Chemical Education Today
Especially for High School Teachers
by J. Emory Howell
December Articles of Interest Chemical Education Today One section of the Journal that contains something of interest to every reader every month is Chemical Education Today. Because it includes announcements, news, and commentary that is of widespread interest, most of the items are marked in the table of contents with the High School Chemistry Section Logo, but usually they are not annotated in this column. Watch the section for conference and convention announcements, for annotations from other science journals, science news, letters to the editor, and many other interesting items. In this month’s issue there is a commentary of special significance to high school teachers: “Chemistry in the National Science Education Standards” by Sylvia Ware, Director of Education, American Chemical Society. Ware addresses the confusion and misunderstanding that have arisen about the intent and scope of the Standards and she suggests a useful model for understanding the level of chemistry in the Standards. The commentary includes the announcement of a forthcoming American Chemistry Society publication that will provide high school teachers and all other chemical educators with specific and practical information to apply the Standards effectively. The reader’s attention is drawn also to a commentary by G. A. Crosby in the September issue, p. A200. In the Classroom “The Chemical and Educational Appeal of the Orange Juice Clock” is discussed by Kelter, Carr, Johnson, and Castro-Acuña. They explain how this popular demonstration can be applied in middle school science and high school chemistry courses, as well as in college courses. If you include organic chemistry topics in your first or second year course you will want to read “Amyl: A Misunderstood Word” by Kjonaas. In explaining the misuse of the word “amyl” the author mentions some substances that can be obtained from plant material, such as banana oil and potato oil. In “How Do I Balance Thee? ... Let Me Count the Ways!” Ferguson describes how balancing the equation representing the reaction of KClO3 with HCl leads to several sets of coefficients that are not multiples of each other. The author uses this oxidationreduction example to help students learn that electron transfer has to be considered in order to determine which set of coefficients is correct. Chemistry Everyday for Everyone Connections between chemistry and literature, chemistry and historical preservation, and chemistry and technology are found in the three articles that comprise this section. An opportunity to review some organic chemistry awaits the reader of a murder mystery written by Waddell and Rybolt. The story, “Sherlock Holmes and the Nebulous Nitro,” might be used in a second year chemistry course if aromatic substitution reactions are studied. It is interesting reading regardless of whether it is used in teaching. The application of polymerization processes to the problem of preserving paper artifacts is discussed by Carter in “The Chemistry of Paper Pres-
ervation. Part 3: The Strengthening of Paper”. An important method for obtaining a desired substance from a mixture is described in “Past, Present, and Possible Future Applications of Supercritical Fluid Technology”. The authors note that this technology is important in research and industry, but that it has not been discussed in educational journals or undergraduate textbooks. In the Laboratory Extraction of natural products generally is not practical even in the second year chemistry laboratory because chlorinated solvents are used. The procedure described by Hampp in “The Extraction of Caffeine from Tea” uses 1-propanol instead of chlorinated solvents, but the reader should note that 10% aqueous NaOH is required so the method is not without hazard. A laboratory experiment for the “Determination of Phosphorus in Cola Drinks” is described by Lozano-Calero, MartínPalomeque, and Madueño-Loriguillo. The procedure requires access to a spectrophotometer. These authors also describe a method for the “Chromatographic Separation of Phosphoric Acid from Cola Beverages”. An anionic exchange resin and a chromatography column are required to carry out the separation. Johnson has written “An Empirical Formula from Ion Exchange Chromatography and Colorimetry”. The procedure is involved, yet has been conducted by high school chemistry students as a lab final. Risley has developed a laboratory investigation that guides students to an understanding of the relationship between structure of molecules and smell. Flavorings in foods and fragrances in personal care products are used in the activity “An Organoleptic Laboratory Experiment”. “Waste Treatment in the Undergraduate Laboratory: Let the Students Do It!” which was written about an application to a large section general chemistry class, presents an innovative approach that could be a model for some high school chemistry laboratory investigations. Nash, Meyer and Nurrenbern have developed a laboratory activity which allows students to see how chemistry is applied to solving a “real world” pollution problem and they report that the students enjoyed it. Information • Textbooks • Media • Resources Teachers who wish to keep abreast of developments in instrumentation will wish to read the four articles about using LabVIEW. These articles are not identified with the High School logo in the table of contents because of their very specialized nature. Research Authors Bradley and Ogude compare precollege and college student interpretations of “Electrode Processes and Aspects Relating to Cell EMF, Current, and Cell Components in Operating Electrochemical Cells”. Teachers who include electrochemistry in a first or second year chemistry course will be interested in their findings. An eight-year study of “Mathematical SAT Test Scores and College Chemistry Grades” at Oberlin College is reported by Spencer. The study could be of potential use in counseling college preparatory students.
Vol. 73 No. 12 December 1996 • Journal of Chemical Education
A293
