Learning to be an opportunistic word problem solver: going beyond informal solving strategies

Informal strategies reflecting the representation of a situation described in an arithmetic word problem mediate students’ solving processes. When the informal strategies are inefficient, teaching students to make way for more efficient ways to find the solution is an important educational issue in mathematics. The current paper presents a pedagogical design for arithmetic word problem solving, which is part of a first-grade arithmetic intervention (ACE). The curriculum was designed to promote adaptive expertise among students through semantic analysis and recoding, which would lead students to favor the more adequate solving strategy when several options are available. We describe the ways in which students were taught to engage in a semantic analysis of the problem, and the representational tools used to favor this conceptual change. Within the word problem solving curriculum, informal and formal solving strategies corresponding to the different formats of the same arithmetic operation, were comparatively studied. The performance and strategies used by students were assessed, revealing a greater use of formal arithmetic strategies among ACE classes. Our findings illustrate a promising path for going past informal strategies on arithmetic word problem solving.

     

Advances in interactive supported electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen electrode reactions

Magneli phases [A. Magneli, Acta Chem. Scand. 13 (1959) 5] have been introduced as a unique electron conductive and interactive support for electrocatalysis both in hydrogen (HELR) and oxygen (OELR) electrode reactions in water electrolysis and Low Temperature PEM Fuel Cells (LT PEM FC). The Strong Metal-Support Interaction (SMSI) that imposes the former implies: (i) the hypo-hyper-d-interbonding effect and its catalytic consequences, and (ii) the interactive primary oxide (M-OH) spillover from the hypo-d-oxide support as a dynamic electrocatalytic contribution. The stronger the bonding, the more strained appear d-orbitals, thereby the less strong the intermediate adsorptive strength in the rate determining step (RDS), and consequently, the faster the facilitated catalytic electrode reaction arises. At the same time the primary oxide spillover transferred from the hypo-d-oxide support directly interferes and reacts either individually and directly to contribute to finish the oxygen reduction, or with other interactive species, like CO to contribute to the CO tolerance. In such a respect, the conditions to provide Au to act as the reversible hydrogen electrode have been proved either by its potentiodynamic surface reconstruction in a heavy water solution, or by the nanostructured SMSI Au on anatase titania with characteristic strained d-orbitals in such a hypo-hyper-d-interactive bonding (Au/TiO₂). In the same context, some spontaneous tendency towards monoatomic network dispersion of Pt upon Magneli phases makes it possible to produce an advanced interactive supported electrocatalyst for cathodic oxygen reduction (ORR). The strained hypo-hyper-d-interelectronic and inter-d-orbital metal/hypo-d-oxide support bonding relative to the strength of the latter, has been inferred to be the basis of the synergistic electrocatalytic effect both in the HELR and ORR.     

Mechanism of the Kolbe-Schmitt reaction. Structure of the intermediate potassium phenoxide-CO(2) complex

Our investigation elucidates the structure of the intermediate in the first stage of the carboxylation reaction of potassium phenoxide. Under the reduced pressure of carbon dioxide the complex is not solvated with the CO(2) molecules. Under the conditions of the carboxylation reaction the potassium phenoxide-carbon dioxide complex is solvated with one or two CO(2) molecules. One of the added CO(2) moieties performs an electrophilic attack on the benzene ring, whereas the old CO(2) moiety becomes a molecule of solvent. Our findings are in good accord with the experimental results obtained by the NMR and IR measurements.     

Radiation chemistry of polyethylene. XIV. Allyl radical decay kinetics in different types of polyethylene

The decay kinetics of the chain allyl free radical has been studied in the following morphological forms of polyethylene (PE): Marlex bulk film, hydrogenated PE, and extended-chain PE. Coupled with previous work on single-crystalline PE it can be seen that the decay rate is greater the more amorphous the sample. In the Marlex bulk film and hydrogenated PE the decay can be interpreted in terms of a simultaneous fast and slow decay process by means of our Q-function equation, but with rising temperature the decay approximates a single rate process. With extended-chain PE the allyl decay rate does not become appreciable until the melting range is approached. The fraction of allyl radicals decaying by the slow process is 2 to 10 times greater than the fraction of fast decaying radicals. The ratio of the fast decay rate constant to that of the slow rate constant is greater for the bulk Marlex film than for the hydrogenated PE. All ratios decrease with rising temperature. For times up to about 150 min the allyl decay in the extended-chain PE accurately follows a single second-order decay law with a time-independent diffusion controlled reaction rate constant.     

High activity of Pt(4)Mo alloy for the electrochemical oxidation of formic acid

Surface processes on Pt4Mo alloy well-defined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were studied in acid solution by cyclic voltammetry. It was established that Mo in the alloy is much more resistant toward electrochemical dissolution than pure Mo. During the potential cycling of Pt4Mo surfaces in completely quiescent electrolyte, hydrous Mo-oxide could be generated on Mo sites. Investigation of the formic acid oxidation revealed that this type of Mo-oxide enhances the reaction rate by more than 1 order of magnitude with respect to pure Pt. Surface poisoning by CO(ads) is significantly lower on Pt4Mo alloy than on pure Pt. The effect of hydrous Mo-oxide on the HCOOH oxidation rate was explained through the facilitated removal of the poisoning species and through its possible influence on the intrinsic rate of the direct reaction path.