Edited by:
JOSEPH S. SCHMUCKLER
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Chairman of Science Education Temple Unwersity 345 Riner Hall Philadelphm. PA 19122
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This monthly feature will include annotations andlor excerpts of articles from previous issues of this Journal, and other journals that are appropriate to the teaching of chemistry a t the high school Level (and freshman college level). Journals are one of our mast important professional resources. The articles to he annotated will date hack to the early 1950's. just prior to the NSF funded curriculum revision program of CHEM Study and CBA. They will he presented in the monthly issue just prior to when the topic is usually taught in a tyrrical secondary school chemistry curriculum as hased on the table of contents of an "average" t&t in use in elas&ooms today.
Atomic Structure 1) "On t h e Discovery of t h e Electron," B. A. Morrow, J. CHEM. EDUC.. . 46191,58438 (1969). . .. "J. J. Thomson did not set out merely to determine the elm ratio of cathode ravs. . . hut to establish conclusivelv that the" were indeed panicles in the first place. and nc,t elertroma~meticwaves." Along with .Millikan, whc, established". . . rmclruively that theelectnm always carried a ddinite and invariant charge. . .". Thornson's experiment resolved the controversy concerning the corpuscular or wave nature of cathode rays and Millikan's experiment resolved the controversy concerning the continuous or discrete nature of electrical oheuomena."
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2) "The Bohr Atomic Model: Neils Bohr," Alfred Garrett, J. CHEM. EDUC., 39[10], 534-5 (1962). "A century of research passed from the time that Dalton in 1803 gave a clear, concise statement about the existence of atoms.. .until . . . Bohr invented the fust effectivemodel and theon, of the structure ofatomsin 1913."Carrett,quoting Hohr,descrihes theav,umptions made hy Rohr. Of particular note iq Rohr'r nsaumption of inwgen for the wluesof n in hlr equation t'or whitalangulnr momenrunt of the electron (now called the principal quantum number). 3) "The Language of Quantum Mechanics," Robert H. Maybury, J. C H E M . EDUC., 39[7],367-73 (1962). "As chemi8try teachers, we have an obligatim to tell m r story of nnttrre, the story of atoms, molecule,, bonds, and electrons, in the mood appropr~ateto t h ~ modern s day." Maybury'sarticle gives to the chemistry teacher the ". . . grandeur and sweep to the above theories as there is to the Darwinian picture of evolution." Starting witheady models, Mayhury continues with DeBroglie's Wave Mechanics to Schrodineer's Wave Model. Stmakine to whether the electron is reallv a particle or wave, Mayht~ryqoolitativelyatremptr to show [hat ". . . Our p o d o n isst least more wnahle if we keep clear in our minds the role uf our models in science."The electron is otill a mystery, hut the wave or particle analogy is an ". . . attempt simply to erect a comparison between something familiar and something strange to us." 4) "Energy Level Diagrams a n d Extranuclear Building of t h e Elements," R. N. Keller, J. CHEM. EDUC., 39[6], 289-92 (1962). The diagrams in KeUer's article are the ones now so familiar in mast current hieh school textbooks. Keller stresses that ".. .two common pedngogrcil ahort-comings I d to theconiusion regarding theorder of entry irf electrons intc. atoms, the ordcr in which elwrrons leave when atoms are ionized, and the relative energies of electrons of various quantum states: One is the mis-use of over-simplified energy diagrams; the other is the manner in which the Aufbau or Building-up Prinei~leis soolied." Keller eives a eood deserintion . of a .oedaeoeical -approach h&ed on experimental evidence.
It is suggested t h a t t h e reader refer to two recent articles t h a t have appeared i n "High School Forum." 858 1 Journal of Chemical Education
5 ) "The Electron Game: A Novel Auvroach t o aid in t h e Teaching of Electron ~ t r u c t u r e isn Atoms," Frank L. Wiseman, Jr., J. CHEM. EDUC., 55151,325 (1978). J. 6 ) "Should Orbitals b e T a u g h t in ~ i g h ~ s c h o o l , James " Morwick, J. CHEM. EDUC., 56[4], 263 (1979). Lab Experiment 7) "The Electrical Nature of Matter, Roger M. Records, Science Activities, 10-13 (November, 1973). In this article, Records suggests laboratory activities ". . . to give the student an opportunity to observe the effects of the electrical nature of matter without trying to explain why a given phenomenon is occurring. The rationale for this procedure rests upon the fact that the effects of electrical interaction were known before atomic theorv wns develuped to explain them." The experiments were done prior todircuxsionao that thestudent ". . . would he ahle torelate theexperimental evidence to the structure of the atom as the theory was explained." The activities include a solar cell apparatus, an oseilloscope, an electroscope, photoelectric findings, a galvanic cell, s thermocouple, and the electrolysis of water.
8) A similar article appeared i n 1969, "Introduction t o t h e Structure of Matter," Robert A. Smith, T h e Science Teacher, (December 1969), In the April, 1970 issue of the same journal, p. 5, Herbert H. Gottlieb, a high school teacher from the Martin Van Buren High School, Queens Village, New York, took issue with Smith's article. His objections are worth noting.
Joseph S. Schmuokler is currently the chairman of the Department of Education and a Professor of Chemistry a t Temple University. He was formerly a chemistry teacher a t Haverford Township Senior High School in Pennsylvania where he taught for fifteen years. Joe received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1952. Master of Science degree in 1954, and Doctorate in 1968 from the University of Pennsylvania. Joe's numerous awards in recognition of his dedication to teaching and chemical education include his receipt of the American Chemical Society James Bryant Conant Award in Hieh School Chemistrv Teachine in 1968. That vear he also re&ved the MCA and-~hem!cal'industr~ev ~ u u n c l awards. l h e is one ot the co authmz tgr the S h e r Burdett Cmnpony program in chemistry and was an orrrrnal participant and rontrihutor to the CHEM Study Program fur High Schuvl Chemistry. Dr. Srhmurkler haspublishedarticles in journals in science and science education
