September 2010
Vol 47, No 5. Selected articles and reviews available online to all. Full issue available online to subscribers.
Column
Best foot forward.
A new government and a new school year, the RSC's Director of Science and Education takes stock and explains what can you expect from the RSC in the future
Draft science GCSEs 'plummet new depths'
Ofqual finds that 2009 and 2010 science GCSE papers were not sufficiently challenging and rejects draft papers
I'm a scientist: get me out of here!
Pupils from over 160 schools around the UK talked online to real scientists as part of the latest I'm a scientist, get me out of here (IAS)
Teacher Fellows
The RSC Teacher Fellows have now completed their secondments funded by AstraZeneca, what have they been getting up to?
UK Olympiad team go for gold
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, hosted the finals of the 42nd International Chemistry Olympiad competition
Science on the Southbank
Royal Society (RS) took over London's Southbank to celebrate its 350th anniversary
Parliamentary Links Day
Over 200 delegates attendedthe RSC's Parliamentary Links Day in the Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, London
Materials summer school
At the beginning of July, 25 chemistry teachers attended the RSC's The science of materials summer school in London
Explosive video
The winners of Planet SciCast were announced at an awards ceremony at the Royal Institution in London hosted by BBC The One Show's technology reporter
Joint RSC and IoP report on funding of UK university departments
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the Institute of Physics (IoP) published a joint study on the financial situation of chemistry and physics departments at UK universities
In brief
Items: Various short items
Chemlingo
Peter Childs, University of Limerick, investigates words in chemistry. In this issue: get me a flask, any flask
Soundbite molecules
Simon Cotton takes a look at those compounds that find themselves in the news or relate to our everyday lives. In this issue: sandalwood
Web watch
Tony Tooth looks at some websites that may be of interest to chemistry teachers. In this issue: peer-reviewed journal online and assessment revisited
Letters
Exhibition Chemistry
Turning copper into gold and silver
Demonstrations to capture the student's imagination by Adrian Guy of Blundell's School. In this issue: Turning copper into gold and silver
The Elements
The Elements
John Emsley, University of Cambridge, takes you on a tour of the Periodic Table. In this issue: Thorium - The nuclear fuel that could last 10,000 years
Features
Iron ocean seeding
Carbon sequestration - the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - is an active area of research
Single molecule sequencing
The first draft sequence of the human genome, announced 10 years ago, was time-consuming and expensive
The importance of weak forces
London dispersion forces - instantaneous dipole-induced dipole attractions - are extremely short ranged
The medicinal history of phosphorus
In the early Middle Ages 'physicians' treated most illnesses ineffectually, with herbs and plant extracts
Lead in the environment
Interest in lead pollution has tended to focus on the environmental consequences of the use of tetraethyl lead in petrol and of lead compounds in paint
Distillates
The initial spark
Adam Maltese from Indiana University and Robert Tai from Virginia University interviewed 116 scientists from across the US to find out what made them take up a career in science
Cooperative Learning
A group of researchers have studied the effects of cooperative learning on science attainment
Constructing an 'argument'
A group of researchers have studied the effects of cooperative learning on science attainment
Reviews
Garlic and other alliums
Eric Block
Chemistry in quantitative language
Christopher O. Oriakhi
Concepts in transition metal chemistry
Eleanor Crabb, Elaine Moore and Lesley Smart (eds)
Practical statistics for the analytical scientist: a bench guide
Stephen L. R. Ellison, Vicki J. Barwick and Trevor J. Duguid Farrant
The laws of thermodynamics
Peter Atkins
Endpoint
Using valency to stretch Year 7
Stuart Walker has the last word
Infochem
