This online tutorial was developed to address the problem that, in their third-year analytical instrumentation laboratory, undergraduate chemistry students often lack the basic skills required to evaluate data, generate a calibration curve using least-squares, and calculate the error in the value that they are reporting.

Diffusion and thermal conductivity processes can be emulated using spreadsheets that use columns for increments in distance and rows for increments in time. For classroom presentations Microsoft's PowerPoint slides of the change in concentration or temperature with time from spreadsheet charts can be created to look essentially identical to demonstrations using the plastic model this author discussed in a previous article.

Six interactive two-component phase diagrams have been created with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The collection includes examples of solid-liquid, liquid-vapor, and liquid-liquid phase diagrams. By clicking on spinner controls embedded in each spreadsheet, the user can change the system's composition and temperature (or pressure) in real time. The spreadsheet automatically updates the state of the system in the phase diagram, adding a tie line if the system undergoes phase separation. Several spreadsheets also feature a cartoon representation of the state of the system.

Here we present an interactive Excel® spreadsheet along with a tutorial that demonstrates a number of basic NMR and Fourier transform concepts. Specifically, the user can generate free induction decays (FIDs) and study the effect of changing frequency, number of protons present as well as phase and line broadening settings on the FID. The user can also explore the details of obtaining a spectrum from Fourier transformation and how artifacts may result from improper sampling and Fourier transforming the FID.

These visualization tools focus on improving students’ ability to visualize by the interactive display of molecules, along with text and buttons that activate scripts to highlight structural features or start-and-stop appropriate animations. These tools target a series of topics that students have difficulty visualizing, rather than making the whole course Web-based. The tutorials cover conformations of alkanes and cycloalkanes, stereochemistry, and several reactions (S_N1, S_N2, E1, and E2).

Chem Map is a Web-based GIS tool that overlays chemical information with geographic information, facilitating the use of GIS in teaching chemistry, materials science, and nanoscience. This approach can make complicated topics more personal and accessible to students, increasing their interest in chemistry.