Presents several student responses to viewing a can-crushing demonstration in which a soda can containing a small amount of water was heated on a hot-plate to boil the water, removed from the heat, and sealed by inverting over a container of cold water. Students were given a quiz, made predictions, and explained what happened on a molecular level.…

A longitudinal study of students (n=250) following the Salters Advanced Chemistry course probed a range of chemical ideas including the exothermicity of bond formation and the development of thinking about covalent, ionic, and intermolecular bonds. At the start, many students demonstrated misunderstandings about these chemical ideas, but their…

Seeks to give teachers useful information on the extent of the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, mechanisms bacteria use to resist antibiotics, the causes of the emergence of antibiotic-resistant organisms, and practices that can prevent or reverse this trend. Contains 19 references. (DDR)

Presents three quote box puzzles in which given letters are dropped vertically in each column (given order does not necessarily represent the appearance) and form a quotation when read from left to right, line by line. (YDS)

Introduces an organic chemistry course using the cooperative learning method and investigates this teaching method's effects on student learning with the participation of (n=16) super-qualified freshman who achieved a grade of 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examination. (YDS)

Presents a teaching approach that uses student group teaching wherein students teach, are rewarded for good performance and benefit from other students' academic achievement during quizzes. Discusses the scope and limitations of this approach. Includes 15 references. (YDS)

Investigates the effects of the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) format on student's achievement, thinking abilities and motivation. Focuses on distribution equilibrium and assesses student understanding by studying metacognitive and practical factors. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/YDS)

Describes the development and application of a two-tier multiple choice diagnostic instrument to assess high school students' understanding of inorganic chemistry qualitative analysis. Shows that the Grade 10 students had difficulty understanding the reactions involved in the identification of cations and anions, for example, double decomposition…

Investigates the impact an undergraduate quantum chemistry course has on students' knowledge and understanding of atomic orbitals, molecular orbitals, and related concepts. Analysis reveals that students do not have a clear understanding of these concepts and confuse the various atomic orbital representations. Includes some suggestions and…

Presents a story of a footrace between different groups of people that can be used to teach about chemical separation by chromatography. (WRM)

Describes an experiment that involves the determination of the enthalpy change for a single reaction of the decomposition of aqueous hydrogen peroxide. (CCM)

Describes an investigation of first-year chemical engineering students' understanding of the mole concept. Finds that a series of activities designed to provide students with visual or experiential points of reference for the mole concept had a strong positive effect on student misconceptions. Contains 16 references. (Author/WRM)

Uses a software package to prepare students for an organic synthesis using the Horner-Wittig reaction and investigates the role of the software in student learning. (Author/YDS)

Investigates students' understandings and misconceptions of specific concepts in chemistry by using the quantum model of atoms and molecules. (Contains 20 references.) (YDS)

Describes the Nobel Chemistry prize and categorizes the number of laureates per field of chemistry, country, and age in the history of Nobel Prizes. Explains who receives the award and laureates' effect on chemistry. (YDS)