A Chemical LiteratureIPeriodic Table Exercise for General Chemistry It is useful for chemistry students a t all levels to be familiar with the chemical literature as a valuable resource for information on a chemical topic or compound. An intmduction of general chemistry students to the chemical literature can be made within the context of the periodic table. This active learning exercise consists of two parts. First, each student i n the class draws a n elemental symhol by lot. Students are instructed to locate a scientific journal article describing recent work with, or a recent use of the element they have selected. A brief intmduction to the chemical literature is given in leetwe followed by a description of useful indices available in the library. It is suggested students begin with the General Science Index and the Applied Science and Technology Inder (available on CD-ROM), and the Kirkathmdr Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Chemical Abstracts is also described briefly. Reference librarians are alerted and are available to provide assistance to students. Students are to report back (-1.5 weeks) with the full reference of the journal article found and a hrief summary, in their own words, of its content. Faculty and teaching asststants arc availahle during this time t o a ~ s i the ~ t few students who have selected complex articlrs Pnrt 11 of this exercme occurs in class on the day Part 1 is due. Student5 are asked to sn as a penodie table, eaeh repre3entinp their chosrn element (clasrroam "periods" and "groups-are labelled fur guidance, The studrnts exchange i&ormationthey found about their elements ~ 6 t ahn adjacent student in the same &up, as well as with an adjacent student in the same period. In each case, they are asked to pmpose a similarity between their elements. This exercise is run with two m o m s of -110 students each. It can be easilv. a d a.~ t e dfor a few additional students bv the addltian of common isotopes, and for a smaller group hy the omission a f a numher of elements Many students are intri~medby the information they find, and the current research involvin~slernents.Their findings can provide several opportunities to relate current research to lecture material throughout the remainder of the seme.ster
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Marilyn J. Schneider Lafayette College Easton. PA 18042
232
Journal of Chemical Education
