JOURNRL OF
Chemical Education: Software Abstract for Volume 3 D, Number 1 VizQuiz J a m e s A. McCormick Project SERAPHIM University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706 Robert D. Allendoerfer SUNY at Buffalo Buffalo, NY 14214-3094 VizQuiz, a multimedia vehicle for test and homework evaluation, is a computer program for Microsoft Windows that allows students to take a quiz a t a computer much as they would take a quiz on paper, hut with the added advantage that color graphics, animations, and video clips can be included i n the questions. Four types of questions are available: multiple choice, grouped binary choice, one word text answer, and single numeric answer. At the instructor's option, one or more spelling errors can be forgiven in textanswer questions. Accuracy and precision (significant figures) can he judged separately in numerical answer questions. Control of s t u d e n t access, grading, a n d grade recording are all handled by the computer with a minimum of human intewention. I n addition to multimedia capability, the program can provide hints, remedial feedback, worked out solutions or explanations, and instantaneous grading. I t has been used and tested in the general chemistry promams a t SUNY a t Buffalo and University of Wis-
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Figure 2. Slater-type orbital plotted by Mathcad document Variational Treatment of the H Atom Using a Gaussian Trial Wavefunction. but is especially useful in the mathematically intensive courses traditionally found in the physical chemistry sequence. ( 1 , 2, 3, 4 ) As the title suggests this module presents applications of Mathcad i n the area of quantum mechanics and is a n extension of earlier work. ( 5 ) Students generally find quantum chemistry to he highly mathematical, quite difficult, and very abstract. They are right on all counts. However the subject is also extremely important today, even a t the undergraduate level. There is, therefore, a need for relatively simple computer exercises that bridge the gap between the formalism of quantum theory and its various computational methods (6).All of the Mathcad documents presented here attempt to do this in one way or another. Some exercises involve relatively elementary problem solving, while others, for example, illustrate the basics of molecular orbital theory and the variational method. An example of how Mathcad handles data, text, mathematics, and graphics in a single live document is shown i n Figure 2, which allows students to comDare a Gaussian and a S l a t e r - -. t v ~ eorbital a s trial w i \ v function? for a reriation:ll calcularion on H. Pnrt 11 includcs Mathcad docurncmti in thvse areas:
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Hiickel Molecular Orbital Theory Semi-Empirical MO Calculation on Hydrogen Fluoride Five Trial Wavefunctions for the Helium Atom ARealb Simple SCF Calculation Spectroscopic Transitions for an Electron in a l-D Box Finding Roots Two Mare Variational Calculations
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re 1. VizQuiz display of a question that includes video of a buret ized from "TitrationTechniques"videodisc.
Enriching Quantum Chemistry with Mathcad, Part II Frank Rioux St. John's University Collegeville. M N 56321 Mathcad is a comprehensive, inexpensive program for doing numeric and svmholic mathematics on a com~uter. I t r g u s under Winiows a n d h a s a n appealing, k e r friendly, graphical interface. Mathcad has a wide variety of applications in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum,
About This Issue John W. Moore Jon L. Holmes University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706-1396 How to Use These Programs The programs in this Series D issue are for Windows on IBM PC-compatible computers. VizQuiz has been developed i n order to extend multimedia to testing and homework in addition to lecture and computer room. An important rationale for its creation is Volume 72 Number 4 Aoril 1995
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FlgLre 3 ML I p e-cho ce qdeslon lhat nc Ldes a rnolec~ar an rnaton (me ton sp ns aroLna a yertcal axm) as olsp ayed oy V ZOLz that new methods of teaching require new methods of testing a s well. If multimedia are a primary mode of instruction i n lecture and computer room tutorials, then students should be asked questions via multimedia on homework and examinations. \'izQuiz has hecn designed to make it easy tt, use by anyone who wants to incorpor;~tt,multimedia into testing Quizzes or assignments can include text, graphics, computer animations, digitized still images, and motion video from either a videodisc or digital source. Students can move from question to question easily, need not answer questions in linear order, and, until a question is graded, can change answers. They can get hints before a question is graded, and see worked out solutions or explanations afterwards. Records can be kept automatically by VizQuiz and stored in a format that can be imported into a spreadsheet. In the computer there can be many questions of a given t m e for each one that amears on a particular test. Non-trackional types of questions are also possible. For example, in a m u p e d b i n w auestion students can be asked to classify eaeh oifive acidiasstrong or weak; a correspondingmultipl~choice question would probably ask them to pick the single strong acid from a list. In multiple-choice questions there can be more than five responses, and each can be given its own point value; partial credit can be given for partial understanding. Also, different remedial help messages can be keved to each resoonse. Partial credit can also be eiven for mi"sspelled words i n d wrong numbers of significantlfigures. VizQuiz is an effective auiz eiver and homework checker a t any level from pre-high &ho;l general science through advanced undergraduate work. Since quizzes are written by a teacher, they can be tailored to that teacher's style and the content that has been covered. The program has purposely been made flexible to accommodate different teachers'preferences. Simple quizzes that cover a n introductory chemistry course but do not include multimedia are included. An example multimedia quiz is also included to show what the program can do and serve as a template for those who have multimedia hardware and appropriate video or digital video driver software to create their own tests. Enriching Quantum Chemistry with Mathcad, Part I1 i s designed to be used i n physical chemistry or i n a separate course on quantum chemistry. I t is an electronic textbook of quantum chemistry i n which the equations and graphs are "live". Changing a parameter or equation causes all calculations to be redone. The new results are displayed either a s a table of numbers or a s a graph or both. The opportunities for exploration and enhanced understanding of the meaning of quantum chemical equations are nearly 328
Journal of Chemical Education
Figure 4. Numbering of atoms for Huckel MO calculation on bucky ball. infinite. This is a preview of what the textbook of the future might look like. Hardware and Software Requirements Software i n Series D of JCE: Software requires Microsoft Windows version 3.1 or later and associated hardware a s defined by Microsoft. We recommend a n IBM PC or compatible computer with a n 80386 or higher processor, a minimum of 4 MB of memory, a hard disk, one 3.5-in. floppy disk drive to install the software, a mouse, and a Windows-compatible graphics card (such as a VGA or a SVGA adapter) with a compatible color monitor. DOS version 5.0 or later is highly recommended. Enriching Quantum Chemistry with Mathcad, Part I1 requires Mathcad version 4.0 or later, which is not included; i t greatly benefits from the presence of a math coprocessor, which is highly recommended. VizQuiz requires about 1MB of free hard disk space plus space for any quizzes and quiz data; Enriching Quantum Chemistry with Mathcad, Part I1 requires about 450 KB of hard disk space, not including Mathcad. Citations 1.Coleman. W. t? J. Chem. Educ
1890.67,.4203
2. Adravkoslu, 2. J Chsm. Educ. 1991,68,A95. 3. Rioux. FJ Chem. Educ 1992.69.4240. 4. Turn&, D.E.J. Chem.Educ 1993.70.Al85. 5 . Rioux, F J Chem. Edue:So/lwnre, 1193.IA. No.2. 6. Montgomery, H. E.,Jr J. Chem. Educ. 1977.54, 748
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