| This paper involved two sections. One section concentrated on the comparison between the content of catalysis in chemistry textbooks in China and those in foreign countries. The other focused on the design of the experiment of preparing gold nanoparticles.Textbooks play a very important role in the teaching of junior middle school and high school. It could help students to understand natural world. Relying on comparative education, the typical textbooks of four countries were compared, which includes textbooks of America (Chemistry:Concepts and Applications), Britain (Nuffield Advanced Chemistry), Singapore (Chemistry Insights ’O’ Level), China (those published by People’s Education Press). The comparison was conducted from the perspective of macro and micro, respectively. Comparison of macroscopic included illustrations and the designs of columns. Comparison of microcosmic included the methods of introduction, the dispersity of content, and the types of catalytic reactions. The study found:On the illustrations, Physical figures were used more in America and Singapore. Schematic diagrams were used more in Britain.tables were used more in China and America. On the amount of columns, China and Singapore were more, but America and Britain were less, the types of column in Britain’s and Singapore’s chemistry textbooks were single. On the methods of introduction about catalysis, China and America used the same experiment. Britain used the instance of industrial productions. Singapore used the history of producting ammonia. On the dispersity of the content, America was close to China. Britain was less and Singapore was intensive. On the types of catalytic reactions, heterogeneous catalysis were more than in half in the four countries’ chemistry textbooks. The amount of homogeneous catalysis and enzyme catalysis was different in four countries’. From those, we could find the similarities and the differences between foreign chemistry textbooks and Chinese chemistry textbooks. At the same time, we could give the editors of chemistry textbooks some advice and found some inspiration for teachers’ teaching.In order to increase the students’understanding about nanometer and nanometer materials, a simple and quick chemical experiment of preparing gold nanoparticles is proposed. Solid gold nanoparticles were prepared by doping gold nanoparticles on white color solid supports, such as TiO2, Mg(OH)2, CaCO3, Al2O3, and MgO. The size and color of gold nanoparticles were changed by adjusting the types of support or concentration of tetrachloroauric (Ⅲ) acid solution. The color of prepared gold nanoparticles was various, including purple, pink, gray, red, blue, brown, reddish brown, and dark red. These experiments tell students two things. One is that nanoparticles are solid. The other is that the size and shape of a nanoparticle determines how it interacts with light. In order to directly show that the gold nanoparticles in different size appeared different colors, The STEM (Scanning transmission electron microscopy) was used. Based on this, students could know nanometer materials from the perspective of macro and micro. Seven college students did the experiment and proved the results. The educational objectives and student outcomes were discussed by a method of interview. The interview was conducted before and after experiment, respectively. The feedback from students demonstrated that this experiment is suitable for a high school or college chemistry laboratory. It also provided good advice about the teaching method of this experiment. Based on the feedback, the benefits of the proposed experiment to students are as follows:The first is to train the students in experimental techniques relating to preparation of nanoparticles. The second is to provide a good class demonstration about nanoparticles. The third is to stimulate the students’interest in chemical research. |
PDF Full Text Request