Before taking an inorganic laboratory course few students have experience handling air-sensitive materials using Schlenk techniques. This exercise introduces them to techniques they will employ in later syntheses. The procedure involves the formation of anhydrous tetrahydrofuran complexes of transition-metal chlorides from metal-chloride hydrates;…

Metal rods of high purity for many elements are now commercially available and may be used to construct a display of relative densities. We have constructed a display with nine metal rods (Mg, Al, Ti, V, Fe, Cu, Ag, Pb, and W) of equal mass whose densities vary from 1.74 to 19.3 g cm[superscript -3]. The relative densities of the metals may be…

A three-week laboratory project involving synthesis and characterization of a layered manganese oxide provides an excellent vehicle for teaching important concepts of inorganic chemistry and instrumental methods related to non-molecular systems. Na-birnessite is an easily prepared manganese oxide with a 7 A interlayer spacing and Na[superscript +]…

The kinetics experiments on the ligand-C[subscript 60] exchange reactions on (dihapto-[60]fullerene) pentacarbonyl tungsten(0), ([eta][superscript 2]-C[subscript 60])W(CO)[subscript 5], form an educational activity for the inorganic chemistry laboratory that promotes graphical thinking as well as the understanding of kinetics, mechanisms, and the…

To assess the major sources of students' difficulties in qualitative analysis (QA), 51 grade 10 students (15 to 17 year old) from three secondary schools were interviewed. The results found that the major sources of students' difficulties in understanding QA are formation of precipitates, formation of complex salts and addition of acid.

This chemistry textbook presents a beginning course for schools or colleges. It presents a more complete classification than usual according to chemical analogies, the explanation of chemical phenomena in ordinary language, as well as symbols, and the addition of a complete set of formulae in the appendix. A number of recent and important…

This chemistry textbook presents a beginning course for schools or colleges. It presents a more complete classification than usual according to chemical analogies, the explanation of chemical phenomena in ordinary language, as well as symbols, and the addition of a complete set of formulae in the appendix. A number of recent and important…

Presents a list of resources on inorganic chemistry that includes general surveys, nomenclature, dictionaries, handbooks, compilations, and treatises. Selected for use by academic and student chemists. (DDR)

This chemistry textbook presents a beginning course for schools or colleges. It presents a more complete classification than usual according to chemical analogies, the explanation of chemical phenomena in ordinary language, as well as symbols, and the addition of a complete set of formulae in the appendix. A number of recent and important…

This chemistry textbook presents a beginning course for schools or colleges. It presents a more complete classification than usual according to chemical analogies, the explanation of chemical phenomena in ordinary language, as well as symbolic language. A series of new and original designs are introduced, illustrating to the eye the groupings of…

Described is how crystal field theory and the angular overlap model can be applied to very simple molecules which can then be used to introduce such concepts as bonding orbitals, MO diagrams, and Walsh diagrams. The main-group compounds are used as examples and a switch to the transition metal complexes. (KR)

Suggests a change in physical chemistry courses to use a slightly more complicated but significantly more useful generalization of the simple freezing point depression law. Lists reasons for the change and presents the treatment of solid-liquid equilibria where solid-solution is allowed. Provides a mathematical treatment. (MVL)

Many topics in chemistry are difficult for learners to understand, including symmetry. Reasons for this difficulty include its multi-level content, instructional methodologies utilized, and learner variables. This study examined the effect of initial instructional modality and prior knowledge on learning of point group symmetry. Forty-four…

Describes a study of students' ability to balance equations. Answers to a test on this topic were analyzed to determine the level of understanding and processes used by the students. Presented is a method to teach this skill to high school chemistry students. (CW)

Gives upper level chemistry students a better understanding of the application of lasers in the field of spectroscopy. Provides three experiments to demonstrate the thermal lens effect: determination of beam profile, cell position optimization, and pKa determination. (MVL)