Stanley G. Smith and Ruth Chabay University of lllinols Urbana, 61801
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Computer Gamer in Chemistry
Many of the computer-based chemistry lessons1 available on the PLATO IV System2developed a t the University of 11linois include practice problems as well as simulated experiments. tutorial didoes. and comnuter-eenerated eranhics and animations. ~ r a c t i c r n on i PLATOh& the advantage that a student receives immediate feedback on the correctness of his answer, and can get help in solving a problem on request. A PIATO lesson can require H studrnt to work orohletns which are particularly difficht for him until be reaches a specified level of mastery. The idea of chemistry games as opportunities for practice came from observing the spontaneous competition which arose in the PLATO classroom, where students vied with one another to see who could solve all the problems fastest, or who could get the best score. T o explore this type of learning situation, we have developed three different chemistry games. One game, designed for an introductory course in general chemistry, allows the student to practice recalling the names and symbols of the elements.a In this game, two students at different terminals, which may be in different rooms or even in different cities, compete to see who can provide the correct names or symbols for more elements. At the beginning of the game, each player sees a blank periodic table on his screen. The challenger sends either the name or the symbol of an element to his opponent, who must then supply the corresponding symbol or name, Figure 1.If he does so correctly, the atomic number of the element is added to his score, the symbol appears in its place on the periodic table, and it becomes his turn to select an element. If he fails, the challenger must supply the correct answer, or forfeit his turn. If a player types an incorrect name or symbol while making up a problem, he loses his turn. The first player to accumulate 1OOOpoints wins the game. Up to 10 such games may he played simultaneously; any player a t any location may challenge any other player to a game. Such an interterminal game is made possible by the basic PLATO system architecture. There is only one copy of the code for the lesson. shared hv all olavers. each of whom has his own separate status bank. i n addigon, common database is shared by all players. This common database is partitioned into sections, each of which contains all of the status necessary to a oarticular two-terminal zame such as the location of the players, whose turn it is, t h i problem selected, the scores, etc. In the aliphatic organic synthesis game," student must a wries of multistttn uraanic syntheses iucct~ssiullycomr~lett~ in order t ~ . ~ r o ~ rfrom & s the starting point to the endpoint of the game hoard, Figure 2. For each player, PLATO randomly selects a compound 1-3 steps aheadof his current position, which the player must synthesize, as his opponent watches, in order to advance. The starting material and maximum number of steps allowed are also randomly selected. I
Chabay, R. W., and Smith, S. G., J. CHEM. EDUC., 53, 00
(1977).
Smith, S. G., and Sherwood,B. A,, Science, 192,344 (1976). "Elements Game," A PLATO lesson by Stanley Smith and Ruth Chabay. "The Great Synthesis Race," Stanley Smith and Ruth Chabay, PLATO. "'Aromatic Synthesis Game," Stanley Smith, PLATO. 888 1 Journal of Chemical Education
Figure 1. In thts photograph of the "Name of the Elements Game." one player has asked the other to give the name for Si. Elements which have already been correctly identified in this game are shown in the Periodic Table
Figure 2. This is the game board for the ''Great Synthesis Race." The position of the players an the boardare marked by the Erlenmeyer and Florenceflasks. In Uw nea move, methyl iodide mu* be convened into t-butyl alcohol in six steps or less.
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Anv oreanic reaeent containinz three carbons or less and any " necessary inorganic reagents may be used in the synthesis. 1f the player succeeds, his marker (a Florence or Erlenmeyer flask) advances on the game hoard. If he fails, he stays where he is, and a new compound is chosen for the next player. Perhaps the most i&rriting feature ot this gamcristhv fact that there is no single correct answrr for a given problem, since there may be many different pathways from starting material to product. Instead, the computer is given a fairly thorough course in functional group chemistry. When the student specifies a reagent, PLATO searches the current compound f i r the occurrence of functional groups with which it will react. If a reaction occurs, PLATO makes the appropriate transformations, and compares the resulting product with the de-
Figure3. Here is one player's proposed synthesis of t-butyl alcohol from methyl iodide. The student entered the reagents for each step and PLATO drew the Structure of the product of the reaction.
sired end product. If they are the same, the synthesis is completed. If the student's product is not the desired one, PLATO invites him to continue his synthesis, until he runs out of steps, Figure 3. Another organic synthesis game,5 this time involving elec-
trophilic aromatic substitution, combines features of both the elements eame and the aliohatic svnthesis eame. In this ,. eame.. one player makes up a rompuund which iht, ot her p l a y must svnth14-.e. The cornoound must he a henzt.nt: d(.rientivt~.The ;layer selects the khstituents (a maximum of two), and soecifies their oositions on the rine. The second . olaver . must then attempt tb synthesize rhis rokpuund. 11 he succeeds, he mav make U D a o r o l h n for his onoonent: i t he fails. the i i r i t mustattkmpt the syntheiis. The first student to synthesize five compounds wins. As in the aliphatic synthesis game, there is no single correct answer to a problem. PLATO simply scans the functional groups present and performs the appropriate reactions. Any pathway chosen hy the student, no matter how indirect, will be acceptable, provided the final yield is high enough. All of these games are very popular with students, and have had hundreds of hours of use. (The aliphatic synthesis game has logged over 3000 hours of student use). Students like the games because they provide an opportunity to practice necessary skills, and to learn from other students in a competitive, hut personally anonymous format, with PLATO acting as an impartial arbiter who can give immediate feedback on mistakes. Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Computer-Based Educational Research Laboratory a t the University of Illinois and by the National Science Foundation.
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Volume 54, Number 11. November 1977 / 689
