During this school year, I have incorporated several ideas from the Journal that have made my classes somewhat easier, and, I hope, more enjoyable for my students. Last year, the kinetics lab that I used in AP chemistry took my students at least two 95-minute periods and then usually some time after school. They did a separate lab that incorporates the Beer–Lambert law. The students usually complain a lot during these two labs about all the calculations. However, this year, I used the “An Inexpensive Kinetic Study: The Reaction of FD&C Red #3 with Hypochlorite” published in March 2007 (1). This was my students’ favorite lab, and it allowed them to study the Beer–Lambert law and reaction rates simultaneously.

Since all of my textbooks and any supporting materials that students purchase have to be selected by April 1, the bulk of my work since the end of March has been focused on what I will be doing in my classes next year. I want to incorporate more technology and inquiry into my courses and there are so many ideas readily available. An excellent place to start is with the JCE Index online. Using a keyword, an article title, or an author’s name, you can search current and past issues of the Journal to find topics of interest to you.

All of us use clock reactions in our classrooms. I use the traditional iodine-based clock reaction to begin each year in AP chemistry. However, after reading Weinberg’s information on variations of this clock reaction, I plan to open next year with at least one of his fluorescent clock reactions. His variations focus on iodine fluorescence quenching and incorporate the use of easily obtained consumer chemicals. Students love to understand why and how things glow, and Weinberg presents four different procedures that will greatly appeal to students. Any demonstration that starts in the dark always intrigues students. They especially like to learn “why” a particular event occurred. The Classroom Activity “How Does Your Laundry Glow?” is also from Weinberg. Not only does the activity allow students to learn more about laundry detergents, but they will also explore what happens when the pH of the laundry detergent changes.

I am definitely incorporating Charlton, Sevcik, Tucker, and Schultz’s experiment into the second semester of my chemistry classes next year. Their discussion on the colorimetric analysis of albumin is an excellent way for students to review a number of important concepts prior to their final exam, especially solution preparation, solubility, and pH. The authors also provide specific insight for high school teachers who only have 45-minute lab periods.

Students (and perhaps many of their teachers) would agree with Battino’s commentary on the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics. He very clearly describes these two laws and throughout his commentary asks multiple questions of instructors. One of his concluding comments—“Please do not clutter up the minds … when there is so much real chemistry they can experience and be taught.”—certainly made me smile and then seriously reconsider my approach to teaching these two laws. This comment reminded me what it was about chemistry that made me fall in love with it as a high school sophomore. Though the calculations did not bother me, it was not calculations that appealed to me. It was all the cool reactions that the teacher demonstrated or that I did in the lab. I have made a copy of his comment for my desk to help drive my curriculum choices for next year. As you make your choices, I hope that you remember what excited you about chemistry and allow your students to have those experiences too.

Erica’s Take on the Issue

Even though I’m not currently connected to a chemistry classroom, teaching and learning are not left behind. Sure, my end-of-year tasks have changed. I’m no longer ordering next year’s equipment and planning curriculum. Instead, many items that I read in JCE draw me in personally with a “Hey, I didn’t know that,” or “That’s neat!” For example, the lawn coloring that King mentions intrigued me. My seven-year-old daughter wanted to know where we could get some for our yard. I won’t be able to use the albumin lab experiment that Laura mentions in the classroom any time soon, but did you notice where the procedure originated? It was originally developed by undergraduate students as part of an American Chemical Society Chemvention challenge. Weinberg’s Classroom Activity says that even “dye-free” laundry detergent can contain fluorescent dyes, and tells you how to take a look in your own kitchen. (Don’t miss details on about changes we’re implementing in the Activity feature starting this August.) In or out of the classroom, the Journal serves up a rich range of chemical education, even for the educators themselves.

Literature Cited

1. Henary, M. M.; Russell, A. A. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 480.