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BCTC for Windows was originally published by
JCE Software in 1992 (1) in Series B for PC-compatible
(MS-DOS) computers. JCE Software is now re-releasing
BCTC for Windows as issue 9903W to make it more accessible
to Windows users-especially those running Windows 95
and Windows 98-while we continue to phase out Series
B (DOS) issues. Aside from a new Windows-compatible
installation program, BCTC is unchanged.
BCTC is an environmental simulation modeled after
the dioxin controversy (2). In the simulation, students are
involved in the investigation of a suspected carcinogen
called BCTC, which has been found in a river below a
chemical plant and above the water supply of a nearby city. The
students have the options of taking water samples, analyzing
the water (for BCTC, oxygen, metals, and pesticides),
determining LD50s in an animal lab, visiting a library, making
economic analyses, and conferring with colleagues, all using
the computer.
In the Classroom
BCTC gives students experience with science in the
context of a larger social and political problem. It can serve
as the basis for a scientific report, class discussion, or a
role-playing exercise (3). Because it requires no previous
laboratory experience, this simulation can be used by students
in middle and high school science classes, or in college
courses for non-science majors. It also has been used in
introductory chemistry courses for science majors.
One of the intentions of BCTC is to involve
students in an exercise (2) that closely approximates what
scientists do. The realistic pictures, many of them captured with a
video camera, create an atmosphere that furthers this goal.
BCTC also reflects the comments of teachers who have used the
program (4) and accounts of dioxin research
(5).
Screen from BCTC showing location of the entry of the effluent
in the river, the city, and the city water supply.
Acknowledgments
Support for this project was provided by NSF
Grant USE-9151873 and by a BellSouth Foundation Grant.
Literature Cited
1. Whisnant, D. M.; McCormick, J. A. BCTC for Windows;
J. Chem. Educ. Software 1992,
5B2.
2. Whisnant, D. M. J. Chem.
Educ. 1984, 61, 627-629.
3. Whisnant, D. M. J. Chem.
Educ. 1992, 69, 42.
4. Camille and Henry Dreyfus Institute on the Chemistry of
Water, 1990; Institute for Chemical Education Summer Workshops,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991.
5. Roberts, L. Science
1991, 251, 624-626; ibid, 254, 377.
Keywords
Computer Room; Simulation; High School;
General; General Science; Environmental Chemistry; Chemistry
and Society; Water Chemistry
Hardware and Software
Requirements for BCTC for Windows
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