Journal of Chemical Education最新文献

{"title":"Examining the Academic Buoyancy and Learning Motivation among First-Year Undergraduates in Chemistry-Related Majors: Chain Mediating Role of Perceived Parenting Style and Life Satisfaction","authors":"Jiayi Jiao,&nbsp;Haiqing Zhang,&nbsp;Xiaoyan Wang*,&nbsp;Xinglong Jin* and Song Xue,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00623","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00623","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Academic buoyancy is the ability to successfully cope with academic setbacks and pressures. With the increasing academic pressure on university students, understanding how they maintain learning motivation has become a central concern in educational research. This study investigated the academic buoyancy and learning motivation among first-year undergraduates in chemistry-related majors, with perceived parenting style and life satisfaction serving as mediating variables. The results revealed that perceived parenting style and life satisfaction played a sequential mediating role in the relationship between academic buoyancy and learning motivation. This chain mediation model was supported in both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation models, while in the amotivation model, only the direct effect of academic buoyancy on amotivation was validated.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"3993–4004"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Demonstration of the Indium Oxide Conversion to Indium Metal","authors":"Evgeniy A. Suslov*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c01223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c01223","url":null,"abstract":"<p >To demonstrate the chemical reactions in colorless solutions, the transition of solid indium oxide into metallic indium through the solution phase was chosen. A demonstration describes using In₂O₃ as the starting material and an acid solution as the dissolving medium. In addition, the reaction of metal deposition by cementation is shown. This demonstration helps develop chemical thinking in students and engages schoolchildren and first-year college students in chemistry. The resulting indium can be used in other experiments. In addition, we obtained clean, marketable metals in this demonstration.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"4188–4191"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Application and Practice of SPA Big Ideas Teaching in University Organic Chemistry: Cultivating Systems Thinking and Enhancing Chemistry Core Competencies","authors":"Yingying Weng,&nbsp;Ruiyuan Xu,&nbsp;Hao Gui,&nbsp;Jun Xu and Wanmei Li*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00119","url":null,"abstract":"<p >This study introduces an innovative “SPA” (Structure–Property–Application) Big Ideas teaching approach in university organic chemistry, aimed at enhancing students’ systems thinking (ST) and chemical core competencies. The structured method, consisting of five phases─Scientific Research, Problem Solving, Interdisciplinary Connections, Application, and Assessment and Reflection─has led to significant improvements in students’ chemical core competencies and ST skills. Quantitatively, students showed substantial gains in chemical core competencies such as Macroscopic Identification and Microscopic Analysis, Evidence-Based Reasoning and Modeling, Changes and Equilibrium, Scientific Inquiry and Innovation, and Scientific Attitudes and Social Responsibility, as suggested by <i>t</i> tests. In terms of systems thinking, postimplementation assessments revealed a shift toward higher proficiency levels. Notably, the proportion of students scoring in the intermediate range (8–9.99) increased from 30% to 50%, and those in the advanced range (10–12) rose from 10% to 23%. These results suggest that the SPA framework may have a positive influence on advancing students’ ST skills. The SPA Big Ideas teaching approach may hold potential for enhancing students’ core competencies and ST skills. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution due to the absence of a control group. Future research should aim to address this limitation to provide more conclusive evidence of the approach’s effectiveness.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"3858–3870"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knowing from Glowing: Evidence from Fluorescence Laboratories on the Impact of Visualization on Meaningful Learning","authors":"Mustafa Demirbuga,&nbsp; and ,&nbsp;Donald. J. Wink*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00574","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00574","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Fluorescence experiments hold great potential to develop and deepen student understanding of fundamental chemical concepts because the phenomenon is engaging and also illustrates many different chemical concepts and applications, including in quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, kinetics, equilibrium, and stoichiometry, through easily observable effects. Thus, many fluorescence experiments have been published for higher education. However, less attention has been given to analyzing students’ actual learning and experiences in systematic ways. In this paper, we share findings from interviews with students who completed three different fluorescence laboratory experiments in general chemistry courses at an urban public commuter university, analyzed through the lens of meaningful learning. Interview data for the affective learning dimension of meaningful learning was done with Galloway et al.’s 18-word affective matrix with addition of a new category that emerged strongly in the interviews: “enjoyed”. Interview transcripts were also analyzed for elements corresponding to the psychomotor and cognitive domains of meaningful learning. Results documented how important the affective and psychomotor domains were to students’ experiences in this setting. In addition to the three domains of meaningful learning, we also documented the particular role of the process of “visualization” to the students and examined how students connected their observations to molecular-level processes and corresponding models using Johnstone’s triangle as a framework. Our findings indicate that students primarily engaged with and appreciated the psychomotor domain and the visualization at the macroscopic level of the fluorescence experiments, which contributed to their understanding of the submicroscopic level but not at the symbolic level. By engaging students in the affective domain, the visually compelling experiments support deeper connections between macroscopic observations and submicroscopic models. We hope that this research informs future directions in designing curriculum and supports the effective integration of fluorescence experiments into general chemistry instruction.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"3828–3839"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Student-Developed Analytical Approach for Element Determination in Dietary Supplements","authors":"Gunnar Schwarz*,&nbsp; and ,&nbsp;Chiara Fabbretti,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00584","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We present a new laboratory experiment in which students use a nitrogen microwave inductively coupled atmospheric-pressure plasma optical emission spectrometer (MICAP-OES) to determine several elements in dietary supplements. Unlike most other quantitative analytical lab experiments, this experiment required students to develop and carry out their own approaches to a given analytical task based on a previous lecture course on quantitative element analysis. Experimental details were not provided to the students. Appropriate procedures included dissolving the samples, as well as acid digestions. Students were able to contrive and perform the analysis within the given time frame of 4 h. We also show various ways in which the experiment can be adapted to provide different content emphases on sample preparation, calibration, use of internal standards, and spectral interference. An evaluation indicated that this experiment was well received by students but students also asked for a more detailed handout.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"4080–4086"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00584","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modular Integration of Python Programming in Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Experiments","authors":"Derri J. Hughes*,&nbsp; and ,&nbsp;Samuel C. Perry*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00677","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00677","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Programming is a key transferable skill within the chemical sciences with applications supporting data acquisition, as a tool for chemical and spectroscopic analysis and as an environment for theoretical modeling. Of the many available programming languages, Python stands out due to its broad functionality and open-source structure. However, introducing any programming training to an undergraduate chemistry curriculum can be challenging due to students’ lack of previous experience and limited time in pre-existing curricula for dedicated training. Here, we present a modular approach to introducing undergraduate students to Python programming through a series of taught undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory experiments. Students are first provided with a carefully scaffolded approach to basic Python syntax before enhancing the student skill set through context-based learning integrated with practical chemistry challenges. In this way, we demonstrate how a modularly integrated approach can provide a complete introduction to Python programming regardless of previous experience and without needing dedicated training time.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"4005–4016"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00677","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of qNMR Spectroscopy and an Enzyme-Based Standard Method for the Determination of Ethanol in Nonalcoholic Beer","authors":"Jessica L. Bluitt,&nbsp;Elisa M. Woolridge and Neil Fitzgerald*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00783","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00783","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The concept of using appropriate statistical methods to compare results from a newly proposed analytical method to a standard method can be poorly understood among undergraduate students. We developed a learning activity for an undergraduate analytical chemistry course to provide a practical demonstration of method comparison. The activity consists of students collecting data on the ethanol content of nonalcoholic beers via a quantitative NMR spectroscopic method, using a benchtop NMR, and an enzyme-based UV spectrophotometric method using a commercially available enzyme assay kit. Students are then able to apply a simple statistical test to determine whether the two methods are equivalent. The activity was successfully incorporated into a course. Students were able to measure ethanol concentrations using both methods and compare data using a Student’s <i>t</i>-test. Survey results indicate that the students gained a better understanding of the use of statistics in evaluating an analytical method.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"4109–4114"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Glucose Concentrations in Coconut Water via Microplate Spectrometry and Digital Image Colorimetry","authors":"Warangkana Yimkosol,&nbsp; and ,&nbsp;Manchuta Dangkulwanich*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00609","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00609","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Comparison of analytical methods is an essential skill for undergraduate students in chemistry and related sciences. This work describes a colorimetric assay for glucose quantification using the glucose oxidase/peroxidase assay with <i>o</i>-dianisidine. Students also studied the specificity of this assay against fructose and applied it to determine glucose concentrations in an actual coconut water sample. Results were obtained using both standard microplate spectrophotometry (MPS) and digital image colorimetry (DIC) approaches. Both methods are high-throughput, requiring small amounts of reagents and data collection time; therefore, three replicates of experiments were possible in one 4 h laboratory session. The green of the RGB channels yields the highest sensitivity, as expected from a maximum wavelength of absorption of the produced chromophore of 540 nm, corresponding to the green region of light. Analysis of students’ results shows that the linear quantifiable range obtained by most groups is 6–100 μg/mL of glucose for the MPS and 7–100 μg/mL for the DIC. Notably, fructose did not produce a detectable colored product under the same assay conditions, highlighting the selectivity of the assay. The paired samples <i>t</i>-test showed no significant difference (<i>p</i> &gt; 0.05) between glucose concentrations determined by the MPS and DIC methods across all samples, suggesting that the DIC method is a viable and accessible alternative for undergraduate teaching laboratories. This experiment provides an engaging quantitative learning experience of fundamental analytical chemistry concepts, including spectrophotometry, calibration curves, and statistical data analysis with an actual and relevant sample, while exploring practical applications in food and biochemistry.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"4095–4101"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00609","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conception and Evaluation of ClimateLab_OS: Interdisciplinary Climate Education in a German Chemistry Student Laboratory","authors":"Henning Amel,&nbsp; and ,&nbsp;Marco Beeken*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00415","url":null,"abstract":"<p >While juveniles in particular have become increasingly involved in climate and environmental protection measures in recent years, the technical background of the processes and consequences of the climate crisis usually remain untouched in public discourse or demonstrations. ClimateLab_OS was developed as an extracurricular student laboratory for pupils in grades 8–13 in order to provide German juveniles with interdisciplinary and multidimensional access to the climate crisis on a chemical basis through scientific experiments and thus create an edutainment environment that combines the promotion of climate literacy with a motivating engagement with the natural sciences. Using numerous material and experimental stations in four thematic spheres, students can (not only) deal with sea level rise, ocean acidification, the greenhouse effect, photosynthesis, and the footprint of mobility. ClimateLab_OS is empirically monitored using a quantitative questionnaire study (<i>N</i> = 164 in a pre-/post-/follow-up design, <i>N</i> = 268 post only) and shows short-term trends in the promotion of current and object interest as well as enjoyment, while also having positive impacts on frustration. In particular, differences between pupils from different types of German schools are analyzed.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"3919–3930"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Simple Synthesis of Water-Soluble Biological Carbon Quantum Dots as Drug Delivery Carriers for Undergraduates Experiments","authors":"Qi Liu,&nbsp;Huimin Xu*,&nbsp;Peixin Liu,&nbsp;Yaning Bai,&nbsp;Junyu Mu,&nbsp;Haoyu Wang*,&nbsp;Ruimin Yang,&nbsp;Wenjing Xie,&nbsp;Ting Yuan,&nbsp;Yang Zhang,&nbsp;Yunchao Li*,&nbsp;Xiaohong Li*,&nbsp;Shuo Wei* and Louzhen Fan*,&nbsp;","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00302","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Nanomaterials are one of the most popular and cutting-edge research topics in clinical biomedical fields as drug delivery carriers. Understanding and researching the nanomaterials used for drug delivery carriers are very significant for the undergraduates. Here, we introduce biological carbon quantum dots (Bio-CQDs) as drug delivery carriers into chemistry experiment curricula. Bio-CQDs have very high water solubility and high stability of their aqueous solution to electrolytes and heating, which is different from that of traditional nanomaterials. Students synthesize Bio-CQDs via a simple and rapid heating reaction at atmospheric pressure and purify them through solvent washing and filtration under reduced pressure. Then, they characterize and analyze the structural characteristics, optical properties, and water solubility of Bio-CQDs and compare the differences between the aqueous solution of Bio-CQDs and traditional nanomaterials to heating and electrolytes. Finally, after understanding the conjugated planar properties of Bio-CQDs, the students load the typical chemotherapy drug topotecan onto Bio-CQDs to demonstrate their potential for drug delivery carriers. In the entire process of the experiment, we emphasize the particularity of Bio-CQDs as drug delivery carriers in clinical applications and further demonstrate the advantages of Bio-CQDs as drug delivery platform. This comprehensive experimental course integrates physical chemistry knowledge into nanomaterials to demonstrate their important principles and biomedical applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":"102 9","pages":"4055–4062"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145009711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}