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Secondary School Feature Articles
* Building the Interest of High School Students for Science-A
PACT Ambassador Program To Investigate Soap Manufacturing
and Industrial Chemistry, by Matthew Lynch, Nicholas Geary,
Karen Hagaman, Ann Munson, and Mark Sabo, p 191.
* Promoting Chemistry at the Elementary Level, by Larry L.
Louters and Richard D. Huisman, p 196.
* Is It Real Gold? by Harold H. Harris, p 198.
* The "Big Dog-Puppy Dog" Analogy for Resonance, by Todd
P. Silverstein, p 206.
* The Fizz Keeper, a Case Study in Chemical Education,
Equilibrium, and Kinetics, by Reed A. Howald, p 208.
Staying on Top: Curricular Projects,
Relativistic Effects, and Standard-State Pressure
You may wonder why some articles are identified
with the Secondary School Chemistry logo (*) this month
even though at first glance they appear to be of greater interest
to college faculty.1 The three articles discussed below are
representative of three broad categories: (i) the interrelatedness
of science teaching and learning, K-16+; (ii) new
understandings of chemical phenomena; and (iii) information about
the use of SI units. For each article I have highlighted the
major point(s) and the reasons it may be of interest to high
school teachers.
First, the article "The NSF 'Systemic' Projects- A
New Tradition" (G. M. Barrow, p 158) is a commentary on
changes in post-secondary introductory chemistry courses in which
a distinction is drawn between information
management and individual
understanding. The author is of the opinion
that most students expect the former and that the
NSF-funded systemic projects "will thrive only if they are consistent
with their information-management mission". Three
individuals provided responses to the commentary from their perspective.
Has a student asked you why mercury is a liquid, or
why gold is the most electronegative metal? "Gold Chemistry:
The Aurophilic Attraction" by J. Bardají and A. Laguna (p
201) and "Why Gold and Copper Are Colored but Silver Is
Not" by A. H. Guerreor, H. J. Fasoli, and J. L. Costa (p 200)
provide useful information in answering these questions.
Have you thought about the effect of changing the
standard-state pressure from 1 atm to the SI unit of 1 bar?
The question is addressed in "How Thermodynamic Data
and Equilibrium Constants Changed When the
Standard-State Pressure Became 1 Bar" by R. S. Treptow (p 212). The
author points out that although textbook authors have not
yet abandoned use of 1 atm as standard-state pressure,
thermodynamic data are reported in the research literature on
the basis of 1 bar standard-state pressure. The author
provides the information needed to readily convert
thermodynamic data from one standard to the other.
These articles represent just a few that may be of
interest to you. I encourage you to explore other articles
within the Journal that are not noted with the secondary school
section logo. As we each continue to broaden our knowledge
of chemistry and chemical education, JCE will continue to
serve as an invaluable resource in our educational quest.
Anaheim and Boston in March; Fairfield in August
JCE will have a booth in the exhibition hall both at
the ACS National Meeting in Anaheim, March 21-24, and
at the NSTA National Convention in Boston, March
25-29. Additionally, the all-day High School Program on
Monday, March 22, will be held as part of the ACS meeting.
More details will be provided in the March issue of
JCE. Make your plans to attend now. Registration information may be
found at http://www.acs.org/meetings/anaheim/welcome.htm
and
http://www.nsta.org/conv/natgen.htm.
Another outstanding event, ChemEd '99, will held
on the campus of Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT,
August 1-5, 1999. Information, including a call for
presentation proposals, is available at
http://www.sacredheart.edu/chemed/. The deadline for abstracts is March 1, 1999, so
don't delay.
Chemistry for Kids-Looking for New Ideas
Over the life of the Chemistry for Kids (CFK) feature
a relatively large number of articles have been published
that describe outreach by college or high school faculty and
students. The majority of these have dwelt on the details of
delivery-be it demonstrations or hands-on activities. An
article in this issue, "Promoting Chemistry at the
Elementary Level: A Low-Maintenance Program of Chemical
Demonstration" by Larry L. Louters and Richard D. Huisman
(p 196), details an on-campus program that could be a
model for others to use. We believe that almost every
combination of interaction has been described in CFK articles. What
we would like now are more CFK articles with an emphasis
on science instruction in the elementary classroom.
Learner-centered activities and teaching strategies that integrate
chemistry into the curriculum, successful curricula, and
applications of software or other technological innovations are among
topics that could be of interest to readers.
If you have an idea for a manuscript, the co-editors
of the CFK feature would be happy to discuss it with you.
Any suggestions regarding types of articles that you think
would be helpful within this section are welcomed too. To
contact the CFK feature editors:
John T. Moore, Stephen F. Austin State University
Department of Chemistry, Box 13006 SFA Station, Nacogdoches, TX 75962; 409/468-2384;
jmoore@sfasu.edu; David Tolar, Ennis Intermediate School, Ennis, TX
75120; 903/872-5364; TolarD@ennis.ednet10.net.
Note
1. Comments from readers regarding the appropriateness of
the recommendations are always welcome
(j.e.howell@usm.edu).
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