SIRs: Simulations and Interactive Resources, III
John S. Martin The University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G2
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Simulations and Interactive Resources (SIRs) are designed to support interactive lectures in introductory chemistry. This third issue of SIRs includes five new SIRs as well as updated and final versions of all previously published SIRs (1, 2). A SIR includes illustrations, animations, and/or simulations of a chemical system that the class and instructor may use cooperatively to discover underlying chemical principles. Unlike most classroom media, a SIR does not force the instructor to interrupt the flow of a class or adapt to a different mode of instruction. Instead, the SIR is controlled by the instructor, and may be brought into the discussion at any point and used as much or as little as appropriate. As Jerry Pournelle of BYTE magazine said about SIRs (3): "...The intended use is with a projector, so the program can function as a kind of animated blackboard. You can show Torricelli's mercury barometer, illustrate ideal gas laws, heat mercury without having the health physics people rush in to clean up your classroom, and show chemical reactions, including titrations. There's a neat periodic table from which you can extract information on demand. All told, its like having an assistant drawing frantically with colored chalk as you lecture, and it's more legible. ...I'd think every high school honors and college freshman chemistry teacher could make good use of this. SIR isn't fancy, but it will make a good teacher more effective, which is what electronic teaching aids are usually best at." SIRs are designed to support spontaneous, interactive lectures. Once the computer and a projection system are set up, all the SIRs are directly accessible via an intuitive interface that allows the instructor to think about chemistry, not the computer. You can use this material heads-up, facing the class, not crouched over the keyboard. Since a SIR is completely under the instructor's control, it may be adapted to a variety of instructional strategies. The onscreen help is sufficiently comprehensive that one should be able to learn the operation of each SIR from the help alone. In many cases help screens show sample calculations based on the current data. A SIR resembles a textbook in that it provides much more information than can be used in a course of reasonable length. It differs from a textbook in that the instructor may choose the material to be presented, so the class will never see (and thus needn't worry about) what isn't used. Using SIR Buffer you can simulate the creation of a buffer and see the effect of its titration by strong acid and/or base. SIRs are not intended to replace experimental work because the simulated responses are idealized. Rate laws are obeyed exactly; gases and solutes are ideal; calorimeters have zero heat capacity and are perfectly insulated. On the other hand a SIR would be a useful preparation for a laboratory, since it is a model of what the experiment is designed to do. The SIRs in this issue are listed below. The new ones are marked with an asterisk (*). Periodic Table and Atomic Structure SIR Periodic: Periodic Table Displays SIR Orbit: Electron Orbits and Orbitals SIR Atomic: Electron Configurations Phase Equilibrium and Gas Laws SIR Torr: Barometers and Manometers SIR Ebullient: Vapor Pressures SIR Ideal: Ideal Gas Behavior * SIR Dalton: Partial Pressure & Gas Reactions Chemical Thermodynamics SIR Caloric: Heat Capacity, Heat of Reaction SIR Entropy: Atomization, Solution, Expansion Reactions and Chemical Equilibrium * SIR React: A Reaction Table Spreadsheet SIR Dynamic: Approach to Equilibrium SIR Q: The Law of Chemical Equilibrium * SIR K: Solving Equilibrium Problems Using SIR Graphic you can review the shapes of the graphs of common algebraic functions. Acid-Base Equilibrium SIR Titrate: Titration Curves SIR Unknown: Titrating an Unknown * SIR Buffer: Properties of Buffers, etc. Redox and Electrochemistry SIR Polarity: Circuits and Cells SIR Faraday: Electrolytic Cells SIR Volta: Galvanic Cells & Nernst Equation Chemical Kinetics SIR Rate: Rate of Reaction SIR Initial: The Initial Rate Method SIR Isolate: Isolation of Reagents SIR Sequent: Reaction Mechanisms Mathematical Review * SIR Graphic: Functions and Their Graphs Update information available Hardware and Software Requirements SIRs III requires an IBM PC-compatible microcomputer with 640 K RAM, a hard disk, one floppy disk drive, VGA or better graphics, and a Microsoft compatible mouse. DOS 5.0 or greater is required. Effective use of SIRs requires a classroom projection device such as an overhead projector panel or a three-gun projector. A 486 or higher processor is recommended. SIRs will run on 286 or 386 computers, but noticeably slower. Acknowledgement This work was begun while the author held a CATALYST Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin, and was supported in part by a grant from the University of Calgary. The author thanks J. W. Moore and the staff of the Journal of Chemical Education: Software, J. J. Lagowski, Ed Blackburn, Renee Semien, Frank Jenkins, and Diana Mason for valuable help, advice, and criticism. Literature Cited Martin, J. S. SIRs: Simulations and Interactive Resources, J. Chem. Educ.: Software, 1995, 7B, No. 2. Martin, J. S. SIRs: Simulations and Interactive Resources, II, J. Chem. Educ.: Software, 1995, 8B, No. 2. Pournelle, J. A New Mutation , Byte, 1995, 20(12), 197Š205.

First Published: September 1996

Citation: Martin, J. S. . SIRs: Simulations and Interactive Resources, III J. Chem. Educ. Software 9B2

Keywords: Lecture Aid; High School; General; Periodic table; Electron orbitals; Atomic electronic structure; Barometers and manometers; Vapor pressure; Ideal gases; DaltonÕs law

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