The Vertical Integration Project
Chemical Education Committee
Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona

Site Design and Development

Michael Bruck Computing Support mbruck@u.arizona.edu		John Pollard Tools Design jpollard@u.arizona.edu
	Vicente Talanquer Project Coordinator vicente@u.arizona.edu
Steve Brown Laboratory Coordinator sbrown@u.arizona.edu		Anne Padias Laboratory Coordinator anne@u.arizona.edu

Funding and Support
New Learning Environments Initiative, University of Arizona
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Learner Centered Education Grant, Arizona Board of Regents
Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona

ChemThreads

ChemThreads is an educational tool designed to help students integrate their chemistry knowledge. The website is organized around six main threads: chemical analysis, chemical synthesis, chemical classifications, chemical architecture, chemical dynamics, and chemical reactivity. These thematic units have been chosen to organize the material around what we see as "big ideas" in chemistry.

Each of the threads is composed of a set of interconnected modules that address central concepts in the discipline. Within a module, you have access to: basic information on the module's topic, exploratory activities designed to foster your understanding of central ideas, a review quiz, concept maps to help you integrate your knowledge, useful simulations and other visualization tools, and links to related modules. Additionally, some modules allow you to access the module's content based on your level of understanding, from freshman to senior, helping you build connections between what you are currently learning in your chemistry classes and the ideas discussed in previous and future courses.

Chemthreads also offers a variety of resources that can help instructors implement interactive activities and group and individual projects in their courses (tools link).

Main Portal

Through the main portal you have access to each of the six threads, and also a direct link to: the set of visualization tools available in ChemThreads, support material for chemistry courses, and the general index, You will also find ways to access "featured topics" in the website (check what's new).

ChemThread's Modules

Chemthreads is organized in a series of inteconnected modules. Each module contains basic information for a given topic and most modules include a set of learning activities (review quizzes, explorations, applications).

There are several ways to navigate between different modules: highlighted text, nodes in a concept map, and the menus for related links and associated academic levels.

What is Chemical Analysis? Chemical analysis is the science of making chemical measurements and characterizations. It allows chemists to answer four fundamental questions about a substance or a sample of material: What is the identity of this substance? IDENTIFICATION How can I separate the various components? SEPARATION How much of each component do I have? QUANTITATION Is substance X present in the sample? DETECTION Chemical analysis is an essential component in a chemist's work. It deals with the central tasks of finding out the identity of an unknown substance, determining its properties and structure, isolating it from other components, and detecting it and quantifying its amount in a given system.

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Salt Crystals (Optical Microscope)

Sugar (Polarization Microscope)

Differentiating Characteristic The substance that is the target of chemical analysis is called the analyte. To detect, separate, identify, or quantify the amount of analyte in a sample we most identify a property of the analyte that is not shared by other components in the system. This property is commonly called the differentiating characteristic. Examples of these types of differentiating characteristics are the ability of the substance to act as an acid, affect an electrode, dissolve in water, or absorb red light. The different methods of chemical analysis can be classified according to the nature of the differentiating characteristic they probe. Thus, we have methos based on: CHEMICAL REACTIVITY ELECTRODE POTENTIAL PARTITION BETWEEN PHASES ABSORPTION OF LIGHT a

Steps in Chemical Analysis The identification of possible differentiating characteristics of an analyte is the first step in the process of chemical analysis. Once this is done, the chemist needs to devise a way to probe for that particular property, measure the response of the sample to the probe, analyze and interpret the results, and assess the accuracy and precision of the analytical method.