asked to furnish information about the approximate size of the first year chemistry class or classes, the number of chemistry majors typically graduated each year, the undergraduate enrollment of their institution, and other similar information. Syllabi and other related materials as well as 52 sets of final examinations were received. Only the examinations were used for further detailed study. Each question or problem on each examination was interpreted and identified with a specific topic or subThis paper summarizes the work of s. project sponsored by the Advisory Council on College Chemistry reported at the conference on general chemistry convened by the Panel on General Chemistry at Tulsne University, January, 1964. Address requests to the author at King's College, not to
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JOURNAL, and furnish a 10- X 13-in. manila.envelope, addressed, with n 10/ stamp affixed. ' Neehamkin, H., J. Cnm. EDUC.,38, 255 (1961).
topic. The data obtained are summarized in the table. As the classification of topics developed during the evaluation of the questions and problems, it became apparent that the subject matter can be divided into six major areas, each of which is further subdivided as indicated in the table. Additional subdivisions were established, but these are not given here. I n collating this k i d of information, a problem concerning fine structure always arises. If each identifiable distinction among the questions and problems is specified, a tabular presentation of these distinctions becomes so detailed as to be almost useless. If some fine distinctions are not made, the tabular presentation is so general as to be of little value. No attempt to find a con~promisewill be suitable for all possible applications of a useful tabulation although it is hoped that most teachers would agree with the classifications adopted in this study. To assist UI the interpretation of the table presented here, these comments can be made: Whenever a question or problem could be classified under more than one heading, it was classified under the most specific heading. Arbitrarily, each successive heading in the table is presumed to be, by its relative position, more specific than the preceding heading. Thus, for example, a question or problem dealing with the lowering of the freezing point of a solute by a solvent mas classified under the sub-heading "Freezing Point" within "Heterogeneous equilibrium," rather than under "Colligative properties." Further, a question or problem dealing with the lowering of the freezing point of a solution of, say, acetic acid, was classified under this same subheading rather than under "Homogeneous equilibrium." Obscurities in the table, where foreseen, have also been clarified by notes. Thus, in the example mentioned above, the note in the table which refers to "Homogeneous equilibrium" indicates that only onephase systems are so classified. Hence, the lowering of the freezing point of an acetic acid solution would not be classified under this entry. The size of the respondent institution and, in all but nine cases, its geographic location was given by each respondent. Seven institutions from the Far West, California; four from the North-central, west of the Mississippi; fifteen from the North-central, east of the Mississippi; four from the South; and thirteen from New England and neighboring states were included in the total of 52. Hence, with respect to the geographic Volume 4 7 , Number 9, September 7 9 6 4
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distribution of all institutions of higher learning, the sample is weighted slightly in favor of the Eastern North-central states. Slightly less than one-third of the replies were from large schools and another approximate fifth from medium-sized schools. The remainder were from small schools. Since most schools in the United States are small, the results are weighted against the small institutions. However, in terms of numbers of students enrolled in the first year course, which is a desirable criterion, the results probably represent reasonably well the topics covered in final examinations on a national basis. As would be expected, examinations from a few of the respondent institutions emphasized one or more closely defined areas, such as organic chemistry, or ionic equilibrium. The data representing questions and problems on the examinations from such institutions are swamped by the data representing questions and problems from other institutions. The primary purpose of this study was to provide useful information, from which a sound basis for individually determined improvements could be established. Hence, the interpretation of the data presented in the table is left to each reader. A breakdown of the table in which each listed topic is further subdivided into more subtopics and another table indicating the proportion of simple and of challenging questions and problems (as estimated by the author) according to topics are available upon request. The data presented in the table were obtained from final examinations; hence some topics were swallowed up and do not appear explicity in the tahulations. Thus, calorimetry, the meaning of temperature, the concept of an equilibrium constant, and similar items are implicit within the entries under "essential principles of applied thermodynamics"; Dalton's atomic theory is included implicitly in "stoichiometry"; etc. These details are more clearly evident in the available, more detailed, breakdown of the collected data. The numbers in the table are not normalized; they are the counted numbers of questions and problems found for each topic listed. Qualitatively, then, they suggest relative emphases. I wish to acknowledge the interest of Professor L. Carroll King, who first suggested that this study be made; of two of my students, Mr. Anthony J. Izbicki and Mr. Raymond E. Kapral, who assisted with the evaluation of the questions and problems; and of Mr. John B. Kravitz, a fellow faculty member, who acted as a consultant as well as a mechanical card handler, in processing the punched cards through the IBM equipment. Finally, the costs of this study were borne by the Advisory Council on College Chemistry; this assistance is gratefully acknowledged.
Numbers of Questions and Problems, b y Mojor Topical Classification, Appearing on 52 First Year College Chemistry Final Examinations Undergmduste enrollment Topi0
>8000
80003000
