Development of an Innovative Educational Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Game — 36p — Cade Olson, Ember Gabriel, Dr. Katrina Jensen

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a vital tool used by organic chemists to determine the structure of molecules. NMR experiments provide information about the number of hydrogen, carbon, and other types of atoms in a molecule, as well as how these atoms are connected. Because NMR spectral analysis is central to organic structure characterization, the subject is standard in organic chemistry courses, however, NMR is a topic that many students struggle to understand. The goal of this research is to develop an educational game that will challenge and motivate organic chemistry students to learn this topic. The game will provide students with NMR spectra, as well as other clues about the molecular structure, and students will use the information to solve the puzzle of the molecule’s structure. One challenge to game development is to introduce players to puzzles that are challenging, but not too difficult that they lose motivation to play. We aim to develop a system to rank difficulty, build a database of molecules and spectra to be used in the game, and establish game mechanics. We have synthesized organic compounds to include in a library of NMR spectra that includes a level of difficulty gradient so that there is a diverse range for students to learn from. The difficulty of the levels will be based on both spectral complexity and molecular complexity. The long-term goals of this project will be to create an open-access game that is freely available to students and allows other researchers to contribute spectra to be included in the game. Future work will include the continuation of building the database that includes a gradient of difficulty so that beginners and more advanced students can use the game as a tool to better their understanding of NMR.

Black Hills State University
Dr. Katrina Jensen