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The Chemical Educator
ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)
Abstract Volume 20
(2015) pp 6-8
Guided Inquiry and Discovery in General Chemistry: Solubility Product and Common Ion Effect
Arun K. Sharma
Department of Chemistry & Physics, Wagner College, New York, NY, USA, aksharma@wagner.edu
Received September 29, 2014. Accepted December 17, 2014.
Published: 16 January 2015
Abstract. The teaching of laboratories in the General Chemistry curriculum is an opportunity for educators to provide students with a flavor of the practice of Chemistry. We present a guided inquiry and discovery oriented approach to presenting experiments in the General Chemistry laboratory. Our presentation requires students to design and implement an investigation in response to a scientific question. Students are provided with a guiding set of questions, leading them to design and implement an experimental investigation. Such an approach mirrors the process of scientific experimental design and research. We present a solubility product experiment within our paradigm of first year chemistry experiments. The experiment involves discovery of the common ion effect from the experimental data and calculations. A work sheet with guiding questions is provided as a supporting document for easy integration into an existing curriculum.
Key Words: Laboratories and Demonstrations; general chemistry; solubility product; common ion effect; guided inquiry
(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: aksharma@wagner.edu)
Article in PDF format (23 KB) HTML format
Supporting Materials:
Laboratory handout for this experiment (6 KB).
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