11 Frustrated Lewis Pair Pedagogy: Expanding Core Undergraduate Curriculum …
389
FLP concept into the core material of an undergraduate inorganic chemistry course,
rather than treating it as an additional/advanced topic. Moreover, the important
role that these equilibria and their thermodynamic descriptors play in FLP smallmolecule activation suggests that this material could provide a means of reinforcing
fundamental thermodynamic concepts.
These notions were explored in CHEM 151B: Chemistry of the Main-Group
Elements, a main-group chemistry course offered at the University of California,
Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) in the spring of 2020. The course is typically taken by
upper-division undergraduate and graduate students, all of whom have received prior
instruction in fundamental chemical thermodynamics. This report details the results
of a pilot project to incorporate FLP chemistry into the curriculum of CHEM 151B as
a natural extension of Lewis acid–base chemistry and preliminary results on whether
including this topic in the course can help consolidate students’ understanding of
fundamental chemical thermodynamic concepts.
11.2 Methods
11.2.1 Participants
This pilot study analyzed data collected during the instruction of CHEM 151B:
Chemistry of the Main-Group Elements at UC Santa Cruz in the spring academic
quarter of 2020. A total of 13 students were enrolled in the course. Nearly two-thirds
(N = 8) were undergraduates and the remainder were doctoral students. All participants were chemistry majors or enrolled in the graduate program of the Department
of Chemistry & Biochemistry. Over two-thirds (N = 9) self-identified as male and all
students were taking the course for a letter grade. It is noteworthy that the course took
place in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic and instruction was performed
remotely over the internet.
11.2.2 Structure of CHEM 151B
This main-group chemistry course reviews acid–base chemistry, discusses general
trends within main-group chemistry, and provides a descriptive treatment of the
chemistry of each of the families of the s and p blocks of the periodic table (Table
11.1). During Topic 1 (Acid–Base Chemistry), the general notion of the acid–base
dichotomy as a foundational organizing principle within chemistry is discussed. The
various acid–base definitions and their usefulness in different situations are then
described. When discussing Brønsted acidity/basicity, the students are encouraged
to examine the following topics through the lens of chemical equilibria: the influence of conjugate acid/base stability on basicity/acidity; solvent-induced variation
389
FLP concept into the core material of an undergraduate inorganic chemistry course,
rather than treating it as an additional/advanced topic. Moreover, the important
role that these equilibria and their thermodynamic descriptors play in FLP smallmolecule activation suggests that this material could provide a means of reinforcing
fundamental thermodynamic concepts.
These notions were explored in CHEM 151B: Chemistry of the Main-Group
Elements, a main-group chemistry course offered at the University of California,
Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) in the spring of 2020. The course is typically taken by
upper-division undergraduate and graduate students, all of whom have received prior
instruction in fundamental chemical thermodynamics. This report details the results
of a pilot project to incorporate FLP chemistry into the curriculum of CHEM 151B as
a natural extension of Lewis acid–base chemistry and preliminary results on whether
including this topic in the course can help consolidate students’ understanding of
fundamental chemical thermodynamic concepts.
11.2 Methods
11.2.1 Participants
This pilot study analyzed data collected during the instruction of CHEM 151B:
Chemistry of the Main-Group Elements at UC Santa Cruz in the spring academic
quarter of 2020. A total of 13 students were enrolled in the course. Nearly two-thirds
(N = 8) were undergraduates and the remainder were doctoral students. All participants were chemistry majors or enrolled in the graduate program of the Department
of Chemistry & Biochemistry. Over two-thirds (N = 9) self-identified as male and all
students were taking the course for a letter grade. It is noteworthy that the course took
place in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic and instruction was performed
remotely over the internet.
11.2.2 Structure of CHEM 151B
This main-group chemistry course reviews acid–base chemistry, discusses general
trends within main-group chemistry, and provides a descriptive treatment of the
chemistry of each of the families of the s and p blocks of the periodic table (Table
11.1). During Topic 1 (Acid–Base Chemistry), the general notion of the acid–base
dichotomy as a foundational organizing principle within chemistry is discussed. The
various acid–base definitions and their usefulness in different situations are then
described. When discussing Brønsted acidity/basicity, the students are encouraged
to examine the following topics through the lens of chemical equilibria: the influence of conjugate acid/base stability on basicity/acidity; solvent-induced variation