Tuesday, December 10, 2002

Online-Lab Software Simulates Chemical Interactions -- and Explosions By DAN CARNEVALE A Brigham Young University faculty member has found a way for students to get hands-on chemistry experience without actually putting their hands on any chemicals. The students work with computer software that simulates what would happen if, for instance, two dangerous chemicals were mixed together, or the power of a laser beam were amplified. The software, called Virtual ChemLab, was developed by Brian F. Woodfield, an assistant professor of chemistry. Virtual ChemLab, which allows students to complete lab assignments on a computer and submit their lab reports online, is available for labs in organic synthesis, inorganic qualitative analysis, and quantum mechanics. Mr. Woodfield says the inorganic-chemistry version of the software can simulate 10,000,000,000,000,000 -- or 1016 -- different outcomes, depending on what chemicals are mixed and how the student conducts the experiment. About 20 institutions around the country have purchased licenses to use the program. No college or university has used the virtual lab to replace a campus-based lab entirely. Instead, institutions have opted to use it as a supplement, Mr. Woodfield says. But the software could be used to help distance-education students satisfy laboratory requirements, he says. The program is intended not only to let students work with chemicals and equipment that are either too dangerous or too expensive for traditional labs, but also to let undergraduates do what they often have no time to do in a typical lab setting: experiment. Because of time and safety constraints, students usually cannot play around with different chemicals in a traditional lab. The results could be disastrous, Mr. Woodfield says. "The students end up doing a lot of cookbooking -- they have detailed instructions, they do the work, and they're happy with the results." The computer simulations in the Virtual ChemLab encourage students to experiment and have some fun. "We try to minimize the technical aspects and try to maximize the open-endedness and discovery aspects," he says. "We're teaching them that creative process, that problem-solving process." Toxic elements like mercury and expensive ones like silver are often not available to students in traditional labs. And if the students are not careful when they handle real chemicals, or do not mix the chemicals just so, they can injure themselves. For example, ethanol and nitric acid should not be mixed together, because the combination will blow up. The software uses computer simulation to show the explosion, complete with a recorded sound of glass shattering. "Our labs are very realistic looking," Mr. Woodfield says. "So psychologically our students feel like they're in a lab experience." The software presents 2,500 photographs and 220 video clips of real lab results of some experiments. Because different combinations of chemicals can have similar results, he says, the same photographs and videos can sometimes be used to represent the outcomes of different experiments. "Muck looks like muck, so we show them muck," Mr. Woodfield says. "It's all based on real chemistry." The organic- and quantum-chemistry software uses computer animation to depict the results of the experiments. Afton-Dawn Ellison, a student at BYU, used the Virtual ChemLab as part of an organic-chemistry course she took this year. She says the ability to experiment on her own helped her better understand how difficult research can be for scientists. "You really gain a lot of appreciation for what you learn in class," Ms. Ellison says. "You understand what they went through to get there." The computer simulations can also be a lot of fun, she says. "I really liked blowing stuff up in the virtual lab. In the virtual lab you can try anything you want, and it's okay," Ms. Ellison says. Mr. Woodfield received a $280,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop the Virtual ChemLab. BYU put in an additional $200,000. The virtual lab has been on the market for about a year, and the publisher Prentice Hall has helped Mr. Woodfield sell it. Students can buy the software for $25, or a college can put the software on its server for all its students for $500. Mr. Woodfield says he expects that institutions will eventually use the Virtual ChemLab for distance-learning students. "That's always a problem with distance education: How do you get the lab done?" he says. "There just aren't a lot of online-chemistry-type materials out there." However, he does not recommend that institutions use the Virtual ChemLab to replace their on-campus facilities. "A real lab is a real lab, and you just can't do away with it," Mr. Woodfield says. "A real lab is good for teaching the hands-on portion of chemistry." Background article from The Chronicle: Baking Soda, Vinegar, and Measuring Cups Become Lab Materials for Online Chemistry Course (11/12/2002) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

Community colleges oppose reported plan to eliminate $1.2-billion vocational-education program Congress authorizes CIA to create scholarship program for graduate students who can obtain security clearances Statewide board fires president of Slippery Rock U. of Pennsylvania Underage drinkers are at greater risk of brain damage than adults, report says Survey of community-college students' academic engagement aims to provide a benchmark Nepal shuts schools and colleges after rebels call a strike and threaten violence Online-lab software simulates chemical interactions -- and explosions