RSC - Advancing the Chemical Sciences


Education

 

January 2007

Vol 44, No 1. Selected articles and reviews available online to all. Full issue available online to subscribers.

January 2007

Column

bologna sign

Bologna in sight?

The House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee launched an inquiry in November into the Bologna Process and its potential impact on UK HE.



Scottish Parliament looks ahead

Over 300 people came together in Edinburgh, in November, to discuss and debate the key scientific issues that will face the next Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive from May...



Like father, like son

Stanford University's Roger Kornberg has followed in his father's footsteps by winning the 2006 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for unravelling the process by which RNA is transcribed fr...



New Salters' teaching fellowships

In November at an awards ceremony held in London the Salters' Institute awarded its first-ever chemistry teacher fellowships to Sandra Clinton, Adrian Guy and Karen Tann.



HEFCE finds more cash

In November the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) announced an extra £75m for university science teaching over the next three years



Element 118 reported (again)

In 1999, scientists at the American Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reported the synthesis of element 118



C:TNG to offer Chemistry at Work events

An RSC Chemistry at Work event for 14-19-year olds, held in November, marked the launch of a two-year project to expand these events in England.



RSC to launch e-mentoring scheme for students

From the end of this month school and college students will have the opportunity to receive up-to-date information and advice on studying chemistry in HE and careers in chemistry t...



Student in Superlab

HE science centre opens

In November London Metropolitan University opened the doors of its new £30 million science centre which is home to the Superlab, a state-of-the-art teaching lab with room for 280 s...



RSC launches ChemNet

Post-16 students studying chemistry in the UK can now join the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) ChemNet initiative



RSC Teaching awards 2007

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is inviting nominations for the 2007 round of its two annual teaching awards



In brief

Items: Various short items



In search of solutions

Put your questions on chemistry teaching to our experts. In this issue: CO2 emissions and hydration isomers of chromium(III) chloride



teeth

Soundbite molecules - hydrogen peroxide

Simon Cotton, teacher at Uppingham School, takes a look at those compounds that find themselves in the news or relate to our everyday lives. In this issue: hydrogen peroxide



empty bottle

Chemlingo

Peter Childs, University of Limerick, investigates words in chemistry. In this issue: waters of oblivion



Web watch

Tony Tooth, chemistry teacher at The King's School in Ely, takes a look at some websites that may be of interest to chemistry teachers.


Letters

Letters

Education in Chemistry Letters, January 2007


Exhibition Chemistry

silver flask

The silver mirror test

Demonstrations designed to capture the student's imagination, by Colin Baker of Bedford School. In this issue: the silver mirror test


Features

dementia

Drugs for dementia

About 10 per cent of men and women over 65, and nearly half of those over 80, have Alzheimer's disease



Molecular computer molecule

Molecular computers - tomorrow's technology?

As the miniaturisation of silicon chips fast approaches its limit chemists are copying Nature in attempt to build computers atom by atom, molecule by molecule



Phenol

Phenols in medicine

Phenol encountered in school or college chemistry laboratories demands special respect on account of its toxic and corrosive nature. But phenol and its derivatives do have a few me...



lettuce

Investigating activation energies

A challenge for post-16 students to investigate the activation energies of the enzyme-catalysed and the inorganic-catalysed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide


Reviews



Cool cat chem cards: making chemistry fun

Caroline Griffiths and John Griffiths



Maths for chemistry

Paul Monk 



Environmental chemistry: a global perspective (2nd edn)

Gary W. vanLoon and Stephen J. Duffy



Let's talk chemistry

John Packer and Bernard Scott 


Maths for chemists

chemical equations

Maths for chemists - quantity calculus

Tips for teaching maths skills to our future chemists, by Paul Yates of Keele University In this issue: quantity calculus


Distillates

Controversy in class

Ralph Levinson of the Institute of Education, London, has developed a useful model that provides a framework for teachers to use when teaching controversial socio-scientific issues...



Pupils' views about science

A study has been carried out to look at pupils' opinions about science and technology



Keeping pace with technology

Sara Hennessy of Cambridge University has looked at ways that teachers can integrate ICT into their teaching of science


Infochem

milk

Squeeze harder for fresher milk

High pressure processing could shake up the taste of long-life milk



industrial plant

CO2 - a solution in sight?

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are higher today than they have been at any time in the past 150,000 years



Irfon Thomas

A day in the life of...

Chemicals buyer: Irfon Thomas


Endpoint

iGCSE gains popularity among elite

Chas McCaw has the last word