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This Web-based system of note cards has been developed to aid students in learning the vast number of reactions encountered in organic chemistry. A thorough knowledge of these reactions is essential for success in first- and second-semester organic chemistry courses. The reactions are organized by functional group and can be chosen from a menu at the left side of the Web page. Once a particular reaction has been selected, the main frame displays the reactant(s) and reagent(s) along with a question mark in place of the product. After considering the reaction as long as needed, the user can click the question mark to reveal the reaction product. Clicking the product will again hide the answer and regenerate the question mark so that the reaction can be practiced again. Selecting other reactions from the menu on the left allows them to be practiced in the same manner.
Not only have students responded positively toward this study aid, but also an analysis of scores on the reactions section of exams in first-semester organic chemistry classes indicates significantly higher performance for classes that used the program versus those that did not.
Figure 1. Representation of the reaction and product cards for addition of Hx to an alkene from The “Reaction Rolodex”: A Web-Based System for Learning Reactions in Organic Chemistry.
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