Chemistry for Everyone
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Chemistry Game Shows Susan Campbell Department of Chemistry, Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY 40324 Jennifer Muzyka* Department of Chemistry, Centre College, Danville, KY 40422;
[email protected] Incorporating the playing of games into one’s lecture class is an exciting way to refresh a student’s memory with respect to concepts introduced in previous class periods (1). These games can substitute for a more formal review session conducted by the professor, and they provide a stimulating and interactive format for reexamining important chemical principles and ideas before testing. We have revisited the basic Jeopardy game format (2, 3), a chemistry review method that has been described previously (4–7 ). We also describe a similar adaptation of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2, 8), which can be used in both chemistry (9) and biology (10) courses. This approach provides the distinct advantage of not having to spend much time on the rules of the game, as most students are familiar with the rules of these popular TV game shows. We offer a technological advancement in the presentation of these games using a Web page as the game board and a browser to display the board during the review. Employing an HTML editor permits creation of a game board (using tables or frames) with point values within the table’s cells linked to HTML files that contain the corresponding answers for which the contestants must formulate a question. Using the same color for visited hyperlinks and the background of the table makes it clear which dollar amounts have been used in the game because these visited links become “invisible”. The visited links are easily refreshed by resetting the history of the browser. The use of HTML and a Web browser also allows teachers to incorporate animations and sound, which add more excitement to Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy. Furthermore, it is easy to modify the game with different categories and answers for other review sessions by changing the headings and link references. If the game is stored on a laptop, projection of a large game board using an LCD projector enables the entire class to clearly see the board and participate in the fun. This method has also been employed with the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? game show format, with the question rephrased as Who Wants to Be a Chemist Extraordinaire? and the million dollar question replaced with the “Mole-ian dollar (6.02 × 1023) question” (8). Georgetown College students
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really enjoyed this game, as correct answers to the 1000, 32,000 and Mole-ian dollar questions resulted in extra-credit points for the person on the hot-seat. (The name of the person occupying the hot-seat was drawn from a jar containing names of students willing to occupy the hot-seat during the review session.) The audience could earn extra-credit points if the “poll the audience” lifeline was utilized and the largest percentage of the audience supplied the correct answer to the question. Examples of HTML files with sample questions are available at the Georgetown College Web site (3, 8) and at JCE Online.W We encourage others to adapt the HTML for use in their own game show review sessions. W
Supplemental Material
Examples of HTML files with sample questions and instructions for adapting the HTML are available in this issue of JCE Online. Literature Cited 1. Russell, J. V. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 481–484. 2. Campbell, S.; Muzyka, J. L. Presented at Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, Ann Arbor, MI, Jul 30–Aug 3, 2000; Program Book, abstract 523, p 157. 3. Campbell, S. Chemistry Jeopardy; http://spider.georgetowncollege. edu/chemistry/campbell/jeopardy2/index.htm (accessed Dec 2001). 4. Keck, M. V. J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 483. 5. Deavor, J. P. J. Chem. Educ. 1996, 73, 430. 6. Scarpetti, D. J. Chem. Educ. 1991, 68, 1027–1028. 7. Mabrouk, P. Chem. Educator 1996, 1, S1430-4171(1496)0103701033; DOI 10.1007/s00897960037a. 8. Campbell, S. Who Wants to Be a Chemist Extraordinaire?; http:// spider.georgetowncollege.edu/chemistry/campbell/chemex1/ iCHEMEX1INTROPAGE.htm (accessed Dec 2001). 9. Deavor, J. P. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 467. 10. Wallace, L.; Hoefnagels, M.; Ortiz, W. Teaching Professor 2001, 15 (2), 3.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 79 No. 4 April 2002 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
