A linguagem escrita nos cursos de graduação em química

There is no question that students majoring in chemistry graduate with underdeveloped writing skills. Many educators have expressed concern about the obvious deficiencies in student writing. This article is designed to aid professors interested in teaching writing skills in their classrooms and laboratories.

Relato de uma experiência: recuperação e cadastramento de resíduos dos laboratórios de graduação do Instituto de Química da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

An experience aiming to promote a residue interchange and recovery between the teaching laboratories of the Chemistry Institute of this University is described. At the present, several residues interchange have already appeared as advantageous. To make the work easier, a software has been developed in order to keep a record of all the residues generated by the teaching laboratories. Standard labels have been developed for the residues in order to organize them. The software and the label design are described.

Sacarose no laboratório de química orgânica de graduação

An experiment showing the readily available disaccharide (sucrose) as reagent for experiments in undergraduate chemistry laboratory is described. The preparation of 2,3:4,5-di-O-isopropylidene-beta-D-fructopyranose from sucrose is very simple, uses low cost materials, requires two periods of 4 hours and is useful for classroom support in undergraduate courses.

Construindo o estágio de docência da pós-graduação em química

The teaching apprenticeship established by CAPES for post-graduation scholarship beholders has been discussed and the criterion adopted for the implementation in the post-graduation in Inorganic Chemistry Program presented. A teaching plan for the new subject is proposed, based on the experience gained through a first group. An instrument for evaluation of the student's performance has been developed and analyzed. Aspects like knowledge, clearness, enthusiasm, confidence, good manage on the audio-visual resources, class length are mentioned by degree of importance and the major difficulties faced and pointed out by the students.

O estado vítreo dentro da perspectiva do curso de graduação em química (físico-química)

We consider the relevance of the study of the glassy state properties and the glass transition as important topics of the physical chemistry for undergraduate courses of Chemistry. Two of the most important theoretical approaches for the description of the glassy state, the thermodynamic and the kinetic models, are summarized with emphasis on the physical chemistry aspects. Examples illustrating the glass transition of some materials are also presented.

Uma proposta de síntese para o ensino integrado das disciplinas experimentais de química orgânica e inorgânica nos cursos de graduação

The synthesis of the layered compound VO(PO4)(H2O)2 and its use to oxidize 2-butanol to the ketone 2-butanone, is proposed as an experiment to integrate the organic and inorganic experimental undergraduate chemistry courses, in an atempt to overcome the observed disrupture between organic and inorganic chemistry.

Síntese do isobutileno e seu emprego em reações de esterificação: propostas de aulas práticas de química orgânica para a graduação

An experiment for the synthesis of isobutylene from tert-butanol dehydratation using oxalic acid as catalyst, followed by preparations of tert-butyl benzoate and tert-butyl cinnamate is described. The synthesis are simple, requiring two periods of 4 hours and are suitable for undergraduate organic chemistry experimental courses.

Avaliação dos programas de pós-graduação em química no Brasil: versão 2002

The graduate programs in Chemistry were evaluated and classified from the data collected for the period 1998-2000 by CAPES, the Minister of Education agency that is responsible for the regulation and support of this level of human resources formation. The next classification will be made in 2004, from the data of the period 2001-2003. The years in between, like the present year, are used for an evaluation without classification, from what comments are emitted to the programs to know how their data are improving or not, before the new ranking reporting. The progresses in the area of chemistry in Brazil are analysed from the confrontation of the present data with that of all previous evaluations, since 1983. The results confirm that the research and graduate formation in the area of Chemistry is continuously improving in Brazil, particularly during the last seven years.

Preparação e caracterização do complexo cobaloxima e sua utilização na construção de um eletrodo modificado: um experimento eletroquímico no curso de graduação

The present experiment describes the preparation, characterization of n-butyl(pyridil)cobaloxime complex and its electrochemical property. The infrared and uv-visible absorption spectra were used to characterize the complex obtained. The infrared spectrum of the compound showed characteristics bands that indicated the formation of the Co-C chemical bond formation. The electronic absorption spectrum in acetonitrile showed transition bands attributed to p-p*, metal-to-ligand charge transfer, d-d transitions and charge transfer Co-C. The electrochemical property was investigated by the pulse differential voltammetry technique. Two oxidation processes: Co(I)/Co(II) at -423 mV and Co(II)/Co(III) at 752 mV were observed.

Estabilidade relativa de alcenos: análise dos critérios encontrados nos livros textos de graduação e uma proposta de explicação operacional para alcenos dissubstituídos

Despite of being used as thermodynamic criterion to rank alkene stability in a number of undergraduate textbooks, the heat of hydrogenation does not describe adequately the relative stability of disubstituted alkenes. In this work, both the heat of formation and the heat of combustion were used as thermodynamic criteria to rank correctly the stability of alkenes according to the degree of alkyl substitution and also in the disubstituted series (geminal > trans > cis). An operational model based on molecular orbital and valence bond representations of hyperconjugation is proposed to show how this effect can explain the order of stability of this class of compounds.

Programa de gerenciamento de resíduos dos laboratórios de graduação da Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões - Campus Erechim

This work presents a proposal for the management of residues from teaching laboratories. The main goals of the proposal are: scale reduction of experiments, reuse of residues as raw materials for new experiments and appropriate treatment and storage of residues. The methodology includes standardized labels for residue classification and registration of experimental classes and their residues in files. The management seemed to be efficient, resulting in a reduction of the amount of reagents utilized and residues generated, and an increase of reutilization of residues. A considerable decrease of needed storage space and suitable methods for correct residue disposal were achieved. We expect that all laboratories, including those exclusively for research activities, become involved, in a near future, in the Residue Management Project of URI - Campus Erechim.

Espectros eletrônicos de alguns complexos de geometria octaédrica de Ni2+: uma introdução prática à teoria do campo cristalino no curso de graduação

The experiment introduces the undergraduate students to the crystal field theory. The electronic spectra of the octahedral complexes of [Ni(L)n]2+ (L = H2O, dmso, NH3 and en) obtained in the experiment are used to calculate 10Dq and B parameters. The experiment shows how the parameters can be calculated and correlated with the nature of the ligands and the field intensities produced.

Craqueamento térmico de alcanos: uma aula prática de química orgânica para a graduação

In this work we describe an experiment for the thermal cracking of octane and heptane and the qualitative analyses of the products using the Baeyer test for unsaturated compounds and gas chromatographic analyses. The experiment is very simple and requires one period of two hours and is suitable for undergraduate organic chemistry experimental courses.