Masterchem

Personal Computer News

Features 1/5

Documentation 1/5

Performance 1/5

Usability 3/5

Reliability 1/5

Overall Value 1/5

Bill Quentin 1/5

NAMES: Titre and Masterchem APPLICATION: Educational software - Chemistry SYSTEM: Titre: Spectrum (48K), Masterchem: Spectrum (16K) PRICE: Titre: £8.50, Masterchem: £4.50 PUBLISHER: Cloud 9 Software, [redacted] FORMAT: Cassette LANGUAGE: Basic and machine code OUTLETS: Mail order CLEVER CHEMIST Budding chemical engineers should experiment with these packages, says Bill Quentin. Cloud 9 Software has produced Titre and Masterchem as two separate programs for chemists at secondary school. Masterchem has been written as a mastermind style quiz game with the specialist subject being 'symbols of elements in the periodic table'. There are three levels of difficulty and answers must be typed in against the clock. Titre is a tutorial-style program for A-level chemists, it covers the subject of titrations, ie adding acid to alkaline (or vice versa) in order to make a neutral solution (pH = 7). Teacher says: if the initial strength of the acid is known, then the strength of the alkaline can be calculated from the volumes required to make a neutral solution. The subject is made much more interesting by the introduction of technicoloured indicator chemicals which show the solution's relative acidity. If the correct indicator is chosen then just one drop of acid (or alkaline) will cause the whole solution to change colour as it goes to neutral. Titre has four parts, three of which are academically oriented. The fourth is for armchair chemists, it puts you in charge of a burrette during a simulated titration experiment. The object is to open and close the burrette and allow just enough solution to flow from it to make a neutral solution in the flask below. The apparatus, volumes and pH are displayed on the screen with machine code graphics. The other parts to Titre are indicator data, A-level worksheet and pH Curves. Indicator data is information on nine common indicators while the worksheet comprises a set of instructions for an A-level 'stinks' practical. The most educational part of the package is the final module, pH Curves, which plots the acid-alkaline transition for any specified acid and alkaline. PRESENTATION The instruction manual for Titre is a slip of badly photocopied paper, it doesn't give details on the theory of titration but takes almost a quarter of its length to describe the loading procedure. The instructions assume a working knowledge of performing titrations for A-level chemistry, it is possible that without this background a software-jockey could get into the program, but its use is more likely to confuse than to educate. The machine code graphics are effective although most of the screen is filled with characters generated from within the Basic program. Titration Simulation is the most exciting part of the program and shows an actual experiment being performed. Masterchem's instructions are even briefer; dedicating much of its text to warning about the dangers of authorised copying, absolving itself from any mental damage caused by its use, and other nonsense. The graphics to Masterchem are limited, consisting entirely of an oversized character set. This is especially disappointing as they have been machine coded. SCOPE OF PROGRAMS Titre could be a useful inclusion to an A-level course on titrations and indicators. It's also an interesting program in its own right. The greatest potential of Titre is to draw together what has been learnt, in a tutorial environment, after the practicals. The program's capability to plot pH Curves for any acid or alkaline (of known pH) makes it an excellent teaching aid. Titration simulation is the most entertaining part of the package, but not of much academic value, and the novelty of titrating exactly the right amount of reagent soon wears thin. Masterchem is designed to simulate a Mastermind tournament. In practice it isn't much of an advance on a pack of cards, with symbols on one side and the associated name on the other. EASE OF OPERATION Both packages are largely self-explanatory, which is just as well considering the brevity of their instructions. Titre is menu-driven so that at each stage you are given a series of options as to what the program should do next. Unfortunately, once a particular option is selected it is difficult to return to the menu without following the option to its conclusion. LIMITATIONS Common concentration values, from 2M to 0.00001M, for concentrated hydrochloric acid (strong) and ammonium hydroxide (strong alkaline) can be entered into Titre. The limitations on these values lie with practical difficulties of calculating the titrations of such extreme concentrations rather than any shortcoming in the software. Another limitation is that it's not possible to titrate different concentrations of acid and alkaline. Masterchem quizzes you widely on the table of elements. Californium and a few other heavy elements are missing. RELIABILITY I encountered problems in operating the pH Curves part of Titre. There is an intermittent bug occurring during keyboard entry which causes the program to ignore your selection of the various chemicals. On occasions it's necessary to retype the selection several times before the program accepts it. The program worked well, apart from this minor hiccup. Masterchem is advertised as a quiz game against the clock. Unfortunately, my clock seemed to have stopped. Otherwise the program flew along reasonably well and no errors were reported. VERDICT Titre is a useful piece of educational software which is also entertaining, it has been produced for A-level chemists and would be of little value to someone whose chemistry isn't of this standard. The whole package is let down by its manual, though, which could be significantly improved. Masterchem doesn't approach the high standards of Titre, it has little use beyond the rote-teaching of chemical symbols.