ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Strengthening Students’ Math Fluencies through Calculator-Free Chemistry Calculations

Abstract

In our previous study of students in second-semester general chemistry classes at the University of Minnesota, higher scores on a calculator-free math assessment, administered at the start of the semester, were found to correlate with higher grades in this course, despite the use of calculators during exams. The present paper describes some methods subsequently used to enhance students’ math fluency through solving numerical problems using pencil-and-paper math, without the use of a calculator. When doing such problems in class, the instructor can efficiently interleave reminders of basic algebraic methods to simplify expressions, to work with common and natural logs, and to estimate results to one or two significant figures. Multiple-choice exams incorporating problems of this type, in which calculators were not allowed, were also administered. Examples of such problems and their pencil-and-paper solution methods are presented in the areas of chemical equilibrium, acid–base reactions, buffers, and titrat...