Organizational meeting.

Topic: "Chemical Safety in the Teaching Laboratory"

Speaker: Mr. Bob Ceru of the MSU Office of Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Safety (ORCBS).

Topic: "A Reappraisal of the Red Blood Cell in vivo: More Than Just Oxygen Delivery"

Speaker: MSU Chemistry Professor Dana Spence

Abstract: One of early facts of physiology often learned by students describes the erythrocyte, or red blood cell (RBC), as a deliverer of oxygen to organs and tissue.  In addition to this task, it has also become clear that the RBC is a participant of other events in the circulation.  For example, multiple mechanisms have been reported describing the ability of the RBC to participate in vessel dilation through the release of nitric oxide (NO) and subsequent relaxation of the surrounding smooth muscle tissue.  There are also reports that the RBC has the ability to release ATP, which can participate in purinergic receptor signaling on the endothelium and stimulate the production of NO in these cells.  In this presentation, data will be provided that strongly suggests that the RBC has the ability to release both NO and ATP under various conditions.  Moreover, by employing biotechnological tools based on microfluidics, our group has also been able to differentiate the possible roles of the RBC-derived NO and RBC-derived ATP.  An improved understanding of RBC-derived ATP is beginning to clarify the importance of ATP release modulators.  Therefore, examples of how adverse physiological environments (e.g., hyperglycemia in diabetes and in banked blood), lack of molecules (e.g., C-peptide in type 1 diabetes), or addition of therapeutic agents (e.g., hydroxyurea for people with sickle cell disease) affect RBC-derived ATP and subsequent downstream signaling, will be discussed.

Topic: "The Science of Solar Energy Conversion: An Inorganic Chemist in Exxon Mobil's Court"

Speaker: MSU Chemistry Professor Jim McCusker

Talk materials: Powerpoint slides

Topic: Dipole Moments and Intermolecular Forces

Chemistry teacher Dan Kohler (Haslett High School) shared an Intermolecular Forces Lab that he's used successfully with his students.

Topic: Chemical Kinetics

Paul Hunter (MSU) presented a number of chemical demonstrations, many of which illustrated kinetic principles. Chemistry Teacher Marsha Crawford (Perry High School) shared a Pogil she had created that teaches about different types of bonding.

Topic: Acid-base Chemistry

Chemistry teachers Bill Struck (Williamston High School), Will Paddock (East Lansing High School), and Mark Barrera (Sexton High School) shared acid-base lab experiments and teaching materials with the group.

Topic: "Radiation, Radioactivity, What's the Difference and How do they relate to Nuclear Power?"

Speaker: MSU Chemistry Professor David Morrissey

This was presented as part of the local section Scientific Cafe series at Dusty's Cellar.

Talk materials: Powerpoint slides PDF File

Our guest speaker, Prof. Vanessa McCaffrey from Albion College presented "Hold the Fat Please!"  She discussed the chemical structure of fats, including trans fats and saturated fats and described a laboratory experiment for extracting fats from foods.

Bill Struck, Williamston High School chemistry teacher presented An Approach to Stoichiometry - a method he developed for teaching stoichiometry using "Bill's Box".

Rich Lund, St. Johns High School chemistry teacher showed a demonstration in which silver crystals were rapidly grown on a microscope slide when drops of a silver nitrate solution were placed in contact with a copper ribbon. The dramatic reaction was carried out under a microscope and projected onto a screen. He also show us an explosive Halloween demonstration that he posted on YouTube.

Bruce Bright, Dewitt High School chemistry teacher, presented his gas laws activities.  The activities are a way of having students collect data and then interpret it in terms of the general mathematical characteristics of inverse and direct proportional relationships, leading to the realization that absolute pressures and temperatures are needed when working with the gas laws.

Bill Struck, Williamston High School chemistry teacher, shared a simple lab that is an analogy to Rutherford’s gold foil experiment. It involves using marble launchers firing “alpha particles” at an unseen target to analyze what’s inside. The lab is quick, simple, cheap, enjoyable for students & helps them remember the concepts.

Topic: Nuclear Chemistry

Dr. Zachary Constan, Outreach Coordinator at the National Superconducting Cyclotron (NSCL) will present a lesson that involves using magnetic marbles to learn: (1) how to name an element and isotope, (2) the nature of radioactive decay, (3) measurable aspects of the nucleus, and (4) types of nuclear reactions.  If there's time, we'll play "The Nucleosynthesis Game" and try our hand at the production of rare isotopes nuclear acceleration and fragmentation (in other words, smashing marbles).

Nuclear Science Teacher Resources: Learning Nuclear Science with Marbles

Topic: Strategies for Helping Stuggling Students

November 3, 2008 & December 8, 2008

How can the MSU Local Section best support area chemistry teachers? Report

(2)   Rich Lund from St. Johns High School will be demonstrating the magnetic properties of oxygen gas.  What's that you say?  You thought only iron and a few other metals were magnetic?  Think again!  If you've never seen this one before, you'll be amazed to witness pale blue liquid oxygen crawling up the side of a test tube in response to a magnetic field!  Shortly there after, witness first hand some of the coldest combustion on earth as the liquid oxygen (-180°C) burns wood splints in fierce yet chilly flame!

This demonstration is a must have for A.P. Chemistry teachers for it is a crowd pleaser, and it also covers a plethora of A.P. Chemistry topics, including:  Stoichiometry, Decomposition, Kinetics (both catalysts and concentrations affecting reaction rates), Gas Laws, Molecular Orbitals, Paramagnetism vs. Diamagnetism, Concentrations, Phase Changes, Exothermic Vs. Endothermic, and many more."

(3)   Dan Kohler and intern Jessica Haggerty from Haslett High School have developed a demo log to give more focus to demos, and  Dan has also developed some worksheets around the PhET Interactive Simulations.  They’ll share these at the meeting. Guidelines for Writing Scientific Conclusions.

(4)   Paul Hunter will have a demo, too.

Ruth Smith, forensic chemistry professor will provide information about chemistry experiments that have forensic science implications.