Ligand Field Correlations for Square Pyramidal Oxovanadium(III)

Submitted by Matt Whited / Carleton College on Fri, 04/22/2016 - 10:37
Description

Students work in groups to derive the ligand-field diagram for a square-pyramidal vanadium(III) oxo complex using octahedral V(III) as a starting point. The activity helps students to correlate changes in orbital energies as a function of changing ligands and geometry as well as rationalizing why certain geometries can be particularly good (or bad) for particular complexes. The activity also helps students see why oxo complexes of early metals are frequently best described as triple bonds.

Isotopic labeling and reduced mass calculations for IR spectroscopy

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Sun, 03/27/2016 - 21:32
Description

I used this as an in class activity but it may work better as a problem set for your class. I had the students read the pertinent chapters of the textbook which go through symmetry and molecular vibrations, including using both stretches and cartesian axes as bases. In class, I divided the students up into four groups. Each group did one of the problems for 30 minutes and during the last 20 minutes of class, they reported out their solution. The students had not seen the Hooke’s law in the textbook so I included it as part of the activity.

Otterbein Symmetry In-Class Activity/Take home activity

Submitted by Kyle Grice / DePaul University on Mon, 01/25/2016 - 21:26
Description

This is an in-class activity I made for my students in a Junior/Senior-level one-quarter inorganic course. 

Unfortunately it was waaay too long for the 1.5 h class (i gave them about 45 min). I recommend taking this and adapting it to a take-home exercise or homework set, which is probably what I will do this coming year. 

Students used Otterbein to look at various structures, starting with low symmetry, working up to very high symmetry structures. I had them go through the "challenge" so they couldn't see the keys at first, but then go back to check their answers. 

Point Group Battles Activity

Submitted by Darren Achey / Kutztown University on Thu, 10/15/2015 - 11:48
Description

In this activity, a pair of students are show an object or molecule and are asked to determine the point group before their competitor.

Ir(III) Catalyst Regeneration Using Molecular Oxygen: Addressing Key Challenges that Hinder Alkane Dehydrogenation Catalysis. A Literature Discussion

Submitted by Vanessa / Albion College on Thu, 07/02/2015 - 15:56
Description

This Learning Object involves reading a recent scientific journal article, answering questions relating to the content, and participating in a classroom discussion. The paper under review is “Regeneration of an Iridium (III) Complex Active for Alkane Dehydrogenation Using Molecular Oxygen,” Organometallics, 33, 1337-1340. DOI: /10.1021/om401241e).

How to Determine the Irreducible Representation of a MO

Submitted by Richard Lord / Grand Valley State University on Wed, 07/01/2015 - 13:42
Description

Five slides about how to systematically determine the irreducible representation if provided an unlabeled SALC. These slides focus on molecular orbitals, but this tool can be extended to any kind of SALC.

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Course Videos

Submitted by Kathryn Haas / Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN on Wed, 07/01/2015 - 12:02
Description

At this website, you will find a link to the syllabus and all lecture videos for a "flipped" version of an Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Course taught at Saint Mary's College (Notre Dame, IN).  I used Shiver & Atkins for this course, and the format is based off of Dr. Franz's course at Duke.  If anyone is interested in the problem sets, I will be happy to share, although much of the material I used is from VIPEr.  

Vibrational Modes and IR Spectra using Character Tables

Submitted by Karen McFarlane Holman / Willamette University on Tue, 06/30/2015 - 15:35
Description

In this activity, students in my upper-level Inorganic course are given two possible structures of sulfur dioxide, and based on an assessment of given vibrational modes, they determine which of the modes are IR active by two methods: (1) the “Intro Chem” method (determing whether the dipole moment changes for a particular vibrational mode) and (2) using character tables. They compare their assessment to experimental IR absorption peaks, and the students decide which structure is valid. For those of you who teach Raman spectroscopy, it could be included in this LO as well. 

Gummies and Toothpicks Point Group Determination Activity

Submitted by Darren Achey / Kutztown University on Mon, 06/29/2015 - 15:50
Description

In this activity, students will use gummies and toothpicks to construct models of molecules that will then be analyzed for their symmetry elements, and ultimately placed into the correct point group and the models can then be consumed.

Vibrational Modes and IR Spectra for Intro Chem

Submitted by Karen McFarlane Holman / Willamette University on Mon, 06/29/2015 - 15:14
Description

In this activity, Introductory Chemistry students are given two possible structures of sulfur dioxide, and based on an assessment of given vibrational modes, they determine which of the modes are IR active (and thus, whether the molecule is a greenhouse gas).  They compare their assessment to experimental IR absorption peaks, and the students decide which structure is valid.