Modular Approach to Introduce Multivariate Calculus in Thermodynamics Class

Five manageable multivariate calculus modules were developed to help students effectively learn complex relations in Thermodynamics. The goal of this module approach is to enhance students’ self‐efficacy in learning, which numerous studies have shown to be the key predictor in improving students’ academic achievement and retention in science. The author has used this module in Thermodynamics for four years. According to the assessment the learning results are quite positive and encouraging.     

The potential of recreational mathematics to support the development of mathematical learning

ABSTRACT

A literature review establishes a working definition of recreational mathematics: a type of play which is enjoyable and requires mathematical thinking or skills to engage with. Typically, it is accessible to a wide range of people and can be effectively used to motivate engagement with and develop understanding of mathematical ideas or concepts. Recreational mathematics can be used in education for engagement and to develop mathematical skills, to maintain interest during procedural practice and to challenge and stretch students. It can also make cross-curricular links, including to history of mathematics. In undergraduate study, it can be used for engagement within standard curricula and for extra-curricular interest. Beyond this, there are opportunities to develop important graduate-level skills in problem-solving and communication. The development of a module ‘Game Theory and Recreational Mathematics’ is discussed. This provides an opportunity for fun and play, while developing graduate skills. It teaches some combinatorics, graph theory, game theory and algorithms/complexity, as well as scaffolding a Pólya-style problem-solving process. Assessment of problem-solving as a process via examination is outlined. Student feedback gives some indication that students appreciate the aims of the module, benefit from the explicit focus on problem-solving and understand the active nature of the learning.     

中美化工安全本科教育对比

针对中美2国高校化工安全教育的发展,对比2国化工安全本科教育在教育背景、专业课程和教学资源方面的差异。依据对比结果,分析我国化工安全本科教育存在的不足,提出从加强安全文化教育、推进化工专业认证和提高师资工程背景等方面促进我国化工安全本科教育的发展。     

通过化学实验报告改革提升大学生科技写作水平

目前我国高校本科生的毕业论文存在较多问题,集中表现在数据处理不当、论文逻辑不清、书写格式混乱、写作不规范等方面,而这些方面的改进都需要长期的训练和积累。以“无机及分析化学实验”课程的实验报告书写改革为例,通过对实验报告进行分层次的3种不同模式的改革方式,使学生加深了对于实验课程的认识,提高了科技论文写作的水平。此项改革的进一步推广有助于学生在大学4年的学习中逐步提升科技写作能力,从而能够书写出清晰、规范、科学、严谨的优秀毕业论文,同时也为他们未来的深造和工作奠定坚实的写作基础。     

偶氮类染料的合成与应用——介绍一个国外本科生实验并讨论其相关问题

介绍一个国外大学本科生有机化学实验“有机偶氮类染料的合成”,呈现了具体的实验方案,在此基础上讨论染料合成和染色过程等相关问题,并比较其对不同天然材料与合成纤维的染色情况。该实验的设计和实施值得国内本科生有机化学实验借鉴。     

Teaching Raman Spectroscopy in Both the Undergraduate Classroom and the Laboratory with a Portable Raman Instrument

We have evaluated a small portable Raman instrument on loan from B&W Tek, Inc., and have determined that it can successfully be used in the classroom both as a visual aid for teaching the fundamentals of Raman spectroscopy and for a variety of undergraduate experiments as a normal component of an instrumental analysis class. Having portable Raman instrumentation would allow the instructor to demonstrate the principles of Raman spectroscopy, as well as the concepts of calibration curves, blank subtraction, detection limits, and regression analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative types of experiments were done for solid Tylenol tablets, aqueous solutions of isopropyl alcohol, dimethyl sulfoxide, methanol, and ethanol, and gaseous CO₂ and N₂O₄. Additionally, surface‐enhanced resonance Raman spectra of Rhodamine 6G were obtained using a chloride ion–activated silver colloid. Spectra from the B&W Tek, Inc., instrument were comparable to literature Raman spectra.     

Raman Spectroscopy for the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory: Quantification of Ethanol Concentration in Consumer Alcoholic Beverages and Qualitative Identification of Marine Diesels Using a Miniature Raman Spectrometer

Raman spectroscopy has steadily gained popularity as a powerful tool in both the analytical lab and the undergraduate classroom. The technique is attractive because it allows for rapid, nondestructive qualitative or quantitative analyses of many analytes with little or no sample preparation requirements. The introduction of less expensive, smaller, and more powerful diode laser excitation sources and the recent availability of rugged, red‐sensitive, charge‐coupled device–based miniature modular spectrometers has prompted the integration of Raman spectroscopy into the undergraduate curriculum. We have evaluated the analytical utility of a small, portable Raman instrument for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of two “real” samples. The experiments in this paper were designed to be used as a laboratory component for undergraduate education and include the quantification of ethanol in consumer alcoholic beverages and the qualitative identification of marine diesel fuels that had been spilled on surface waters. In the case of the liquor samples, the ethanol concentration in colorless, odorless alcoholic beverages could be determined very rapidly, but colored and heavily scented liquors proved more difficult and required pretreatment with activated carbon to remove fluorescence that masked the Raman signal. Similarly, a high‐intensity fluorescence background was observed to mask characteristic Raman bands of the diesel fuels. Some reduction in the intensity of the fluorescence was observed after carbon pretreatment of the fuels. The set of undergraduate experiments described in this paper treat the concepts of quantitative and qualitative analysis using portable instrumentation, instrumental calibration by the standard addition and external curve methods, and method development for the analysis of real consumer and environmental samples.     

Computer programming in the UK undergraduate mathematics curriculum

This paper reports a study which investigated the extent to which undergraduate mathematics students in the United Kingdom are currently taught to programme a computer as a core part of their mathematics degree programme. We undertook an online survey, with significant follow-up correspondence, to gather data on current curricula and received replies from 46 (63%) of the departments who teach a BSc mathematics degree. We found that 78% of BSc degree courses in mathematics included computer programming in a compulsory module but 11% of mathematics degree programmes do not teach programming to all their undergraduate mathematics students. In 2016, programming is most commonly taught to undergraduate mathematics students through imperative languages, notably MATLAB, using numerical analysis as the underlying (or parallel) mathematical subject matter. Statistics is a very popular choice in optional courses, using the package R. Computer algebra systems appear to be significantly less popular for compulsory first-year courses than a decade ago, and there was no mention of logic programming, functional programming or automatic theorem proving software. The modal form of assessment of computing modules is entirely by coursework (i.e. no examination).     

药学专业有机化学个性化学习路径的构建与实践*

围绕个性化学习的关键属性,构建了药学专业有机化学个性化学习路径,通过营造灵活的学习环境、生成学习者档案、“托底”与“培优”,引导不同学生通过差异化的学习路径实现自己的学习目标。课程教学内容和手段与时俱进,较好地实践了科研反哺教学。2020年,相关课程被教育部认定为首批国家级一流本科课程(线下)。     

A note on Pythagorean triple preserving matrices

Several authors have found many Pythagorean triple preserving matrices in recent years. The purpose of this note is to show that all these matrices, and in particular the results published in Deshpande's 2001 paper are special cases of the earlier results obtained by Palmer, Ahuja and Tikoo.