A six-year study shows that freshman chemistry students have performed lower on placement examinations than in the past; the decline ranges from a 10 percent drop in chemical knowledge to a 16 percent drop in basic arithmetic skills. (MLH)

Several meetings are being planned for chemists and chemistry professors as part of a program for developing science research and education in Africa. (BB)

Reports on a technical writing course which is conducted in conjunction with the senior-level unit operations course required of chemical engineering students. (BB)

A guided/open-ended format for general chemistry laboratories is used at the University of Oklahoma. This format is much more reflective of the scientific enquiry processes than the traditional verification format, and it allows students to investigate chemistry at a level consistent with their level of intellectual development. (BB)

Students are learning too many facts, and not enough emphasis is being placed on observational skills. An activity is suggested for college students which shows how observations are made and problems formulated from them. (BB)

Two experiments are presented which help to illustrate a modular approach to electrochemical instrument design, but which are readily understandable to students with a limited electronics background. The experiments are coulometric titration and controlled potential coulometry.

Explains a new method of detecting radioactive isotopes by counting their accelerated ions rather than the atoms that decay during the counting period. This method increases the sensitivity by several orders of magnitude, and allows one to find the ages of much older and smaller samples. (GA)

The history of the development of the herbicide industry, particularly the phenoxy herbicides 2, 4-D, and 2, 4, 5-T,is presented. (BB)

Investigates the reasons for students' failure in an introductory volumetric analysis course by analyzing test papers and judging them against a hypothetical ideal method of grading laboratory techniques. (GA)

This symposium centered on the choice of content in chemistry courses. (BB)

A chemical demonstration book project was described. (BB)

This course provides an attractive introduction to chemistry for a group of students who would normally avoid traditional chemistry courses. Topics include color, pigments, metals, ceramics, glass, paints, plastics, fibers, and dyes. (BB)

The history and definition of pH is presented along with sample calculations. (BB)

Presented here are improvements in the original design of an introductory statistical thermodynamics experiment with the result that heat capacities of metals are routinely obtained within ten percent of literature values. (BB)

In this paper an experiment is described in which the equilibrium constants necessary for determining the composition and distribution of lead (II)-oxalate species may be measured by linear sweep voltammetry. (Author/BB)