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Mission Statement
We
are seeking in this JCE Internet feature column to publish molecular modeling
exercises and experiments that have
been used successfully in
undergraduate instruction.
An abstract of published submissions will appear in print in the Journal
of
Chemical Education.
Acceptable exercises could be used in either a chemistry laboratory or a
chemistry computer laboratory. The exercise could cover any area of
chemistry, but should be limited to undergraduate instructional
applications. We envision that most of the exercises/experiments will
utilize one of the popular instructional molecular modeling software
programs (e.g. HyperChem, Spartan, CAChe, PC Model). Exercises that are
specific to a particular modeling program are acceptable, but those usable
with any modeling program are preferred.
Ideally the exercises/experiments will be of the type where the "correct"
answer is not obvious so that the student must discover the solution or
provide an explanation. The goal of the exercises should not be
specifically to learn molecular modeling, but to use modeling to learn
chemistry. Of course, some concepts of modeling have to be addressed in
order for the student to effectively utilize molecular modeling (e.g., the
distinction between a local and a global energy minimum conformation). We
are looking for exercises that go beyond those already published by the
molecular modeling software distributors.
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