Siderophore Building: In class Exercise

Submitted by Sheila Smith / University of Michigan- Dearborn on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 21:25
Description
This is an in-class exercise (brainstorming) designed to lead the student through the design of a siderophore (or "iron lover") by applying his knowledge of Lewis acid- base chemistry (specifically HSAB theory), geometry and entropy. This is a good start for a discussion of iron transport and storage in the bioinorganic section of Inorganic II (transition metals). I also use it in my junior level descriptive course when we discuss coordination chemistry.

Metals in Acid Base Chemistry

Submitted by Sheila Smith / University of Michigan- Dearborn on Sun, 10/18/2009 - 08:26
Description

This is a simple in class exercise to review acid- base equilibria and to lead the students to thinking about metals as both Lewis and Bronsted- Lowry acids. I use it as a discussion starter when I introduce the role of metals in biological acid/base chemistry in my upper division inorganic course, but it can be used at any level once acid-base equilibria has been covered.

Bioinorganic Chemistry- Metals in Purely Structural Roles

Submitted by Sheila Smith / University of Michigan- Dearborn on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 14:28
Description
This is a discussion leader to bring students into the topic of "Metals in Biochemistry- Structural Roles" by reminding them of pieces they already know from General Chemistry and other courses.

Sol-Gel Silica: Nanoarchitectures of Being and Nothingness

Submitted by Maggie Geselbracht / Reed College on Thu, 08/06/2009 - 16:59
Description

In this lab experiment, students use sol-gel chemistry to prepare silica gel monoliths from tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS).  Carrying out the hydrolysis and condensation under acid-catalyzed vs.

Basic Chemistry Review

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 14:32
Description

This website is a self-paced review of concepts for gen chem and includes test questions (and answers) for the reader.  It would be a great site to point your intro chem students to if they want/need extra review.  It is a set of 10 units, covering things like stoichiometry, unit conversions, and basic acid-base chemistry.  

Inorganic Challenges

Submitted by Patrick Holland / Yale University on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 15:39
Description

The Interactive Inorganic Challenge Forum is a resource for inorganic chemistry teachers who want to incorporate team learning questions (“Challenges”) into an upper level undergraduate inorganic course. Through this site, teachers can exchange their ideas with others who have used inorganic chemistry Challenges. As a result, students benefit from field-tested group questions.

Polarizing Power of Cations

Submitted by Nancy Williams / Scripps College, Pitzer College, Claremont McKenna College on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 20:08
Description

This is a handout which I use in an advanced general chemistry course, but which could be used in an inorganic course as well. It is a mini-periodic table with common cations and their charge to size ratios expressed as Q/r2, where Q is in integer charges (+1, +2), and r is in Angstroms. Conveniently, Na+ is an easy to remember 1.0, and Al3+ and Be2+ are easy to remember values of 10. This corresponds to the polarizing power of these ions, and is a crude proxy for how covalent their interactions with a given anion tend to be.

House: Inorganic Chemistry

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 15:35
Description

House (Inorganic chemistry):  The book is divided into 5 parts:  first, an introductory section on atomic structure, symmetry, and bonding; second, ionic bonding and solids; third, acids, bases and nonaqueous solvents; fourth, descriptive chemistry; and fifth, coordination chemistry.  The first three sections are short, 2-4 chapters each, while the descriptive section (five chapters) and coordination chemistry section (seven chapters covering ligand field theory, spectroscopy, synthesis and reaction chemistry, organometallics, and bioinorganic chemistry.) are longer.  Each chapter includes

Putting electrochemistry to use: Design of new lithium-ion battery anodes

Submitted by Maggie Geselbracht / Reed College on Fri, 11/28/2008 - 20:55
Description
This learning object focuses on a discussion of a recent paper that highlights the application of electrochemistry in inorganic materials chemistry: “Direct Electrodeposition of Cu2Sb for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes” by James M. Mosby and Amy L. Prieto, J. Am. Chem. Soc.

Speed-Dating, Chemistry Style: HSAB Theory

Submitted by Patrick Holland / Yale University on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 10:24
Description

This is an interactive Challenge in which students have to find others in the room with whom they "match" as a hard or soft acid or base. It brings to life the way inorganic chemists think about HSAB. Inorganic Challenges are exercises designed to be solved by a small group of students. Some Challenges practice a problem-solving algorithm, some reinforce important concepts, and some involve creativity or games.

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