This month's issue contains many articles of potential interest to high school teachers including new ideas for writing assignments, useful analogies, application of chemistry, and resources.

Chemical Education Today

A good place to begin is with an interesting account of chemistry applied to other disciplines. Orna describes how she is "Doing Chemistry at the Art/Archaeology Interface." The article contains two references that are accessible through JCE Online.

In The Classroom

Five articles about the use of writing assignments contain ideas that can be used in high school as well as in college. McGowan and Sendall explain how "Using the World Wide Web To Enhance Writing Assignments in Introductory Chemistry Courses" can provide students with another tool in locating reference materials. Williams explains how he has used the ACS news magazine: "C&EN: A Good Resource for Student Papers." Although it is not found in many school libraries, ACS members are often willing to donate their copies after they have read them. Comeford reports on the use of "Writing Assignments in Physical Chemistry" and notes that paired reading/writing assignments could be used in almost any chemistry class. Schmidt has students write about semester-long research projects based on household chemicals. In the article "Writing in an Advanced Undergraduate Chemistry Course: An Assignment Exploring the Development of Scientific Ideas", Rossi describes how students are asked to trace the evolution of a scientist's research and to describe the work of other scientists during the same time period.

Three articles from the Applications and Analogies Feature, edited by Ron DeLorenzo, are included in this issue. Diemente poses the question "Why Is Bismuth Subchloride Soluble in Acid?" and then describes how the answer can be determined through a combination of reasoning and chemical demonstrations that model the thought processes used to solve chemical problems. An analogy to help students develop the notion of electron location in a 1s orbital is provided by Pendarvis in "The Traveling Electron". Wynn develops the concepts of endothermicity and exothermicity with "Heat Flow vs. Cash Flow: A Banking Analogy". In "Rayon from Dryer Lint: A Demonstration", Knopp describes how a synthetic fiber can be formed using readily available materials that do not require elaborate preparation.

In the Laboratory

"A Simple Audio Conductivity Device" by Berenato and Maynard details the construction of a simple audio conductivity device that is very sensitive to current flow and can be made for less than $20. Richmond and Parr describe a discovery-style experiment that enables introductory chemistry students to determine the pressure-versus-volume behavior of a gas over a wide pressure range in their article "A U-Tube Experiment To Discover the Curve in Boyle's Law".

Two laboratory experiments designed for college courses might be considered also as ideas for small-group or individual investigation by second-year high school chemistry students with access to a well-equipped laboratory. The first is "Synthesis and Characterization of a Conducting Polymer: An Electrochemical Experiment for General Chemistry". Bunting, Swarat, Yan, and Finello explain how a freestanding film of polypyrrole can be synthesized and characterized using commonly available equipment and materials. In the second article, "Microburger Biochemistry: Extraction and Spectral Characterization of Myoglobin from Hamburger", Bylkas and Andersson describe an experiment that takes advantage of the dramatic color change between Oxy-Mb and Met-Mb.

Information · Textbooks · Media · Resources

"CIRRUS: A Chemistry Internet Resource for Research by Undergraduate Students" describes how this interesting Web site provides information about opportunities for research participation and accounts of current projects. Authors Waldow, Fryhle, and Bock note that undergraduate students involved in research are often isolated from direct contact with others; a feeling with which many readers are well familiar.

Chemistry Everyday for Everyone

Three articles from the High School Section appear in this section. Dobson shares thought-provoking ideas about "Reshaping the Teaching of Science: A Scientist's Perspective". Sabo, Sarquis, and Ennis describe their successful program that brings industrial scientists and technicians into high school and two-year college classrooms. "The PACT Ambassador Outreach Program: More Than Just a Bunch of 'Old White-Haired Scientists'" exposes both students and teachers to issues faced in the industrial workplace and laboratory.

Nicoll's study, "'Chemical Free' Foods: An Investigation of Students' Definitions of a Chemical", revealed that a surprisingly large proportion of college students hold a popular society definition of chemical rather than a scientific one and that another large group hold a combined definition. In the report she suggests some possible reasons why students hold these definitions. Nelson defines three types of "Valency", and suggests the use of valency as an alternative explanation to electronic theories of bonding.

Chemical Research Participation by High School Students

In the February column the importance of research experiences for college bound students who will major in chemistry were discussed. Your experience in providing high school students with opportunities for research involvement through the preparation science fair projects, Junior Academy of Science papers, class projects or other means would be valuable to others. If you have something to share in this regard consider preparing a manuscript. I would be happy to look at an outline or summary of an idea for a manuscript on this topic.