Content changing physical chemistry

In 1993 Richard W. Schwenz and Robert J. Moore published a book, under the auspices of the American Chemical Society, entitled Physical Chemistry Developing a Dynamic Curriculum (/). This book followed a 1988 project by the Pew Mid-Atlantic Cluster on revision of the physical chemistry laboratory curriculum, and NSF funded workshops in 1990 and 1991 on physical chemistry curriculum development. Together they called for substantial changes in the content of the physical chemistry lab. 

The physical chemistry curriculum reform efforts of the last two decades have succeeded in encouraging some revisions in the material in the lecture and in new or modernized exercises for use in the laboratory. More slowly, the mainstream standardized multiple choice examination has also kept pace with the curricular revisions. The content areas represented on the examination have changed with each successive revision of the examination, as have the types of questions asked. The content areas on the examination have become more representative of modem physical chemistry practice, while the items themselves have become more conceptually based. 

Figure I presents data on the number of questions on the physical chemistry comprehensive examination associated with the three subject areas shown as a function of the year of examination publication. Clearly, the relative number of items on thermodynamics, dynamics, and quantum mechanics has changed with time. In order to divide the examination into these three categories, we include statistical mechanics items with thermodynamics, although never more than a few statistical mechanics items have appeared on any individual examination. In addition, we included items related to transport of species within the dynamics portion. This plot gives evidence that the examination content does...

In conclusion, we have seen that changes have occurred, and will continue to occur, in the format, organization, and content of the physical chemistry examination over time. The multiple choice examination format provides a number of advantages and disadvantages for use in multi-institution testing... 

Measured the relationship between the gas desorption index of drill cuttings K, and gas pressure of the coal samples in the laboratory, and draw the relation-curves of K, and gas content W combined with the proximate analysis of the samples. The relation between K, and W is in accords with exponential function by performing analysis of the measured data. According to the physical chemistry theory, the non-linear characteristic between the two is caused by the diffusion coefficient changing constantly with the gas content in... 

With this volume of the Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earth Profs. Jean-Claude Biinzli, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, and Vitalij K. Pecharsky, Iowa State University, Ames have joined Prof. Karl A. Gschneidner, Jr., one of the founding editors of this series, as editors. Readers of prior volumes of the Handbook will notice that the Preface format has changed with the inclusion of the title and author(s), plus an appropriate figure from each of the chapters, instead of just a brief summary of its contents. 

Taken together, these papers provide insights on the structure and cognitive content of twentieth century chemistry. They all deserve careful reading and, rather than trying to summarize them, I have organized my presentation around a number of salient issues which relate them to one another the value and status of physical evidence in chemical disciplines the relationship between the identification of an element and its production the contrast between natural and artificial elements and the disciplinary dynamics that attended all of these changes. 

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