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Information, Textbooks, Media, Resources
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Mathcad in the Chemistry Curriculum
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ABC Kinetics
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Jorge A. Carrazana García
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Facultad de Ciencias de Lugo, Departamento de Quimica Fisica, Lugo 27002, Spain
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October 2003
Vol. 80 No. 10
p. 1220
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The system formed by three chemical species “A”, “B”, and “C” related to each other by elementary reactions, reversible or not, is broadly used in chemical kinetics as a first step in the study of the so-called complex reactions. This model presents an appropriate combination of mathematical complexity and chemical applicability that transforms it into a didactic resource of great educational value at various levels of chemical kinetics, physical chemistry, or even basic general chemistry, where reaction rates and mechanisms are of interest. In this collection of worksheets, a step-by-step study of the “ABC” system is accomplished with the aid of Mathcad. Working with real mathematics notation, interactive graphs, and symbolic processing allows useful equations to be obtained, transformed and applied live, with the result of clarifying the study goals and objectives. Perturbing the parameter values and observing the effect permits visual determination of the significance of the different model parameters. The proposed exercises not only consolidate the concepts and skills but also extend the analysis by applying the models and methods to other similar systems. 
Figure1. Comparison of the concentrations of [A], [B], and [C] (mole/L) as functions of time using the exact analytic solution, and the steady state, [B]ss, and pre-equilibrium [B]eq concentration approximation predictions in the A B→C system where k1=2 sec-1, k-1=5 sec-1, and k2=10 sec-1. tref is the twice the time required to reach [B]max.
The organization of all the material into a Mathcad electronic book makes it user friendly. Users can learn by working with the interactive models and can annotate the book while conserving the original information. The “live” book can be used with versions 7 and 11 of Mathcad. Non-interactive images in PDF and HTML formats are also available.
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| Supplement |
Mathcad documents are available at the Only@JCE Online feature Mathcad in the Chemistry Curriculum.
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| More Information |
 Citation |
Carrazana García, Jorge A. J. Chem. Educ. 2003 80 1220.
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History |
Created:
Last Updated: |
September 2, 2003
February 28, 2005
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