Lavoisier showed that water was formed by chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. In Lavoisier's "Traite Elementaire" of 1789, he states that the reaction to form water requires exactly two volumes of hydrogen gas to react completely with one volume of oxygen gas. This was 20 years before Gay-Lussac studied the reactions between…

Describes a set of experiments using a UV-VIS spectrometer to identify food colorings and to measure the pH of soft drinks. The first laboratory component uses locations and shapes of visible absorption peaks as a means of identifying dyes while the second portion uses the spectrometer for determining pH. (PVD)

Focuses on many alternative conceptions and nonconceptions about material related to equilibrium and thermodynamics. Uses interviews and compares the concepts from these with those expressed by experts in textbooks. (DDR)

Describes the adaptation of thermite (aluminum with metal oxides) reactions from whole-class demonstrations to student-run micro-reactions. Lists detailed directions and possible variations of the experiment. (WRM)

Describes a new demonstration that uses an apparatus like the ammonia-fountain apparatus but with modifications designed to produce ammonium-chloride smoke. This demonstration is easy to perform, interesting to observe, and allows demonstration of the solubility of ammonia in water, the basic nature of ammonia, the acidic nature of hydrogen…

Reports the development and score validation of an instrument for measuring anxieties students experience in college chemistry laboratories. Factor analysis of scores from 361 college students shows that the developed Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety Instrument measures five constructs. Results from a second sample of 598 students show that scores on…

Describes a low-cost activity designed to help students visualize both the kinetic and the stoichiometric nature of chemical reactions at the particle level, by creating a flip book. Suggests ideas for evaluation of student work, and extension activities. (WRM)

Describes the "Old Prof" card game, a cross between the "Old Maid" and "Go Fish" card games, as it is used as an icebreaker in an introductory General Chemistry laboratory session. (WRM)

Describes the benefits of a program in which female undergraduate science majors conduct chemistry demonstrations for middle-school students. Finds that undergraduate women serve well as mentors to middle-school girls. (WRM)

Suggests that simple riddles can be used effectively to make students interact in science class. Proposed teaching methods require the student to provide answers to riddles in order to develop the discussion about a given topic. Presents sample riddles related to elements and their compounds. (WRM)

Describes a teaching technique of playing BINGO to simple alkane nomenclature and many possible variations. (WRM)

Reports in detail on a year-long case study of multiple-model use at grade 11. Suggests that students who socially negotiated the shared and unshared attributes of common analogical models for atoms, molecules, and chemical bonds used these models more consistently in their explanations. (Author/CCM)

Discusses students' (n=10,058) problems with naming oxo salts following a given formula. Many students incorrectly named oxo salts as oxides, and the students' own names for the compounds were more helpful to find the correct formula than the common names. Concludes that high school students are more interested in intellectually challenging…

Illustrates that, contrary to some assertions made in the popular press, scientific literature, and introductory textbooks, glass does not flow in historic time. Contends that glass is a rigid solid with a lower degree of molecular order than a crystal but with greater molecular order than a liquid. (Contains 27 references.) (WRM)

Presents a survey and analysis of research related to the development of concepts of matter. Proposes that the clarity with which students understand the distinction between matter and objects influences their explanations. Contains 111 references. (DDR)