Introducing Undergraduate Students to Electrochemistry: A Two-Week Discovery Chemistry Experiment

Lisa P. Nestor
Department of Chemistry, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106
Mauri A. Ditzler
Office of the President, Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL 61462
Kenneth V. Mills , Richard S. Herrick and Louise W. Guilmette
Department of Chemistry, The College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610
Heather Shafer
Department of Chemistry, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063
J. Chem. Educ., 2008, 85 (8), p 1116
DOI: 10.1021/ed085p1116
Publication Date (Web): August 1, 2008

Abstract

Within the framework of a laboratory-focused, guided-inquiry pedagogy, students discover the Nernst equation, the spontaneity of galvanic cells, concentration cells, and the use of electrochemical data to calculate equilibrium constants. The laboratory experiment we describe here is a continuation of curriculum reform and pedagogical innovation at College of the Holy Cross that we call Discovery Chemistry. During this two-week Discovery Chemistry experiment students also compare multiple reduction half-reactions versus a common oxidation, which facilitates student data pooling and the incorporation of the pooled data into lecture discussions, hallmarks of Discovery Chemistry.

Keywords (Audience):

First-Year Undergraduate / General

Keywords (Domain):

Analytical Chemistry

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Inquiry-Based / Discovery Learning

Keywords (Subject):

Electrochemistry
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  • Received: August 03, 2009

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