Making Electronic Textbook for College Chemistry-experiment

Abstract

We are developing electronic textbook of basic chemistry-experiment for university students in which chemical reactions are shown by computer graphics (CG). The CGs of chemical reactions was made based on quantum chemical calculations and the Quick Time movie of the reaction path was produced which was combined with electric textbook of chemistry-experiment. The CGs include following reactions; 1) formation of di-atomic molecule by collision of two atoms such as hydrogen iodide, 2) hydroxylation of methyl chloride as a model of Walden’s inversion wher e drastic change in structure takes place, 3) esterification of acetic acid and ethanol as an example of more complex reaction. The CG could simultaneously demonstrates the nature of the reaction such as structural change by the ball-and-stick model or the space filling model with electrostatic potential, and potential energy change by the reaction profile. The textbook displays picture of apparatus and flow- chart of small-scale experiment in addition to the CG. Therefore students were able to conduct experiment smoothly and safely while studying dynamical reaction mechanism by CG in the electronic textbook inserted in the Ziploc type plastic bag. The developed electronic textbook could be used to integrate the observable level experiment and the molecular world.