JCE Software, 1B1: KC? Discoverer

KC? Discoverer: Exploring the Properties of the Chemical Elements

Aw Feng, John W. Moore, William Harwood, and Robert Gayhart
Project SERAPHIM, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706

Note:
This issue is out of print. See Periodic Table Live!, SP 17.

KC? Discoverer has been designed to allow students and faculty to explore a large number of properties of the elements. Included in the database are: chemical properties, such as reaction when heated in air; physical properties, such as density or melting point; and microscopic properties, such as ionization energy or electron affinity. KC? Discoverer is closely coordinated with the periodic table and can be used very effectively in introductory as well as advanced courses where descriptive inorganic chemistry is taught. The program can:

FIND all elements that have a specified range of values for a selected property, highlight those elements on a periodic table, and display values of nearly 50 properties of each element selected,
GRAPH any numeric property on the X axis against any other property (or any two properties combined using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) on the Y axis, enlarge portions of the graph, and display X, Y data pairs for any specified element,
LIST (in atomic-number order) name symbol, atomic number, and up to four other properties for all elements or for a set of elements that all lie within a selected range of one property,
SORT all elements, or only those that lie within a selected range of one property, in increasing alphabetic or numeric order of that property and list in a table the name, symbol, atomic number, sorted property, and one other property, and,
use the periodic TABLE to select elements by period or group and then graph or sort properties; graphs for several groups or periods can be superimposed for comparison and then enlarged; X, Y values can be displayed.

Screen from KC? Discoverer.
Instructors can block certain data so that students cannot see it. This allows the program to provide data that can be interpolated to predict values for blocked elements. For example, students can be placed in Mendeleev's position and asked to predict properties of undiscovered elements if all elements discovered since 1869 are blocked.
The program has been designed to facilitate student explorations; discovering the many features it makes available is part of its charm. Data have been carefully selected from the literature and edited for consistency and accuracy. Written documentation includes a tutorial for those learning to use the program, as well as three sections for instructors only. The latter explain how selected data can be blocked so that students cannot see them, provide a series of exercises that can be assigned to students, and suggest effective uses of the program.
Hardware and Software Requirements
KC? Discoverer runs under MS-DOS and is supplied on two 5.25-in. disks. It makes effective use of either a floppy-disk system or a hard disk system.
The floppy-disk version requires two 5.25-in. drives (or one 3.5-in. drive--in this case you will have to copy both 5.25-in. disks to a single 3.5-in. disk). At least 320K RAM and DOS version 3.0 or higher are also required.
The hard-disk version requires a computer with one hard disk and one floppy drive (the latter only to load the program). At least 256K RAM and DOS version 2.1 or higher are also required.
For either version the computer must be equipped with a graphics adapter (CGA, EGA, or VGA), and it is desirable to have a printer that can print graphics screens from the PC using the PrtSc key. Since many aspects of the program are useful for lecture presentation, large monitors, overhead projection units, or color video projectors (1) may also be useful.
Literature Cited

Susskind, T. Y. J. Chem. Educ.: Software, 1988, 1A(1), 16-24.

First Published: October 1988
Citation: Feng, A.; Moore, J. W.; Harwood, W.; Gayhart, R. KC? Discoverer: Exploring the Properties of the Chemical Elements J. Chem. Educ. Software 1B1
Keywords: Lecture Aid; Computer Room; Instructor; High School; General; Inorganic; History of chemistry; Periodic table; Descriptive chemistry of elements; Structural chemistry of elements

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Last Updated: August 17, 2001
Created: December 3, 1996 Created by: J. L. Holmes
Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu

© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.



KC? Discoverer: Exploring the Properties of the Chemical Elements
Aw Feng, John W. Moore, William Harwood, and Robert Gayhart Project SERAPHIM, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706

Note:	This issue is out of print. See Periodic Table Live!, SP 17.

KC? Discoverer has been designed to allow students and faculty to explore a large number of properties of the elements. Included in the database are: chemical properties, such as reaction when heated in air; physical properties, such as density or melting point; and microscopic properties, such as ionization energy or electron affinity. KC? Discoverer is closely coordinated with the periodic table and can be used very effectively in introductory as well as advanced courses where descriptive inorganic chemistry is taught. The program can: FIND all elements that have a specified range of values for a selected property, highlight those elements on a periodic table, and display values of nearly 50 properties of each element selected, GRAPH any numeric property on the X axis against any other property (or any two properties combined using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) on the Y axis, enlarge portions of the graph, and display X, Y data pairs for any specified element, LIST (in atomic-number order) name symbol, atomic number, and up to four other properties for all elements or for a set of elements that all lie within a selected range of one property, SORT all elements, or only those that lie within a selected range of one property, in increasing alphabetic or numeric order of that property and list in a table the name, symbol, atomic number, sorted property, and one other property, and, use the periodic TABLE to select elements by period or group and then graph or sort properties; graphs for several groups or periods can be superimposed for comparison and then enlarged; X, Y values can be displayed. Screen from KC? Discoverer. Instructors can block certain data so that students cannot see it. This allows the program to provide data that can be interpolated to predict values for blocked elements. For example, students can be placed in Mendeleev's position and asked to predict properties of undiscovered elements if all elements discovered since 1869 are blocked. The program has been designed to facilitate student explorations; discovering the many features it makes available is part of its charm. Data have been carefully selected from the literature and edited for consistency and accuracy. Written documentation includes a tutorial for those learning to use the program, as well as three sections for instructors only. The latter explain how selected data can be blocked so that students cannot see them, provide a series of exercises that can be assigned to students, and suggest effective uses of the program. Hardware and Software Requirements KC? Discoverer runs under MS-DOS and is supplied on two 5.25-in. disks. It makes effective use of either a floppy-disk system or a hard disk system. The floppy-disk version requires two 5.25-in. drives (or one 3.5-in. drive--in this case you will have to copy both 5.25-in. disks to a single 3.5-in. disk). At least 320K RAM and DOS version 3.0 or higher are also required. The hard-disk version requires a computer with one hard disk and one floppy drive (the latter only to load the program). At least 256K RAM and DOS version 2.1 or higher are also required. For either version the computer must be equipped with a graphics adapter (CGA, EGA, or VGA), and it is desirable to have a printer that can print graphics screens from the PC using the PrtSc key. Since many aspects of the program are useful for lecture presentation, large monitors, overhead projection units, or color video projectors (1) may also be useful. Literature Cited Susskind, T. Y. J. Chem. Educ.: Software, 1988, 1A(1), 16-24.


News \| Issues \| CD-ROM / Video \| Find It! \| Technical Support \| For Authors
JCE Online \| Journal \| Software \| Internet \| Happenings \| About JCE \| Contact JCE

Last Updated: August 17, 2001 Created: December 3, 1996	Created by: J. L. Holmes Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu

© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.