At Georgetown College, the Chemistry faculty are transforming the way chemical education is conducted and thus impacting the interest levels, skills, and depth of knowledge of the students by introducing solids analysis through a graduated approach. The project enhances students' understanding of solids and aids the development of their understanding of the use of Chemistry to a wide variety of practical applications, strengthens the scientific literacy of the general student body by demystifying chemical equipment and drawing connections between chemical analysis and relevant topics such as art, photography, environmental pollution, new materials, and food, and attracts more students to the STEM fields by giving them direct hands-on experience with modern instrumentation early in the academic career.
A new course, Chemistry, Color, and Art, is helping improve the scientific literacy and experience of students who choose non-science careers. More than half of the students at Georgetown College are directly impacted through Chemistry classes. Additionally, the program will have a broader impact on the region through a Bluegrass Regional Physical Chemistry Symposium, a high school summer science camp, and a Science Alliance with K-12 teachers from six surrounding counties. The details of the curriculum development and its evaluation will be disseminated through presentations at national meetings and publication in a chemical education journal. This project is also addressing the critical shortage of science professionals in Kentucky.
This grant from the National Science Foundation in 2011 facilitated the acquisition of four new instruments for the analysis of solids that have been integrated into the Chemistry curriculum. Their primary use has been in the General, Liberal Arts, Inorganic, Physical, Analytical, and Spectroscopy labs with secondary utility in other teaching and research labs. They have also been used by high school students and teachers. By introducing solids analysis through a graduated approach, Georgetown College faculty are transforming the way chemical education is conducted and thus impacting the interest levels, skills, and the depth of knowledge of the students. The project incorporates the following four key objectives: • Enhance students’ understanding of solids and increase their understanding of the practical applications of Chemistry that are not immediately evident to beginning students. • Strengthen the scientific knowledge of the general student body by demystifying chemical equipment and drawing connections between chemical analysis and relevant topics such as art, photography, environmental pollution, new materials, and food. • Attract more students to the STEM fields and foster student enthusiasm by direct hands-on experience with modern instrumentation and faculty guided research projects. • Develop students with the capabilities to become science professionals, which is needed due to the critical shortage of science professionals in Kentucky. Four new instruments for the analysis of solids are being integrated into the undergraduate Chemistry curriculum. Two are based on thermal techniques and two are based on X-ray techniques: A Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and a Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) from Mettler-Toledo monitor the heat flow into or out of a sample (the DSC) and the mass of the sample (the TGA) as the temperature of the sample is raised from room temperature to several hundred degrees. An X-ray Powder Diffractometer (XPD) from Rigaku provides information on the identity and structure of crystalline powders. AnX-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF) is used to analyze most elements (primarily metals) in soils, powders, alloys, i.e., many solid materials. This instrument from Amptek is also able to perform gamma-ray spectroscopy. This suite of instruments for the analysis of solids is unique for the undergraduate Chemistry curricula. In order to enhance the intellectual merit of the project, the faculty have been developing new, engaging labs for both non-science and science majors which involve the hands-on use of these sophisticated, research-grade instruments. The following four experiments are just an example of the more than a dozen activities that the faculty have been able to do as a result of the four new instruments: In the General Chemistry Lab, the TGA has been used to confirm the degree of hydration of Barium chloride and Alum along with standard gravimetric analysis. By introducing only one instrument at a time, students are gaining a better understanding of each instrument’s capabilities. Students have used all four techniques in the Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Lab to determine the identity of unknowns. Identities suggested by XPD were verified with TGA and DSC. When XPD could not provide a clear starting point, XRF was used to narrow down the possible component elements. The complimentary analysis of metals by XRF and Atomic Absorption has proven successful in both the Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Labs. In the High School Summer Science Camp, students analyzed chocolate samples and polymer samples from different PETE water bottles using the DSC. They also analyzed ground-up peanut shells as a potential biofuel. Additionally, students used XPD to identify the components in different kinds of chocolate. Chemistry, Color, & Art is a new course that is being developed to help improve the scientific knowledge and experience of students who choose non-science careers. More than half of the students at Georgetown College are directly impacted through Chemistry classes. Additionally, the program has already had a broader impact on the region through a high school summer science camp and a Science Alliance with middle and high school teachers from six surrounding counties because of the four new instruments. The details of the curriculum development thus far have been disseminated through presentations at the 2012 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education meeting at Penn State Univ. and the 2013 American Chemical Society national meeting in Indianapolis. A paper describing these outcomes is in preparation. This project is integrating these four new instruments and new experiments in the undergraduate laboratories in a way that will demonstrably improve student learning.
