BCTC for Windows was originally published by JCE Software in 1992 (1) in Series B for PC-compatible (MS-DOS) computers. JCE Software is now re-releasing BCTC for Windows as issue 9903W to make it more accessible to Windows users-especially those running Windows 95 and Windows 98-while we continue to phase out Series B (DOS) issues. Aside from a new Windows-compatible installation program, BCTC is unchanged.

BCTC is an environmental simulation modeled after the dioxin controversy (2). In the simulation, students are involved in the investigation of a suspected carcinogen called BCTC, which has been found in a river below a chemical plant and above the water supply of a nearby city. The students have the options of taking water samples, analyzing the water (for BCTC, oxygen, metals, and pesticides), determining LD₅₀s in an animal lab, visiting a library, making economic analyses, and conferring with colleagues, all using the computer.

In the Classroom

BCTC gives students experience with science in the context of a larger social and political problem. It can serve as the basis for a scientific report, class discussion, or a role-playing exercise (3). Because it requires no previous laboratory experience, this simulation can be used by students in middle and high school science classes, or in college courses for non-science majors. It also has been used in introductory chemistry courses for science majors.

One of the intentions of BCTC is to involve students in an exercise (2) that closely approximates what scientists do. The realistic pictures, many of them captured with a video camera, create an atmosphere that furthers this goal. BCTC also reflects the comments of teachers who have used the program (4) and accounts of dioxin research (5).

Screen from BCTC showing location of the entry of the effluent in the river, the city, and the city water supply.

Acknowledgments

Support for this project was provided by NSF Grant USE-9151873 and by a BellSouth Foundation Grant.

Literature Cited

1. Whisnant, D. M.; McCormick, J. A. BCTC for Windows; J. Chem. Educ. Software 1992, 5B2.

2. Whisnant, D. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1984, 61, 627-629.

3. Whisnant, D. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 42.

4. Camille and Henry Dreyfus Institute on the Chemistry of Water, 1990; Institute for Chemical Education Summer Workshops, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991.

5. Roberts, L. Science 1991, 251, 624-626; ibid, 254, 377.

Keywords

Computer Room; Simulation; High School; General; General Science; Environmental Chemistry; Chemistry and Society; Water Chemistry

Hardware and Software Requirements for BCTC for Windows