Thinking about Electron Configurations and Magnetism

Submitted by Jack Eichler / University of California, Riverside on Fri, 12/13/2019 - 15:30
Description

This activity is designed to be done in the middle of the typical first quarter/first semester general chemistry electronic structure unit. Students will be expected to have learned the following concepts prior to completing this activity:

a) how the four quantum numbers are determined (principal quantum number, angular momentum quantum number, magnetic quantum number, and electron spin quantum number);

b) the basic concept of electron spin, and how atomic orbitals that possess two electrons will result in the spin-paring of electrons;

Mechanisms of Mn-catalyzed water oxidation reactions

Submitted by Margaret Scheuermann / Western Washington University on Fri, 10/18/2019 - 19:53
Description

This LO is an in-class assignment to prepare students for literature readings involving catalytic cycles in which multiple protons and electrons are transferred. Two catalytic mechanisms, a proposed OEC mechanism and the proposed mechanism of a biomimetic OEC complexes are included. The intermediates are drawn including all charges and oxidation states, details which are sometimes omitted in the primary literature but can be helpful to students who are not accustomed to looking at multistep catalytic cycles.

Science Information Literacy Badge--Reading the Literature

Submitted by Michelle Personick / Wesleyan University on Thu, 07/18/2019 - 12:07
Description

This is an activity designed to introduce general chemistry students to reading the chemistry literature by familiarizing them with the structure of a published article. The activity first presents an article from the Whitesides group at Harvard about writing a scientific manuscript, along with a video about the peer-review process. There are two parts to the questions in the activity, which are based on a specific article from Nature Communications (doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08824-8).

Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry

Submitted by Carmen Gauthier / Florida Southern College on Sun, 06/09/2019 - 09:03
Description

Fundamental topics in inorganic chemistry will be explored, among them: atomic theory and periodicity of the elements, bonding and properties of solid state materials, main group chemistry, structure and bonding of coordination compounds, and bio-inorganic systems. The laboratory component of the course will give students experience with a various laboratory techniques used in the synthesis and characterization of inorganic compounds.

VIPEr Fellows 2019 Workshop Favorites

Submitted by Barbara Reisner / James Madison University on Sat, 06/08/2019 - 16:41

During our first fellows workshop, the first cohort of VIPEr fellows pulled together learning objects that they've used and liked or want to try the next time they teach their inorganic courses.

Maths for Chemists

Submitted by David J Harding / Walailak University on Sun, 06/02/2019 - 22:12
Description

Chemistry requires mathematics in almost all areas but it is a subject many students struggle with. This short booklet introduces mathematics from basic concepts to more advanced topics. A particularly nice feature is that examples of chemistry calculations are included so that students can understand why they have learn mathematics at all. This resource comes from the Royal Society of Chemistry's Learn Chemistry website.

Advanced ChemDraw (2019 Community Challenge #2)

Submitted by Chantal Stieber / Cal Poly Pomona on Tue, 02/12/2019 - 12:12
Description

This in-class activity was designed for a Chemical Communications course with second-year students. It is the second part of a two-week segment in which students learn how to use ChemDraw (or similar drawing software to create digital drawings of molecules).

Quantum Numbers and Nodes: A General Chemistry Flipped Classroom Module

Submitted by Jack Eichler / University of California, Riverside on Sat, 11/17/2018 - 11:27
Description

This is a flipped classroom module that covers the concepts of quantum numbers, and radial and angular nodes. This activity is designed to be done at the beginning of the typical first quarter/first semester general chemistry course (for an atoms first approach; if instructors use a traditional course structure this unit is likely done towards the middle/end of the first quarter/semester). Students will be expected to have learned the following concepts prior to completing this activity:

a) quantization of energy in the atom and the Bohr model of the atom;

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