JCE Software, 6B2: KinWORKS

KinWORKS: A Learning Tool for Kinetics Lab

Richard W. Ramette
Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057

Note:
Series B (MS DOS) software previously included on the General Chemistry Collection CD-ROM is now available for free download by Journal of Chemical Education subscribers.
Go to the download page.

KinWORKS is a computer simulation that is designed to help students learn how to design chemical kinetics experiments, collect and analyze kinetic data, and draw conclusions from those data. It:

offers a large number of reactions of graded complexity to investigate, provides for the instructor to make unique assignments for each student, including assignments where the solutions are not revealed. Solutions to these reactions can be revealed through use of an auxiliary program.
requires the student to design every experiment to obtain time and concentration data. This involves selection of temperature, initial concentrations, whether to use the integrated rate law method or initial rates method, and when the data points are taken as the reaction progresses.
imposes experimental error on all data, which results in a data-quality penalty for poorly designed experiments. Examples are inadequate flooding, failure to let the reaction progress far enough for integrated rate law work, or attempting to deduce the activation energy by using a temperature range that is too small.
includes convenient high-resolution plotting. Any or all reactant concentrations from the data sets may be plotted versus time as either concentration, reciprocal concentration, or natural logarithm of concentration. A least squares fit of the data is shown with each plot.
permits simulation of realistic data for a known reaction with specified stoichiometry, rate constant, and activation energy. Instructors may find this useful for generating printed problems based on actual reactions.
permits graphical analysis of externally prepared data, such as actual laboratory data, literature data, or textbook problems. This feature includes time and concentration data, which can be plotted as described above, and temperature and rate constant data, which can be plotted in ways appropriate to determining the activation energy. Such data can be entered directly into KinWORKS or retrieved from files prepared by a text editor.
provides an efficient, friendly interface with both keyboard and mouse support that makes it easy to carry out a number of experiments in a short time and safeguards against user operation errors.
offers onscreen help on kinetics principles and experimental strategy, with calculation examples.
KinWORKS organizes reactions into three levels of stoichiometric complexity:
easiest
A --> pP + . . .
A + bB --> pP + . . .
hardest
A + bB + cC --> pP + . . .
where b, c and p are integer stoichiometric coefficients.
Each reaction is given a unique set of characteristics. The stoichiometric coefficients are known, but not the rate constant, activation energy, or the reaction orders.
KinWORKS sets up a standard type of rate law for each reaction:
rate =-d[A]/dt = d[P]/pdt = k [A]^x[B]^y[C]^z

Graph of rate constant versus temperature from KinWORKS.
Generally, the orders for reactants x, y, and z may be 0, 1 or 2. However, experienced users can challenge themselves with problems where z may be from -2 to +2 and may be fractional.
Hardware and Software Requirements
Programs in this issue of JCE: Software are designed for IBM PC/2, PC, or PC-compatible microcomputers with 640K of RAM and one floppy disk drive. VGA or compatible graphics and PC- or MS-DOS 3.1 or later are also required. (CGA and EGA graphics will not work.) A disk drive larger than 360K is recommended for KinWORKS.

First Published: December 1993
Citation: Ramette, R. W. . KinWORKS: A Learning Tool for Kinetics Lab J. Chem. Educ. Software 6B2
Keywords: Lecture Aid; Computer Room; Simulation; High School; General; Physical; Experimental determination of rate constants; Design of kinetics experiments

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JCE Online | Journal | Software | Internet | Happenings | About JCE | Contact JCE

Last Updated: April 26, 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.



KinWORKS: A Learning Tool for Kinetics Lab
Richard W. Ramette Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057

Note:	Series B (MS DOS) software previously included on the General Chemistry Collection CD-ROM is now available for free download by Journal of Chemical Education subscribers. Go to the download page.

KinWORKS is a computer simulation that is designed to help students learn how to design chemical kinetics experiments, collect and analyze kinetic data, and draw conclusions from those data. It: offers a large number of reactions of graded complexity to investigate, provides for the instructor to make unique assignments for each student, including assignments where the solutions are not revealed. Solutions to these reactions can be revealed through use of an auxiliary program. requires the student to design every experiment to obtain time and concentration data. This involves selection of temperature, initial concentrations, whether to use the integrated rate law method or initial rates method, and when the data points are taken as the reaction progresses. imposes experimental error on all data, which results in a data-quality penalty for poorly designed experiments. Examples are inadequate flooding, failure to let the reaction progress far enough for integrated rate law work, or attempting to deduce the activation energy by using a temperature range that is too small. includes convenient high-resolution plotting. Any or all reactant concentrations from the data sets may be plotted versus time as either concentration, reciprocal concentration, or natural logarithm of concentration. A least squares fit of the data is shown with each plot. permits simulation of realistic data for a known reaction with specified stoichiometry, rate constant, and activation energy. Instructors may find this useful for generating printed problems based on actual reactions. permits graphical analysis of externally prepared data, such as actual laboratory data, literature data, or textbook problems. This feature includes time and concentration data, which can be plotted as described above, and temperature and rate constant data, which can be plotted in ways appropriate to determining the activation energy. Such data can be entered directly into KinWORKS or retrieved from files prepared by a text editor. provides an efficient, friendly interface with both keyboard and mouse support that makes it easy to carry out a number of experiments in a short time and safeguards against user operation errors. offers onscreen help on kinetics principles and experimental strategy, with calculation examples. KinWORKS organizes reactions into three levels of stoichiometric complexity: easiest A --> pP + . . . A + bB --> pP + . . . hardest A + bB + cC --> pP + . . . where b, c and p are integer stoichiometric coefficients. Each reaction is given a unique set of characteristics. The stoichiometric coefficients are known, but not the rate constant, activation energy, or the reaction orders. KinWORKS sets up a standard type of rate law for each reaction: rate =-d[A]/dt = d[P]/pdt = k [A]^x[B]^y[C]^z Graph of rate constant versus temperature from KinWORKS. Generally, the orders for reactants x, y, and z may be 0, 1 or 2. However, experienced users can challenge themselves with problems where z may be from -2 to +2 and may be fractional. Hardware and Software Requirements Programs in this issue of JCE: Software are designed for IBM PC/2, PC, or PC-compatible microcomputers with 640K of RAM and one floppy disk drive. VGA or compatible graphics and PC- or MS-DOS 3.1 or later are also required. (CGA and EGA graphics will not work.) A disk drive larger than 360K is recommended for KinWORKS.


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

Last Updated: April 26, 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.