The PLACE of COLLOID CHEMISTRY in CHEMICAL EDUCATION* L. A. MUNRO Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
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URING the departmental consideration of the revision of our fourth-year courses in chemistry, the writer undertook to ascertain how much time was being given to colloid chemistry in the universities of America. A questionnaire was mailed to those universities in Canada and the United States which give graduate work in chemistry or chemical engineering. A list of the latter was obtained from the Vocational Guidance Leaflet No. 19 of the U. S. Office of Education (1932). The questionnaire was as follows: I. Is colloid chemistry given as a separate course(s)?. ......... 2. Inwhat year? 2nd.. .... 3rd.. . . . . 4th.. . . . . Gradna t e . . .... 3. Compdmry.. ........ or Elective. . . . . . . . . .? 4. Number of lectures per week. . . . . . . . . . Number of laboratory hours per week.. . . . . . . . . Lengh of the course in weeks. . . . . . . . . . 5. Is catalysis dealt with (a) as a separate course?. . . . . . . . . . (6) as a part of colloid chemistry?. . . . . . . . . . (c) as a part of physical chemistry?. . . . . . . . . . (d) as a part of industrial chemistry?. ......... (e) as a part of organic chemistry?. . . . . . . . . .
One hundred replies were received from one hundred eighteen inquiries. Seventy-three universities were found to give some eighty-two courses in colloid chemistry. Two of these are reading courses, and one, a combined lecture and seminar or discussion course. The data for the above institutions are summarized in Table 1. The omission of any university means either that no separate course in colloid chemistry is given or that the questionnaire was unanswered. It will be seen from Column 2 that approximately three-quarters of the courses are open to undergraduates. This is to be expected. The student in chemistry or chemical engineering is continually meeting "colloidal complications" in the so-called pure chernistry courses. In analytical chemistry, for example, he gets colloidal suspensions, gelatinous precipitates, encounters errors due to adsorption or peptization of prep
* Presented to the Section an Chemical Education, Canadian Chemical Convention, Niagara, June. 1936.
cipitates, and is perhaps introduced to adsorption indicators. In organic preparations catalysts are often used; a desired crystalline product may turn out to be a gummy or gelatinous mass. He finds that electrochemistry has to take cognizance of protective colloids and other colloidal phenomena, that industrial chemistry abounds in colloidal applications and problems, while in biochemistry a considerable portion of the text or time is given to the study of the colloidal state. A separate course for the undergraduate serves to coordinate these ramifications of colloidal chemistry in pure and applied chemistry. It is interesting to note the distribution of these undergraduate courses in colloid chemistry according to years. In one university the course is open to secondyear students, ten courses are available to juniors, while fifty are given to seniors. In fourteenuniversities the course is compulsory and in still others, while nominally elective, i t is "practically compulsory owing to restricted choice, etc." Twenty-seven of the eighty courses are for graduates only. Many courses are open to both seniors and graduates. The number of courses which consist of both lectures and laboratory is forty-four. In seven more the laboratory work is elective. The average number of lectures in those courses giving no laboratory work is considerably above the mean. For all courses the average gives a total of forty-one lecture hours and forty laboratory hours. Catalysis is dealt with as a part of colloid chemistry in thirty of the eighty courses considered. In twentyone universities a separate course is offered. Nine of the latter are undergraduate courses. The topic is usually dealt with as a part of physical chemistry, but in thirty cases i t is discussed as a part of organic, and in twenty-seven as a part of industrial chemistry. Several of those who reported that no separate course was given in colloid chemistry a t present stated that plans were under way for the introduction of such a course. In two other instances it was intimated that
the time given to colloid chemistry was to be increased. The tendency seems therefore to be toward a separa-
tion of colloid chemistry from the course in physical chemistry and its establishment as a distinct course.
TABLE 1
Yeor given Alberta, Univ. of Akron. Univ. of Baylor University British Columbia Univ, Brooklyn Polytceh. 1. Bryn Mawr College Calif-ia lnst. Tech. California. univ. of Care School App. Sci. Clrck University Colorado School Mines Colorado. Univ. of Columbia University Cornell uoiver.ity Florida. Univ. of Pardham Uoiverdty Harvard University Holy Crorr College Howard University Idaho, Univ. of Illinoie, u n i v , of Iowa state College Iowa s t a t e university Indiana University Knorar State College Kansas, Univ. of Lehigh Univerrity Louisiana State U n h . Manitoba, Univ. 01 Maryland, Univ. of Mar.. 1 n r t Tech. Mars. State College MeGill UniverGty Michigan, Univ of Minnesota. Univ. of Mirrouri School of Mines Missouri. Uniu. of Nebraska, Univ. of New York University N. Carolina State Coll. N. Carolina. Uoiv. of Northwestern Univ. Notre Dame. Univ. of Oberlin College Ohio State Uniu. Oklahoms Agr. & Meeh. Coll Oregon s t a t e College Oregon, univ. of peno. s t a t e College Pennsylvania. univ. of Pittsburgh. Univ. of Princeton univerrity Purdue University Queen's University
Rice Institute Rutgers University Saskatchewan. Univ. of South Dakota. univ. of Stanford univ. Syracuse univer3ity Toronto, Univ. of Utah, Uniu. of Vanderbilt University Virginia Tech Inst. Virginia. univ. of Washington State College Washington. Univ. of western Ontario, univ. of Western Reserve Univ. West Virginia. Univ. of wis-sin. univ. of Yale univer3ity ~
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4 . 5 AE AE 4AE 4AC A* AE* 4C* 3,4AE 3C, A E AC AE 4AE 3. 4 E AE 4AE* AE AC 4AE 3C. AE 4AE AE* 3,4AE 4AE 4AE 4AE 3.4AE AE AE AE 4C A 4C' AE 4AE AE 4AE 4AE AE* 4AE AE 4AC 3, 4 E 4AE 4AE 2. 3. 4AC AE AE AC 4AE 4AE 4AE 4E 4E AE 4C 4AE 4E AE 4AE 4C 3C 4C AC 4C* AE 4AE AE 4AE* 4AE 4AE AC 4AE AE AE 4AE AE 4C 3.4.48 4AE 4AE AE E
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Total Hoi'rr Lnc.
Combined l e u r e and semiopr course.
-
elective: C
-
22 36 36 24 24 60 18 39 54 36 32 12 30 30 64 36 30 54 32 36 32 32 24 54 68 36 36 45 72 30 64 30 48 0 10 52 32 32 64 54 54 36 30 36 48 32 54 36 36 54 72 40 18 108 32 64 32 48 45 16 0 21 20 72 72 54 32 52 36 30 24 27 64 64 36 36 28 18 36 72 30 eompulsnry; A
Calolysir (Qwrsr. 5 )
Rrnarkr Alternate years
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* T O be instituted
* Demonstrations
* Average time *Average time (A) 2 leet., 17 wks *TO be increased
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*
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"Applied mlloid chem. "d bcdc bed
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Average TWOcourses xiven
bd c ac
bee abc acde b" bede cde A c
bedc
Alternate years
bede Ace * Auge. (A) 2 lect.. 14 wks Reading course for Arts students bcde
bede ce
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Three courses given succcarivelp. Given by Physics Dept.
sbe bed F
-
bc bcdc bee bed= b bede
gmdunte;
-
vodagradunte or unstated
