A virtual catalytic reactor laboratory (VCRL) experiment, which can be used in most browsers, is described. Students select feed conditions and use the VCRL to take data for a gas-phase catalytic reaction and fit kinetic parameters to a Langmuir-Hinshelwood rate expression. The VCRL contains instructions, equipment descriptions, an animated…

A free program for the simulation of dynamic infrared (IR) spectra is presented. The program simulates the spectrum of two exchanging IR peaks based on simple input parameters. Larger systems can be simulated with minor modifications. The program is available as an executable program for PCs or can be run in MATLAB on any operating system. Source…

SCILAB is a lesser-known program (than MATLAB) for numeric simulations and has the advantage of being free software. A challenging software-based activity to analyze the most common linear reversible inhibition types with SCILAB is described. Students establish typical values for the concentration of enzyme, substrate, and inhibitor to simulate…

Oscillating chemical reactions (OCRs) have been known since 1828, with the Belousov-Zhabotinskii (BZ) reaction the most studied example. Initially, OCRs were considered to be special cases due to the small number detected and because the oscillatory behavior did not seem to agree with the second law of thermodynamics. However, OCRs have become…

Technology was integrated into service-learning activities to create an interactive teaching method for undergraduate students at a large research institution. Chemistry students at the University of Central Florida partnered with high school students at Crooms Academy of Information Technology in interactive service learning projects. The…

Provides a review of both the Apple and IBM versions of ENZPACK, a software package which is designed to assist in the teaching of enzyme kinetics in courses where this topic is treated in some depth. (TW)

Described is a Piagetian learning cycle based on Monte Carlo modeling of several simple reaction mechanisms. Included are descriptions of learning cycle phases (exploration, invention, and discovery) and four BASIC-PLUS computer programs to be used in the explanation of chemical reacting systems. (Author/DS)

Describes the use of a microcomputer program which was written to analyze batch reactor data by the integral method. Discusses how the program is structured and used by students in engineering kinetics. An example problem is included along with the computer's solution. (TW)

Discusses some of the potential for using computer-assisted interactive videodisks in teaching chemistry laboratory techniques. Describes an effort currently underway at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) where 18 interactive videodisk lessons dealing with kinetics, equilibrium and the behavior of gases have been developed. (TW)

Explains how the Mathcad computer program can promote the development of higher-order chemical thinking skills of students taking junior-level physical chemistry courses. The kinetics of first-order series and reversible reactions is used as an example of how this can be implemented within an interactive laboratory or lecture format. (PVD)

Describes a computer simulation of the Compton effect designed to lead students to discover (1) the relationship of the electron's final kinetic energy to its angle of scattering and (2) the relationship between the scattering angles of the outgoing electron and photon. (MDH)