84
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
students. The presence in the city of so many scientifically trained men adds to the interest shown by the students in scientific investigation. Few students have actively disliked the research course; some have voluntarily spent almost all of their free time in the laboratory, putting in perhaps three times as much time as required. Before embarking upon a program of undergraduate research in chemistry. one should consider very carefully several matters which concern the students, the faculty, and the college. First, it is essential to decide how many and what type of students shall take this course. Will the course be compulsory for a certain group, as it is here at Union College, or will it be elective? How much time can the students spend per week? Research is time consuming and, from our experience, three afternoons per week for a year is certainly not too much time. Is there a good spirit among the students? Do they show interest in research hy members of the faculty? These and other questions must be answered in each college situation_ Direction of undergraduate research is by no means easy work. The instructor must be willing to spend time, large amounts of it, and at very inconvenient moments. Professor Smith's statement (5) that time must be given l'unstintingly" is .moderate. The instructor's own reference file covering these undergraduate problems should be essentially complete. This requires facility with scientific literature and an orderly habit of filing data. The instructor must not only be well infonned in his field but he must, himself, he skilful in experimental work. He should he able to do any of the necessary operations himself, or be able to learn quickly how to do them. He must be patient with a student, although this is a necessary qualification for any teacher. Here at Union College although one instructor has carried the major part of the work in the senior research course in chemistry, we have encouraged other mem-
bers of the staff to participate by taking one, or perhaps two, students. Most of these staff members have been young men just out of graduate school. No one could criticize their enthusiasm but, in their lack of experience, they showed certain characteristic faults. Problems offered were apt to be too difficult and were on subjects upon which the instructors were not thoroughly infonned. They also lacked patience or insight into the students' difficulties. Insight into students' minds comes with experience. Research by undergraduates is best carried out in a laboratory which is not used for other work. By having the room used only for research, it is possible to keep apparatus setups from being disturbed. The college should have equipment enough so that a research student can keep his own apparatus for use. The more simple the equipment, the better. Whether or not special equipment should be purchased for undergraduate research must be determined by local conditions. Our experience, at Union College, with our required senior course in chemical research has been favorable. \Ve are convinced that the course accomplishes results which we could not get in any other way. While we cannot recommend that such a course be established in every college, we do believe that any college offering a specialized curriculum in chemistry should carefully examine the possibilities of a course in undergraduate research. LITERATURE CITED
(1) YOE, "Senior research," ]. CHEM. EDUC., 18, 410 (1941). (2) CORTELYOU AND CORTELYOU, "A proposal for cooperative junior research," ibid., 13, 565 (1936). (3) CORTELYOU AXD CORTELYOU, "A discussion of the proposal for cooperative junior research," ibid., 16, 296 (1939). (4) METCALF, "Research in colleges," Bull. Am. Assoc. Unifl. bof., 14, 277 (1928). (5) SMITH, "Research in the undergraduate curriculum of the course in chemistry," ]. CHEM. EDUC., 9, 285 (1932). (6) KIRK, "Research for the undergraduate," ibid., 9, 280 (1932). (7) Ross, "Research problems for secondary school pupils." ibid., 15, 84 (1938).
SOME EFFECTS OF PRESSURE UPON THE PROPERTIES OF LIQUIDS AND SOLUTIONS OF ELECTROLYTES (Continued from page 63) (2) BACHEM,
(3) (4) (5)
(6)
(7)
(8) (9) (10)
"Uber die Kompressibilihit elektrolytischer Losungen," Z. Physik, 101,541 (1936). BORN, "Volumen und Hydratationswiirme der loncn," ibid., 1,45 (1920). BRIDGMAN, "The Physics of High Pressure," The Macmillan Company, New York, 1931. CoHEN, "Physico-Chemical Metamorphosis and Problems in Piezochemistry," McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1926. GIBSON, "The influence of concentration on the compressions of aqueous solutions of certain sulfates and a note on the representation of the compressions of aqueous solutions as a function of pressure." J. Am. Chern. Soc., 56, 4 (1934). GIBSON, "The influence of the concentration and nature of the solute on the compressions of certain aqueous solutions," ibid., 57, 284 (1935). GIBSO~, "On the effect of pressure on the solubility of solids in liquids," Am. J. Sci., 35A, 49 (1938). GIBSON, "The nature of solutions and their behavior under high pressures," Sci. Monthly, 46, 103 (1938). GIBSON AND LOEFFLER, "Pressure-volume·tcmperaturerela-
(11)
(12) (13) (14)
(15) (16)
tions in solutions," J. Phys. Chern., 43, 207 (1939); J. Am. Chern. Soc., 61, 2515 (1939). OWEN AND BRINKLEY, "Calculation of the effect of pressure upon ionic equilibria in pure water and in salt solutions," Chern. Revs., 29, 461 (1941); Correction: In Figure 2, page 472, the solid lines designate systems in salt water, and the broken lines represent systems in pure water. OWEN AKD BRINKLEY, "The effect of pressure upon the dielectric constants of liquids," Phys. Revs., (2]. 64-,32 (1943). PAULING, "The Nature of the Chemical Bond," Cornell University Press, Ithaca. New York, 1939, Chapter X. TAlT, "Report on some of the physical properties of freshwater and of sea-water." 1888. From "The Physics and Chemistry of the Voyage of H. M. S. Challenger," Vol. II, Part IV. S. P. LXI. TAMMANN, "Uber die Abhangigkeit c1er Volumina von Losungcn vom Druck," Z. physik. Chem., 17,620 (1895). TAM~1ANN. "Uber die Beziehungen zwischen den innern Kraften und Eigenshaften der Losungen," L. Voss, Leipsig, 1907, p. 30.
