VIPEr

Science Skills, Practices, and Resources

Subdiscipline:

Learning Goals:

Faculty will

understand the "backward design" concept
learn to write learning outcomes and assessments using the verbs ("activities") and "products" provided
learn how a rubric can be used to discriminate students' levels of achievement

Implementation Notes:

These slides are a quick and dirty summary of a longer hands-on faculty development workshop I do. They provide an introduction to the Understanding by Design process, help in writing learning goals, suggestions for developing assessments of student learning, and helpful hints for preparing a VIPEr learning object.

Time Required:

15 minutes to read the slides; a lifetime to practice the skill :)

Evaluation

Evaluation Methods:

I hope that faculty will use these slides to aid their writing of learning goals and assessments for the VIPEr site.

19 May 2020

MO diagram for square planar methane guided inquiry

Submitted by Adam R. Johnson, Harvey Mudd College

Evaluation Methods:

Since this is done in class, it is not graded. Since I correct their mistakes in real time, the final MO diagram is usualy almost perfect.

Evaluation Results:

Students often want to have the electrons in the LGOs 'ride over' on the non-bonding MO instead of falling down to the lowest energy bonding MO. After pointing it out several times in class, students are generally better at using the aufbau principle.

Description:

This guided inquiry activity takes students through the process of constructing an MO diagram for square planar methane. LGOs are constructed using a graphical approach. Students are guided through a process that allows them to use their MO diagram to make a claim about chemical properties.

Learning Goals:

Students will derive the LGOs for methane in the D_4h point group.

Students will derive the MO diagram for methane in the D_4h point group.

Corequisites:

Molecular Structure and Bonding

Subdiscipline:

Main Group Chemistry

Course Level:

Bonding models: Discrete molecules

Equipment needs:

none

Topics Covered:

Group theory & applications

Prerequisites:

First Semester Inorganic Chemistry / Foundation Course in Inorganic Chemistry

Related activities:

Molecular Orbitals of Square-Planar Tetrahydrides

MO diagram for water guided inquiry

Generating LGOs (SALCs)

Generating LGOs and constructing MO diagrams - pencast

Implementation Notes:

This would come after spending several class periods developing LGOs for polyatomics.

I use this method (though not this detailed worksheet) every year in class. I have students divide up into teams and work together at the chalkboard on molecules like borane, methane, water, SF₄, and others. I circulate through the class and correct their diagrams in real time. Then at the end, each team presents their MO diagram and its major features.

Time Required:

30 minutes

Web Resources:

J. Chem. Educ. paper

19 May 2020

MO diagram for water guided inquiry

Submitted by Adam R. Johnson, Harvey Mudd College

Evaluation Methods:

Since this is done in class, it is not graded. Since I correct their mistakes in real time, the final MO diagram is usualy almost perfect.

Evaluation Results:

Students don't know which orbitals to mix to form MOs at first and need guidance.

Students don't really understand the concept of hybrid orbitals within the framework of MO theory until they see a few examples.

Description:

This guided inquiry activity takes the students through the whole process of constructing an MO diagram for water in detail. The LGOs are constructed using my graphical approach (linked below) and hybrid orbital formation is discussed. Along the way, students are given hints on what to think about when constructing an MO diagram.

Learning Goals:

Students will derive the LGOs for water.

Students will derive the MO diagram for water without sp mixing.

Students will derive the MO diagram for water with sp mixing.

Corequisites:

Molecular Structure and Bonding

Subdiscipline:

Main Group Chemistry

Course Level:

Bonding models: Discrete molecules

Equipment needs:

none

Topics Covered:

Group theory & applications

Prerequisites:

First Semester Inorganic Chemistry / Foundation Course in Inorganic Chemistry

Related activities:

Generating LGOs (SALCs)

Generating LGOs and constructing MO diagrams - pencast

MO diagram for square planar methane guided inquiry

Implementation Notes:

This would come after spending several class periods developing LGOs for polyatomics.

I use this method (though not this detailed worksheet) every year in class. I have students divide up into teams and work together at the chalkboard on molecules like borane, methane, water, SF₄, and others. I circulate through the class and correct their diagrams in real time. Then at the end, each team presents their MO diagram and its major features.

Time Required:

30 minutes

Web Resources:

J. Chem. Educ. paper

18 May 2020

Literature Discussion for Oscillating Stereocontrol: A Strategy for the Synthesis of Thermoplastic Elastomeric Polypropylene

Submitted by Shirley Lin, United States Naval Academy

Evaluation Methods:

I have not yet implemented this LO. As with other literature discussions, instructors could collect the completed worksheets (by an individual student or in groups of students) for evaluation.

Evaluation Results:

I have not yet implemented this LO so there are currently no evaluation results to share.

Description:

This literature discussion focuses upon the Science article by Coates and Waymouth reporting the synthesis of thermoplastic elastomeric polypropylene by an unbridged zirconocene. This article was the basis for the work done for my PhD thesis in the Waymouth group. The LO was written in May 2020 in honor of Bob Waymouth's 60th birthday. See the BITeS post announcing the LO here.

Course Level:

First Semester Inorganic Chemistry / Foundation Course in Inorganic Chemistry

Prerequisites:

General Chemistry

Organic Chemistry

Corequisites:

Subdiscipline:

Polypropylene Stereochemistry and Identification by 13C NMR Spectroscopy

Learning Goals:

After completing this literature discussion, students will be able to:

describe a thermoplastic elastomer
describe the stereochemistry of polypropylene
describe the relationship between catalyst structure and polypropylene stereochemistry
apply covalent bond classification electron counting to a zirconocene
interpret data from figures and tables
describe the methods used by the authors to support the synthesis of isotactic-atactic stereoblock polypropylene

Topics Covered:

Catalysis

Chemical literature

Related activities:

Chapter 19--Stanley Organometaliics

Chapter 21--Stanley Organometallics

Implementation Notes:

As usual, instructors may wish to mix-and-match questions to suit their learning goals and time constraints.

This article addresses a part of the ACS list of inorganic chemistry macromolecular, supramolecular and nanoscale (MSN) topics:

Ziegler-Natta, metallocene catalysts for olefin polymerization - impact on industrial/materials development

Time Required:

depends upon implementation; minimum of 20-30 minutes for the literature discussion if students read and answer questions outside of class

Web Resources:

Link to Science article

6 Apr 2020

Schlenk Line Survival guide

Submitted by Adam R. Johnson, Harvey Mudd College

Evaluation Methods:

This is really more of a resource. I have not used it but I have a link to it in my reserach SOP folder. I think it would be good to show the students a general resource before teaching them the specifics of a local line.

Description:

I feel like I've shared this resource before but I couldn't find it so maybe it will stick this time :)

This is a good resource created by "Dr. Andryj Borys, a main-group chemist, phosphorus fanatic and Schlenk line enthusiast." He is currently a postdoc in Canada, headed back to Europe in 2020 (supposedly..)

this resource describes the use of a Schlenk line in quite a bit of detail, with a variety of standard applications (cannula transfer, sealing NMR tubes).

Topics Covered:

Prerequisites:

Organic Chemistry

Corequisites:

Course Level:

Subdiscipline:

Coordination Chemistry

f-block Chemistry

Science Skills, Practices, and Resources

Learning Goals:

A student can use this resource to learn general features of a Schlenk line.

Related activities:

Virtual Schlenk Line

Handling Air Sensitive Reagents and Working with a Schlenk Line (the COVID19 version)

Web Resources:

Schlenk Line Survival Guide

6 Apr 2020

Migratory Insertion Guided inquiry

Submitted by Adam R. Johnson, Harvey Mudd College

Evaluation Methods:

I look to see if students are able to

1) determine the correct number of IR stretches for the compounds,

2) calculate the labeled IR stretches from the unlabeled ones,

3) correctly predict the product distributions expected for the 3 mechanistic pathways

4) understand/explain the importance of experiment 2, negative evidence, and microscopic reversibility

Evaluation Results:

Awaiting assessment data at time of submission; will add ASAP.

based on 3 complete submissions (43% response rate, due to COVID)

students generally had no problems with questions 1 and 2, and were able to determine the number/symmetry of IR stretches using group theory, and to predict a vibrational frequency from a areduced mass calculation.

question 3 gave them a lot of trouble. I would normally do this as an in-class exercise and be able to talk them thorugh problems. students were able to draw some of the correct products for the various mechanisms but did not understand the fact that there would be a statistical distribution of products based on the 13C label. However, I spoke with all 3 students and they said that after priming their brains with the exercise, the reading in the textbook made a lot of sense and they understood what they had missed. Perfect!

Students did not generally understand the concept of negative evidence as hoped.

For future years, if I were unable to do this exercise in class, I would want to provide more guidance to get students to think about product distribution. However, if done in class, I think that watching them struggle a bit before helping them over the hurdle would be good.

Description:

The migratory insertion reaction is one of the "four" main reactions in organometallic chemistry. It involves the formation of an acyl group by insertion of a CO molecule into a metal alkyl bond. The reaction is sometimes called the carbonyl insertion reaction because the product appears to be a result of direct insertion of the CO into the metal alkyl, but that name implies a mechanistic pathway that may not be in operation.

The reaction of methyl pentacarbonyl manganese(I), MeMn(CO)₅, was studied extensively by Calderazzo in the mid 1960s. The use of C13 labeled CO and IR spectroscopy allowed for the identification of the mechanism for the reaction among the likely possibilities of direct insertion, alkyl migration, or carbonyl migration. This guided inquiry exercise presents some of the data from the Calderazzo paper and has students interpret it to determine the mechanism of the reaction in this system.

It should be noted that there are examples of all three mechanisms operating in different chemical systems, so this exercise is specific to the manganese substrate, though it is usually more generally applied.

Learning Goals:

Students will interpret and analyze IR data of metal carbonyls

Students will calculate IR bands for 13C labeled peaks in the IR

Students will predict product distributions for the three likely mechanisms (direct insertion, carbonyl migration, alkyl migration).

Students will compare expected and observed product distributions and identify the mechanism operating

Students will discover and discuss the concept of "negative evidence."

Equipment needs:

none

Topics Covered:

Group theory & applications

Physical methods / analytical techniques

Reaction mechanisms

Prerequisites:

Organic Chemistry

Corequisites:

Subdiscipline:

Course Level:

Isotopic labeling and reduced mass calculations for IR spectroscopy

Related activities:

Implementation Notes:

In my course, we usually cover isotopic labeling and its application to IR spectroscopy. We also use group theoretical methods to predict and assign M-CO stretches the correct symmetry labels and whether they are IR active or not. These two factors could be removed from the guided inquiry and presented as additional data to the students if you don't cover these topics. The rest of the activity is self contained. Access to the paper is not required, as the IR bands are in the document but a reference is provided.

Time Required:

30-50 minutes

Web Resources:

JOMC 1967, 10(1), 101-104

26 Mar 2020

Handling Air Sensitive Reagents and Working with a Schlenk Line (the COVID19 version)

Submitted by Lori Watson, Earlham College

Evaluation Methods:

Student learning is assessed by answers to simple scenario based questions accompanying this resouce.

Description:

One of the features of the laboratory associated with my Inorganic chemistry course is learning to do some air sensitive chemistry using Schlenk lines (and sometimes gloveboxes). Of course, COVID19 is keeping us out of the lab this year! This is a collection of short web based resources (text and video) detailing begining use of a Schlenk line, something about drying and degassing solvents, and transferring liquids to a reaction flask. It is accompanied by questions I am having students answer as part of the alternate lab I am creating in place of our usual organometallic lab experiemnt. If you have a favorite resource that might be better/supplement the ones I found, please add to the comments!

Topics Covered:

Professional skills development

Prerequisites:

General Chemistry

Corequisites:

Course Level:

Subdiscipline:

Science Skills, Practices, and Resources

Learning Goals:

A student will be able to explain the basic operation of a Shlenk line and how to add reagents and solvents to a flask under inert atmosphere.

Related activities:

setting up an air-sensitive reaction (video)

Time Required:

2 hours, if all videos are watched and resources read.

21 Mar 2020

Ferrocene acylation - The Covid-19 Version

Submitted by Chip Nataro, Lafayette College

Additional Authors:

Lisa Bell-Loncella , University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

Description:

This is the classic Chromatography of Ferrocene Derivatives experiment from "Synthesis and Technique in Inorganic Chemistry" 3rd Ed. (1986 pp 157-168) by R. J. Angelici. There are no significant changes from the experiment published in the book so details will not be provided. What is provided are links to some excellent videos showing the experiment and characterization data for students to work with. For the time being this will be a living document. Currently it has ¹H, ¹³C{¹H}, COSY, DEPT, HMBC, HSQC IR, UV-Vis, GC-MS and Cyclic Voltammetry raw data files for all compounds for students to work with. It also includes processed ¹H, ¹³C{¹H}, COSY, DEPT, HMBC, HSQC, IR, GC-MS and Cyclic Voltammetry data for all compounds. If anyone has any additional means of characterization they would like to include (say Mossbauer) please feel free to contact the author.

Topics Covered:

Bonding models: Discrete molecules

Descriptive chemistry

Electronic spectroscopy

Molecular structure

Physical methods / analytical techniques

First Semester Inorganic Chemistry / Foundation Course in Inorganic Chemistry

Visualization

Prerequisites:

Course Level:

Corequisites:

Subdiscipline:

Molecular Structure and Bonding

A very lab focused video from the Univ. of Sheffield

Learning Goals:

A student should get an appreciation for what doing this lab would be like by watching videos. In addition, the student will analyze the data provided and learn about the characterization of ferrocene, acetylferrocene and 1,1'-diacetylferrocene.

Equipment needs:

Nothing.

The NMR data comes from a Bruker instrument and can be opened with TopSpin, MestReNova and perhaps other programs.

Implementation Notes:

Like most everyone at this time this is going to be a trial by fire.

Web Resources:

Video focused more on background material

Bruker Topspin for academia

MestReNova

20 Mar 2020

setting up an air-sensitive reaction (video)

Submitted by Adam R. Johnson, Harvey Mudd College

Evaluation Methods:

have not done

Evaluation Results:

n/a

Description:

This is a video I made to demonstrate the basics of air-sensitive reaction setup under nitrogen flush. It is the simplest, most basic method for setting up a reaction with air/water sensitive reagents.

The link goes to my channel on YouTube.

Topics Covered:

Physical methods / analytical techniques

First Semester Inorganic Chemistry / Foundation Course in Inorganic Chemistry

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Subdiscipline:

Learning Goals:

After watching this video, a student will be able to set up a reaction under nitrogen. Or, if there is a global pandemic and the students are at home, they will at least see how it is done.

Course Level:

Implementation Notes:

I made this and am sharing it with my students because they did not get an opportunity to set up an air sensitive reaction this year.

Time Required:

5 minutes to watch video

Web Resources:

Youtube video

20 Mar 2020

virtual inorganic lab experiments with data

Submitted by Adam R. Johnson, Harvey Mudd College

This collection includes new and/or updated lab experiments useful for online/distance learning. To be included in this collection, data should be provided for others to use in their new virtual laboratory courses. This collection was prepared as part of my response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subdiscipline:

Coordination Chemistry

Topics Covered:

Computer modeling

Coordination chemistry

Electronic spectroscopy