Information • Textbooks • Media • Resources edited by
JCE Software
Jon L. Holmes Nancy S. Gettys University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI 53706
General Chemistry Collection for Students (CD-ROM)
W
Abstract of Special Issue 16, 4th Edition The General Chemistry Collection contains both new and previously published JCE Software programs that are intended for use by introductory-level chemistry students. These peer-reviewed programs for Macintosh and for Windows are available on a single CD-ROM for convenient distribution to and access by students, and the CD may be adopted for students to purchase as they would a textbook. General Chemistry Collection covers a broad range of topics providing students with interesting information, tutorials, and simulations that will be useful to them as they study chemistry for the first time. There are 22 programs included in the General Chemistry Collection 4th Edition. Their titles and the general chemistry topics they cover are listed in Table 1. Features in This Edition General Chemistry Collection, 4th edition includes: •
Lessons for Introductory Chemistry and INQUAL-S, two new programs not previously published by JCE Software (abstracts appear below)
•
Writing Electron Dot Structures (1) and Viscosity Measurement: A Virtual Experiment for Windows (2), two programs published individually by JCE Software
•
Periodic Table Live! LE, a limited edition of Periodic Table Live!, 2nd Edition (3) (this replaces Chemistry Navigator (4) and Illustrated Periodic Table (5))
•
Many of the programs from previous editions (6)1
Hardware and Software Requirements System requirements are given in Table 2. Some programs have additional requirements. See the individual program abstracts at JCE Online (http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/), or documentation included on the CD-ROM for more specific information. Licensing and Discounts for Adoptions The General Chemistry Collection is intended for use by individual students. Institutions and faculty members may adopt General Chemistry Collection 4th Edition as they would a textbook. We can arrange for CDs to be packaged with laboratory manuals or other course materials or to be sold for direct distribution to students through the campus bookstore. The cost per CD can be quite low when large numbers are ordered (as little as $3 each), making this a costeffective method of allowing students access to the software they need whenever and wherever they desire. Other JCE Software CDs can also be adopted. Network licenses to distribute the software to your students via your local campus network can also be arranged. Contact us for details on purchasing multiple user licenses. Price and Ordering An order form is inserted in this issue that provides prices and other ordering information. If this card is not available or if you need additional information, contact: JCE Software,
Table 1. Contents of the General Chemistry Collection, 4th Edition Mac OS & Windows
Topics
Windows Programs
Topics
Alkanes in Motion
Molecular dynamics
BCTC
Lake Study
Scientific method, Water chemistry, Environmental chemistry
Water chemistry, Environmental chemistry, Chemistry and society
Bonding Theory
Solid State Resources
Materials Science, Solid state
History of chemistry, Metal complexes, Structural isomers
Solid State Structures
Solid state, Structural chemistry
Buffers Plus
Buffers, Titration curves, pH, Alpha plots
Window on the Solid State Solid state, Structures of metals (Parts I and II) Periodic Table Live! LE Mac OS Programs
Equilibrium Calculator
Equilibrium calculations
Fields of pH
pH of dilute solutions
Periodic Table
Inqual-S
Qualitative analysis of metal ions
Topics
Lessons for Introductory Chemistry
Modules covering 12 general chemistry topics
Acid-Base Package
Titration curves, Buffers, pH, Alpha plots Octahedral complexes, Structural isomers
Viscosity Measurement: A Virtual Experiment
Viscosity, Density
Coordination Compounds Inorganic Nomenclature
Inorganic nomenclature
VizQuiz
Quizzing and homework
MolVib 2.0
Molecular vibration animations
Window on the Solid State Solid state, Structures of ionic compounds (Parts III and IV)
Organic Nomenclature
Organic nomenclature
Precision of Calc. Values
Experimental error
Writing Electron Dot Structures
Electron Dot Structures
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Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 77 No. 7 July 2000 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
Information • Textbooks • Media • Resources Table 2. Hardware and Software Required Computer
CPU
RAM
Mac OS Compatible
68030 or highe r, Pow e r M ac s ugge s t e d
16 M B
256 colors 640 × 480 re s olut ion
Sy s t e m 7 or highe r
Windows Compatible
80486 or highe r, Pe nt ium s ugge s t e d
16 M B
V GA ; SV GA w it h 256 or more colors s ugge s t e d
W indow s 98/95 W indow s 3.1
University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706-1396; phone; 608/262-5153 or 800/ 991-5534; fax: 608/265-8094; email:
[email protected]. Information about all of our publications (including abstracts, descriptions, updates) is available from our World Wide Web site at: http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/. Acknowledgment General Chemistry Collection contains the work of many authors. The time and effort of these dedicated chemistry educators in producing these programs is gratefully acknowledged by the editors, along with the authors’ generosity in contributing their work to the chemistry education community by submission to JCE Software. Thanks are also due the many volunteer peer reviewers who give their time and expertise to help maintain and assure the high quality of JCE Software publications. Note 1. The DOS programs included in previous editions have been removed from the CD-ROM, but will be available for free download to Journal subscribers. Details are on the JCE Software WWW page, http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCESoft/. AnswerSheets (7) and
Graphics
Operating System
Atomic Spectra-Graph (8) are not compatible with current versions of Excel and have been removed from the collection.
Literature Cited 1. Magnell, K. R. Writing Electron Dot Structures J. Chem. Educ. Software 2000, 9905. 2. Papadopoulos, N.; Pitta, A. T.; Markopoulos, N.; Limniou, M.; Lemos, M. A. N. D. A.; Lemos, F.; and Freire, F. G. Viscosity Measurement: A Virtual Experiment J. Chem. Educ. Software, in press, 9907. 3. Banks, A. J.; Holmes, J. L.; Jacobsen, J. J.; Moore, J. W.; Schatz, P. F.; Tweedale, J.; Kotz, J. C.; Robinson, W. R.; Young, S. Periodic Table Live! 2nd Edition J. Chem. Educ. Software 1999, SP17. 4. Kotz, J. C.; Young, S. Chemistry Navigator J. Chem. Educ. Software 1994, 6C2. 5. Schatz, P. F.; Moore, J. W.; Holmes, J. L.; Kotz, J. C. . The Illustrated Periodic Table J. Chem. Educ. Software 1995, 2D2. 6. General Chemistry Collection (Student Edition). J. Chem. Educ. Software, 1999, SP 16 3rd ed.; 1998, SP 16 2nd ed.; 1997, SP 16 1st ed. 7. Cornelius, R. AnswerSheets J. Chem. Educ. Software, 1993, 1D1; 5C1. 8. Surovell, T. A. . Atomic Spectra-Graph J. Chem. Educ. Software 1994, 6C1.
General Chemistry Collection, 4th Edition
Lessons for Introductory Chemistry John S. Martin and Edward V. Blackburn Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G2, Canada
These twelve lessons, and an introductory lesson, are tutorials in basic topics of introductory chemistry. They are suitable for school use, individual study, or distance learning. They are particularly valuable as review material for students in more advanced courses who may have been away from the subject for some time. They contain a great variety of problems and exercises driven by randomnumber generators, so that the same problem never repeats exactly. The lessons are, for the most part, Socratic dialogues in which the student is required to answer questions and perform simulated experiments in order to discover chemical principles. They are organized in an intuitive chapter and page structure. One may move readily around each lesson. There are many on-screen facilities such as help, data tables, and a calculator.
“Chemical Calculations: Combustion Analysis” is one of the 12 modules in Introductory Chemistry Lessons. This screen shows an animation of the combustion of a hydrocarbon. Note the on-screen data table displayed at the bottom of the screen and the on-screen calculator in the lower right corner.
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Information • Textbooks • Media • Resources
Many lessons contain simulations and animations corresponding to those in the previously published Simulations and Interactive Resources (1). The lessons on the periodic table, oxidation numbers, nomenclature, and reactions will be reinforced by playing the Periodic Table Games (2). These latter two programs are meant to be coordinated with the lessons. They are now available for free download by Journal subscribers. All of the lessons end with comprehensive review quizzes. It is good strategy for a student to look first at the quiz, to ascertain whether the material of the lesson will be of value, or whether only certain topics are needed.
Ten of the quizzes produce scores out of 100. Scores may be recorded in a dataset, and presented in histogram form. There is a “hall of fame” display, which shows the top fifteen scores. The instructor may view the lesson scores or reset the scoreboards. Scores are kept starting on the date of resetting. Literature Cited 1. Martin, J. S. SIRs: Simulations and Interactive Resources. J. Chem. Educ. Software, 1996, 9B, No. 2. 2. Martin, J. S. Periodic Table Games. J. Chem. Educ. Software, 1997, 10B, No. 1.
General Chemistry Collection, 4th Edition
INQUAL-S Victor I. Bendall and Sean Johnson Department of Chemistry, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475
INQUAL-S is a simulation of inorganic qualitative analysis using the insolubility of sulfides as the main avenue to separation. This simulation allows for the identification of eighteen common cations in a mixture of their nitrates. The separation and testing methods used by this software allow the user to approximate those of Hogness, Johnson, and Armstrong (1) and to a lesser extent, those of King (2). INQUAL-S allows students to start with a solution of known identity with 1–18 cations or with a sample containing from 1–10 cations that are randomly selected by the computer and not known to the user. The cations are divided into groups depending upon whether they give insoluble chlorides, acid insoluble sulfides, base insoluble sulfides, insoluble carbonates, and none of the previous classes. Each group is then subjected to a variety of reagents to individually identify each cation.
If the suggested scheme is followed, INQUAL-S reproduces the expected behavior of these cations and results in the successful identification of each cation present in the original mixture. However, INQUAL-S allows the user to add any of the reagents supplied in any order and in any amount. So, just as in the real laboratory, a wrong reagent at the wrong time in the wrong amount can lead to results that can be very difficult to interpret. In addition to the 29 reagents that can be added, the user can filter, heat, evaporate and run flame tests (with or without cobalt glass) on the sample. During the simulation, volatile reagents will be lost on heating, carbonates will bubble on contact with acid, and precipitates will separate and redissolve. With 18 cations and 29 reagents, the number of possible variations of solution and precipitates is very high. While the author has attempted to anticipate all possible reactions, it is almost certain that some have been overlooked and others misrepresented. Nevertheless, the program will mimic all the common behaviors of these combinations of cations and anions as the acidity and ammonium ion concentration of the solutions change. INQUAL-S is intended for use by high school or first year college students of chemistry. Those users will see the colors of the commonly precipitated solids of inorganic chemistry and the solubility rules that govern their precipitation, and should develop skills in interpreting the behavior of cations under a variety of reaction conditions. Literature Cited
This screen from INQUAL-S shows what happens when hydrochloric acid is added to a mixture of cations to be separated and identified. The strip at left is pH paper indicating the approximate pH of the contents of the test tube. The list at right gives choices for the next step.
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1. Hogness, T. R.; Johnson, W. C.; Armstrong, A. R. Qualitative Analysis and Chemical Equilibrium, 5th ed.; Holt, Rinehart and Wilson: New York, 1966. 2. King, E. J. Qualitative Analysis and Electrolytic Solutions; Harcourt, Brace: New York, 1959.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 77 No. 7 July 2000 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
