March 2009
Vol 46, No 2. Selected articles and reviews available online to all. Full issue available online to subscribers.
Column
International tests
How well do 14-year olds in England do in science and mathematics compared to their peers on the world stage?
National HE STEM programme sets roots in Birmingham
University of Birmingham to host HEFCE's initiative to increase and widen participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in higher education
New CPD option for non-specialist chemistry teachers
Training and Development Agency for Schools to launch a national Science Additional Specialism Programme (SASP) for teachers of physics and chemistry
Chemistry Olympiad classroom resources
Questions from annual national competition provide excellent teaching resources for AS- and A-level chemistry
Best practice in practical work
The science community, under the SCORE banner, launches framework for practical science in secondary schools
Practical skills certificate for level 3
Awarding body OCR launches certificate in practical chemistry for level 3 academic and vocational qualifications
What's in a name?
Many chemical compounds have several possible names. Peter Nelson, University of Hull, asks: 'Which ones should teachers use?'
GCSE specifications: how do they compare?
The RSC Curriculum and Assessment Group provides summary of the content of current GCSE chemistry specifications
Mastering Bologna
The Royal Society of Chemistry publishes a report on the readiness of UK chemistry departments to succeed in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)
In brief
Items: Various short items
Netgains
New websites: 'How science works' resources, Materials for Key Stages 3 and 4 from the Science Museum, and flash bang demos
Chemistry trails
Peter Borrows takes us on another excursion into local chemistry. In this issue: the nanochemistry trail
Web watch
Tony Tooth, chemistry teacher at The King's School in Ely, looks at some websites that may be of interest to chemistry teachers. In this issue: GCSE and A-level teaching resources
Letters
Letters
Education in Chemistry Letters, March 2009
Exhibition Chemistry
Carbon monoxide
Demonstrations to capture the student's imagination, by Adrian Guy of Blundell's School. In this issue: carbon monoxide
The Elements
Features
If it smells - it's chemistry
Smell is the most chemical of all the senses - but what's the theory behind the practice?
Ida Noddack and the missing elements
Distinguished women chemist of the early 20th century identifies element 75, one of the gaps in Mendeleev's Table, and is the first to appreciate nuclear fission
Crop protection chemicals
By 2030, the world's population is expected to rise to over eight billion - the need for safe and environmentally friendly crop protection chemical has never been greater
Intuitive thinking and learning chemistry
Understanding students' intuitions about the world could provide insight into their misconceptions of chemical concepts
Distillates
Discharged chemical cocktail
Researchers in Portugal use atomic absorption spectroscopy to identify the chemical cocktail of gases released when used alkaline batteries are incinerated
Wooden you know?
German scientists produce new materials that look and behave like plastics from 'liquid wood'
A green cap for landfills
Australian scientists cap landfill sites in arid regions with trees and plants to absorb the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide
Chemistry goes tubular
Chemists in Germany use carbon nanotubes to activate butane, and thus make useful precursor molecules for pharma industry, without the need for expensive catalysts
Reviews
Chemical structure and reactivity: an integrated approach
James Keeler and Peter Wothers
Fantastic plastic
Averil Macdonald
Endpoint
Infochem
