Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews Interactive Chemistry Journey Steven D. Gammon, Lynn Hunsberger, Sharon Hutchison. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, N J, 1997. CD-ROM (Hybrid, MAC and WIN). ISBN 013 548116-3. $26.25 purchased separately; $10.00 when purchased with Prentice Hall Textbook.
Interactive Chemistry Journey is a single CD-ROM packed with excellent chemistry content. Every topic that would be covered in high school chemistry and first-year college chemistry is well represented: basic skills, energy and matter, atomic structure, molecular structure, gases, kinetics, and equilibrium. Each content unit has interactive lessons and problems, including MCAT review questions. Several units have simulations that the student can manipulate to better understand the concepts. I found the level of the lessons to be appropriate for the educational level and audience for which they are intended. The units would not be used as stand-alone lessons. They could be utilized for introduction to a topic or for a review, but more teacher input is necessary. The author uses many unique illustrations and techniques to present topics. I especially liked the balance for ionic formulas and the containers of particles for balancing equations. Each concept is presented in text and pictorially, with animations used extensively. You can “see” pressure change as volume is changed or equilibrium change as concentration is increased. The explanations are clear and concise. The number and range of problems is diverse. If a wrong
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answer is chosen, hints—such as a formula, definition, or graphic relationship—are given. Many of the correct answers also give further information about why that answer is the correct one. This reinforces the concepts being presented. The availability of a calculator, periodic table, and glossary are excellent enhancements. Being able to keep a log of individual student progress is a nice feature. The format of the Lewis Structure Tool for molecular structures is excellent. The student is taken step by step through the process of determining valence electrons, drawing Lewis structures, choosing electron pair geometry, and finally molecular geometry. The program is menu driven and very easy to navigate. Topics may be chosen in any order. The lessons are short enough not to be cumbersome. Problems may be chosen in any order or even skipped. I found the program to be very well done. The accompanying user’s guide is very helpful. The only problems that I found are mainly cosmetic. Although I have Quicktime for Windows on my computer, I had to install Quicktime from the CD for the animations to run. In some cases, the scientific notation and units are missing. The green- and blue-labeled terms and phrases have overlapped adjacent words. All in all, Interactive Chemistry Journey is an excellent supplement to lecture material for introductions, reviews, and tutorials. Debra J. McCool Penn Cambria Senior High School Cresson, PA 16630
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 75 No. 5 May 1998 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
