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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
Jun 29, 2006 by Chemistry Editorial Board |
| Overview: |
A library of Chime scripts for organic and inorganic structures sorted by
central atom, formula and name.
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| Learning Goals: |
Twofold: users can manipulate, and examine 3D structures in web-based
environment (measure bond distances, angles, atom identity, etc.) and become
versed in the use of the common application "Chime".
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| Target Student Population: |
Appropriate for high school students and up.
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| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
Basic web-browsing skills are needed to navigate the site. Chime itself is
pretty self-explanatory. One would be told to visit this site to get an idea
about the variations in organic and inorganic structure, so some prerequisite
familiarity of 3D chemistry, such as VSEPR, is required.
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| Type of Material: |
A reference library of organic/inorganic Chime scripts sorted by central atom,
formula or name.
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| Recommended Uses: |
This site could function either as a class demonstration or an in-class/
homework assignment. Students could be instructed to scope the library of
specific VSEPR shapes, look for certain bond lengths or bond angles, or find
point groups in the more regular crystal structures.
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| Technical Requirements: |
The module provides a link to the MDL Chime site to download the plugin. Chime
has recently been upgraded to work in more browsers, but if you have an older
version it can have problems working in certain browsers. For troubleshooting
browser compatibility. visit Eric Martz's site at
http://www.umass.edu/microbio/chime/neccsoft.htm#browsers
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| Strengths: |
A good list of Chime scripts that covers many organic, inorganic and biochemical
structures.
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| Concerns: |
A small criticism on completeness - even though the structures listed are OK, in
some cases the choice of some compound classes over others is a bit random.
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:    |
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| Strengths: |
A good tool to have nearby when helping students grasp the 3D nature of
chemistry; really, a tool that MUST be used, because I simply cannot help my
students in this area without some sort of visualization help. Uses Chime to its
full capability by centralizing quite a number of scripts.
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| Concerns: |
No concerns about the module itself, it is a useful collection. Chime is an
easy to use application to demonstrate 3D molecules, but it may be replaced by
other programs such as Jmol.
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
Rating:   |
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| Strengths: |
Easy to use for the most part. Easy to go back to where you started with browser
back button. Comparison (side-by-side) option is very nice.
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| Concerns: |
The list of choices at the top of the page could be bulleted or numbered to aid
in navigation. In Chime, I had to click on buttons twice a few times to get them
to work.
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
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