A Computer Laboratory to Support Integration of Visualization and Computation into the Curriculum

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Chemistry (12)This project addresses the need for students to develop the ability to understand and visualize the particulate nature of matter. There is an increasingly important role for molecular modeling and computational chemistry in both academia and industry. A computer laboratory equipped with ChemOffice Ultra, Mathcad, Odyssey, and Spartan software packages allows for integration of visualization and computation into the chemistry curriculum. Activities that aid students in their ability to understand chemical phenomena and develop better spatial and visualization skills are incorporated into both lecture and laboratory. These activities also promote understanding of how molecular structure influences properties by allowing students to use modeling tools to make predictions and then compare them to experimental results. Other activities use Mathcad for exploring mathematical descriptions of chemical processes. In lower level courses the programs help students to better visualize concepts. The same programs allow for more investigative analyses in upper level courses as students become more competent with the software.