GChem: assisting students learning in general chemistry

GChem is an Excel VBA (Visual Basic for Application) program that has been developed to assist chemistry students learn basic concepts in chemistry. This application which contains five modules: molecular-weight calculator, empirical formula, thermochemistry, electrochemistry and acid-base calculations, is an improvement from a previous version containing only two modules. For the electrochemistry module, users can calculate quantities such as the cell potential, the free energy change (ΔG) and the equilibrium constant (K) of a chemical reaction. Glossary of terms, quiz and application of Nernst equation are also included in this module. For the acid-base module, users can calculate the pH of a strong or weak acid and a strong or weak base. Users can also answer questions in the quiz section and the scores are also displayed. In the molecular-weight calculator module, users can determine the molecular-weight of a compound which can have up to five elements. The empirical formula and the molecular formula of a compound can be determined using the empirical formula module. The thermochemistry module will check whether a chemical equation is balanced or not. It will then calculate the standard thermochemical quantities. The visual basic editor in Excel is used to write all the programming codes. The application is user friendly and it is easily accessible without the need to purchase sophisticated software. Students can conveniently use it from a laptop or personal computer even without the Internet connection. It is hoped that this application will motivate students to enhance their understanding of the basic concepts of electrochemistry and acid-base calculations.