Development and implementation of a case study assessment using biobased 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to teach redox reactions in undergraduate organic courses

Figures & data

Figure 1. Case study learning objectives (LOs) and representative problems (RPs).

Figure 2. SALG items about chemistry concepts from completing the case study.

Figure 3. SALG items about green chemistry concepts from completing the case study.

Table 1. Item difficulties (p) and discrimination values (d) for the calculating oxidation states (OS) and classifying reaction (CR) prompts.

Item	p	d
OS-1 What are the oxidation states of carbon atoms I and II in the following compound?	0.71	0.38
(a) I. +1, II. +2; (b) I. +2, II. +2; (c) I.+1, II. +3; (d) I. +3, II. +2; (e) I. +2, II. +1
OS-2 What is the oxidation state of a carbon atom indicated with an arrow in the following compound?	0.46	0.52
(a) +2; (b) +1; (c) 0; (d) −1; (e) −2
CR-1 Sorbitol is a naturally occurring sweetener which can be obtained from glucose. With respect to carbon, is the process of conversion of glucose to sorbitol an oxidation reaction, reduction reaction or neither?	0.58	0.48
(a) reduction; (b) oxidation; (c) neither
CR-2 Levoglucosan is an organic compound formed from carbohydrates. As a result, levoglucosan is often used as a chemical tracer for biomass burning in atmospheric chemistry studies. With respect to carbon, is the process of conversion of glucose to levoglucosan an oxidation reaction, reduction reaction or neither?	0.34	0.36
(a) reduction; (b) oxidation; (c) neither
CR-3 Mucic acid is used in self-rising flour or fizzies. Mucic acid is obtained from glucose. With respect to carbon, is the process of conversion of glucose to mucic acid an oxidation reaction, reduction reaction or neither?	0.77	0.45
(a) reduction; (b) oxidation; (c) neither

Figure 4. Green chemistry reaction comparison prompt from the unit exam.

Figure 5. Frequency of students addressing each green chemistry principle (GCP).

Figure 6. Analysis of argumentation levels of students who did and did not submit Part 2 of the case study using SOLO taxonomy.