Correcting Frost Diagram Misconceptions Using Interactive Frost Diagrams

<p>Frost diagrams provide convenient illustrations of the aqueous reduction potentials and thermodynamic tendencies of different oxidation states of an element. Undergraduate textbooks often describe the lowest point on a Frost diagram as the most stable oxidation state of the element, but this interpretation is incorrect because the thermodynamic stability of each oxidation state depends on the specific redox conditions in solution (i.e., the potential applied by the environment or an electrode). Further confusion is caused by the widespread use of different, contradictory conventions for labeling the y-axis of these diagrams as either n<i>E</i>° or −n<i>E</i>°, among other possibilities. To aid in discussing and correcting these common mistakes, we introduce a series of interactive Frost diagrams that illustrate the conditional dependence of the relative stabilities of each oxidation state of an element. We include instructor’s notes for using these interactive diagrams and a written activity for students to complete using these diagrams.</p>

Correcting Frost Diagram Misconceptions Using Interactive Frost Diagrams

<p>Frost diagrams provide convenient illustrations of the aqueous reduction potentials and thermodynamic tendencies of different oxidation states of an element. Undergraduate textbooks often describe the lowest point on a Frost diagram as the most stable oxidation state of the element, but this interpretation is incorrect because the thermodynamic stability of each oxidation state depends on the specific redox conditions in solution (i.e., the potential applied by the environment or an electrode). Further confusion is caused by the widespread use of different, contradictory conventions for labeling the y-axis of these diagrams as either n<i>E</i>° or −n<i>E</i>°, among other possibilities. To aid in discussing and correcting these common mistakes, we introduce a series of interactive Frost diagrams that illustrate the conditional dependence of the relative stabilities of each oxidation state of an element. We include instructor’s notes for using these interactive diagrams and a written activity for students to complete using these diagrams.</p>

Productive Technology Use in Mathematics Explorations

We investigate different ways interactive diagrams can be used in secondary mathematics classrooms.

Improvement of layered directed acyclic graph layout in CourseViewer

CourseViewer is a software that uses interactive diagrams to assist students, teachers, and course coordinators in analyzing information related to academic transcripts and course curriculum, which are represented as layered directed acyclic graphs of subjects and prerequisites. Recent improvements in the layout of these graphs included edge crossing minimization and better horizontal positioning of nodes. This work continues this list of improvements by means of researching edge bundling techniques that group edges of layered directed acyclic graphs, in order to simplify graph understanding. We selected and implemented an edge bundling technique in CourseViewer. We also exemplify course curricula in which we applied this technique.