computer mrie~.28
edited by W.
MOORE
Eastern Michigan university, ypsilanti,
48197
JOHN
Microcomputer Demonstrations in the Teaching of Electrochemical Kinetics Oliver R. Brown The University. Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom Several articles published recently in THIS JOURNAL have drawn attention to the use of inexpensive microcomputers as aids in teaching chemistry (1-3). In particular the value of graphics facilities has been stressed (4). However, if the title "A Tool, Not a Gimmick" of the initial paper (5) in the "Computer Series" is to be valid, it is necessary to exploit fully the uniqtle ad\,antages offered by the wmputw UIIPII crmipared u'ith alternative demt,nstrafim techniques. Stutir displays that merely show a diagram have no advantage over a slide projection. Even dynamic displays offer only convenience when compared with videotape or cine-film presentation. One cansuggest that the major advantage of the microcomputer in a teaching role lies in its combination of possibilities for interactive operation, either by the teacher or the pupil, and for dynamic display. This paper describes the application of this philosophy to the teaching of elementary electrode kinetics with the help of an Apple I1 Plus (48K RAM) microcomputer equipped with a floppy disk drive; however, many of the ideas discussed will be specific neither to the Apple nor to electrochemistry. The Apple was chosen for its excellence in the following features: high-resolution color graphics, storage and manipulation of shapes, games controls, and instruction handbooks. Incidentally, Apples are used extensively in our research lahoratory for the total control of elaborate experiments (6) and were therefore available and familiar to us. In Britain, electrochemistry is generally a neglected area of chemical education. Electrochemistrv questions set in national exaninations tor High Srhud pul;ila r~.stth~~pr~,ximity of the .ouoil's r n i ~ ~ : o n c ~ ~ pimd l l mi1:veln s i f iworance 111 those . ot. the examiners i n s t & Ioiprohiug the ;tareof knowledge and undt.rititnding rnl the candidate. In parricular the kinetic.
