This study was designed to identify those specific mathematics computational and application skills, and combinations of mathematics skills, which have a positive relationship to success in introductory chemistry for community college students. Additional areas of interest investigated, but secondary to the main study, were the relationships between mathematical growth shown by students during first quarter chemistry and chemistry success, and comparisons of mathematics ability and chemistry success between those students who had, and had not, previously studied chemistry. Students enrolled in participating introductory chemistry classes during fall quarter 1977 at four Oregon community colleges were included in this study, The student population consisted of 185 students who had no previous study of chemistry and 206 students who previously had obtained some formal instruction in chemistry. Data from these two groups of students were analyzed separately. A mathematics survey, consisting of a computational problem and an application problem for each of 26 selected mathematics skills used during first quarter chemistry, was prepared. This 52-item mathematics survey was given during the first week of classes as a pretest, and again during the last week of fall quarter as a posttest. As a measure of chemistry success, the students were given a 56- item chemistry final examination covering subjects taught in all of the participating classes. The data thus obtained were subjected to statistical analysis at the Oregon State University Computer Center. A summary of the findings is as follows: Students obtain an approximately equivalent knowledge of chemistry by taking introductory chemistry at any of the Oregon community colleges. There is a relationship between total incoming mathematics skills and chemistry success. Pearson correlation coefficients for the mathematics pretest scores vs. the chemistry final examination scores were 0.588 for the group of students with no previous chemistry and 0.604 for the group with previous chemistry. The majority of the specific skills on the mathematics survey had a significant relationship to chemistry success. Items which were significantly related to chemistry success for students without previous chemistry did not match exactly those items significant for the students with previous chemistry. Entering community college introductory chemistry students do not possess all of the mathematics skills needed for the course. For example, less than 50% of the total students taking the mathematics pretest could solve variable equations or indirect variation problems, or multiply or divide using negative exponents or scientific notation. On the mathematics pretest, and again on the posttest, students in the non-chemistry group showed an equivalent ability to solve computational and application problems. Similar results were noted for the students with previous chemistry. Mathematics pretest application total scores correlated only slightly higher than mathematics pretest computational total scores to chemistry success, with correlation coefficients of 0.581 and 0.550 for the non-chemistry group, and coefficients of O.607 and 0.549 for the group with previous chemistry. Significant mathematical growth took place during the first quarter for both groups of students enrolled in the introductory chemistry course. The mathematical growth of students scoring below the mean on the mathematics pretest was compared to chemistry success. Students who showed the most mathematics improvement tended to have higher chemistry final examination scores. There were also a number of specific mathematics items on which improvement was related to chemistry success. Students who have previously studied chemistry have better mathematics skills and do better in first quarter introductory community college chemistry than students who have had no previous study of chemistry. Letter grades assigned by instructors are closely related to the chemistry final examination scores, correlating at 0.708 for the non-chemistry group and 0.693 for the group with previous chemistry.

At the interface between chemistry and mathematics, this book brings together research on the use mathematics in the context of undergraduate chemistry courses. These university-level studies also support national efforts expressed in the Next Generation Science Standards regarding the importance of skills, such as quantitative reasoning and interpreting data. Curated by award-winning leaders in the field, this book is useful for instructors in chemistry, mathematics, and physics at the secondary and university levels.

Mathematical skills and concepts lie at the heart of chemistry, yet they are the aspect of the subject that many students fear the most. Maths for Chemistry recognizes the challenges faced by many students in equipping themselves with the maths skills necessary to gain a full understanding of chemistry. Working from foundational principles, the book builds the student's confidence by leading them through the subject in a steady, progressive way from basic algebra to quantum mathematics. Opening with the core mathematics of algebra, logarithms and trigonometry, the book goes on to cover calculus, matrices, vectors, complex numbers, and laboratory mathematics to cover everything that a chemistry student needs. With its modular structure, the book presents material in short, manageable sections to keep the content as accessible and readily digestible as possible. Maths for Chemistry is the perfect introduction to the essential mathematical concepts which all chemistry students should master.

This book takes a fresh look at programs for advanced studies for high school students in the United States, with a particular focus on the Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate programs, and asks how advanced studies can be significantly improved in general. It also examines two of the core issues surrounding these programs: they can have a profound impact on other components of the education system and participation in the programs has become key to admission at selective institutions of higher education. By looking at what could enhance the quality of high school advanced study programs as well as what precedes and comes after these programs, this report provides teachers, parents, curriculum developers, administrators, college science and mathematics faculty, and the educational research community with a detailed assessment that can be used to guide change within advanced study programs.