Patent Application
20130042197
This invention relates to calculators, computer implemented methods and programs that help a user to solve chemistry and physics problems.
Students, technicians and research and development personnel often have difficulty solving chemistry and physics problems using a general graphic calculator or other related software. This is because unit analysis or dimension analysis is not used in these software programs like the one disclosed here.
Chemistry and physics students will enhance their learning by using a calculator that allows entering units and displays the answer with the correct units. Unit conversion and cancelations can be seen on the screen for the user.
The problem with the prior art is that most software programs used in the chemical calculations have limited capabilities, in that, one enters the necessary data in a window without units and the answer is displayed without unit analysis also. The prior art is mostly used with a personal computer to solve these calculations. The prior art does not display the answer to a chemistry or physics problem with units. The prior art for stoichiometry calculations is only limited to stoichiometry problem solving only that displays answers without the units. The prior art is neither applied nor capable for application to a general hand-held calculators that are used in the classroom.
To avoid this inconvenience, a chemistry and physics hand-held calculator with unit analysis according to the present invention can readily be available with unit analysis in a calculator, a computer or a hand-held device. This can be achieved right in the classroom discussions between students and teachers, and for solving chemistry and physics problems during exams and quizzes.
One problem faced with solving a chemistry or physics problem using a calculator is that crunching numbers is often only the last step in a multiple-step process. The first steps in solving a chemistry problem are usually to find out what mathematical equation (s) should be used. For example, to solve a gas law problem, a user must first recognize that the chemistry problem is a gas law problem rather than an electrochemistry problem, stoichiometry or a chemical equilibrium problem. Having recognized that the problem is a gas law problem, the user must still be able to pick an equation from several equations among PV=nRT and its variants including “1: V1/T1=V2/T2,” “2: P1/V1=P2/V2,” “3: P1V1/T1=P2V2/T2,” and “4: V1/n1=V2/n2”. A general calculator or graphing calculator is not helpful in this regard because it is not equipped with any specialized chemical or physical information.
In various embodiments of the present invention, the first objective is to design a succinct menu system that help a user determine what type a problem it is, and what equations should be used to solve the problem. In certain embodiments, the task is especially challenging because of the limitations in a handheld calculator that has a small screen, limited memory and computing power, and limited input/output interface. Thus, the chemistry or physics calculator will not attempt to solve a chemistry or physics problem for a user entirely automatically. Instead, the calculator provides a guide, implemented in a menu-submenu system, that a user can follow to reduce a complicated chemistry or physics problem to a series of multiple choices, and eventually to one or more equations that solves the problem. Although the calculator provides some guidance and proof-check, the user ultimately has to make choices based on his/her own learning. Thus, the calculator is a facilitator in some sense.
Another challenge for solving chemistry or physics problem is that correct units must be used even after the right equation is selected. Take a simple example in gas law, that the volume of a given amount of gas at constant pressure is proportional to temperature, expressed in the equation V1/T1=V2/T2. The correct unit for this equation is Kelvin, not Centigrade or Fahrenheit. For example, a volume of gas does not occupy twice as much volume at 30° C. compared to 15° C. The correct volume ratio is (273+30)K/(273+15)K. A general calculator is incapable of detecting this kind of error because it does not require the entry of units, nor it is capable of checking the correctness of the units.
Thus, another objective of the invention is to provide chemistry and physics calculating devices with capabilities of unit analysis. In various embodiments, the chemistry calculator requires the entry of units when a user enters values for known variables. The calculator will check the validity of the units entered. In addition, the calculator will display calculation process and answers with the correct units.
In other embodiments, the calculator is not limited to calculating chemical elements or atomic mass and molecular weight of a compound. The periodic table may be stored in the calculator and be displayed on the screen at a user's command. The element of interest will then be selected and the physical and chemical properties of the element will be displayed, which can also be used for further calculations of molecular weights, atomic weights, stoichiometry problems, mole problems, equilibrium problems and calculations with units.
According to one embodiment, a calculator includes a display, an input means, a memory including program code and a database, which database includes common topics, equations, and constants in chemistry and physics, and a processor coupled to the display, memory, and input means. The processor is capable of executing the program code for the calculator to perform a method to solve chemistry or physics problems. The method includes the following steps: displaying a list of topics, said topics including one or more chemistry topics or physics topics; accepting a user topic selection; displaying a list of one or more equations related to said user topic selection, each of said equations including more than one variables; accepting a user selection of an equation from said list of equations; optionally accepting a user designation of one or more unknown variables for said user selection of an equation; accepting user input of one or more values, and units where applicable, for one or more known variables for said user selection of an equation; calculating one or more values, and units where applicable, of said one or more unknown variables; displaying said values of one or more unknown variables, with units where applicable.
In another embodiment, a computer implemented method for solving chemistry and physics problems includes the following steps: displaying a list of topics, said topics including one or more items selected from the group consisting of: balancing equations, stoichiometry, gas laws, equilibrium, dimension analysis, electrochemistry, electricity, Newton laws, thermodynamics, properties of matter, mirrors and lenses, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's Law, SI unit table, definition table, area & volume of objects, and density; accepting a user topic selection; displaying a list of one or more equations related to said user topic selection, each of said equations including more than one variables; accepting a user selection of a user selected equation from said list of equations; optionally accepting a user designation of one or more unknown variables for said user selected equation; accepting user input of one or more values, and units where applicable, for one or more known variables for said user selected equation; and displaying said values, and units where applicable, of one or more unknown variables.
In yet another embodiment, one or more non-transitory computer readable media have processor readable program code embodied on at least one of said non-transitory computer readable media, said program code programming at least one processor to perform a method of chemistry and physics calculation, including the following steps: displaying a list of topics, said topics including one or more items selected from the group consisting of: balancing equations, stoichiometry, gas laws, equilibrium, dimension analysis, electrochemistry, electricity, Newton laws, thermodynamics, properties of matter, mirrors and lenses, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's Law, SI unit table, definition table, area & volume of objects, and density; accepting a user topic selection; displaying a list of one or more equations related to said user topic selection, each of said equations including more than one variables; accepting a user selection of a user selected equation from said list of equations; optionally accepting a user designation of one or more unknown variables for said user selected equation; accepting user input of one or more values, and units where applicable, for one or more known variables for said user selected equation; calculating values, and units where applicable, of said one or more unknown variables; and displaying said values, and units where applicable, of one or more unknown variables. Here, the program code may be all written on one computer readable medium on a computer local to a user, on an optical disc, on a flash drive, or on a magnetic disk drive. Alternatively, the program code may be distributed among more than one storage media. The program code may also be stored on one or more remote storage media and be sent to a user computing device via a network.
Various embodiments of the present invention provide the use of a hand-held calculator programmed to teach chemistry and physics in a manner to use unit analysis. It can also be used in a computer, iPads and iPhones. Some, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Even though many embodiments described herein refer to a handheld calculator, it will be understood that the chemistry and physics calculator can be embodied as a special purpose calculator, an application program for a calculator, an application program for a handheld device, an application program for a computer, or a web application that can be accessed remotely through a special application program or through a general browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox.
One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be embodied as a method, a handheld device, a computer program, or a program for a smart device such as iPhone, programmable calculator, etc. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Further, the present invention may take the form of a computer or calculator program product on a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized including hard disks, flash memories, and CD-ROMs. The present invention may be implemented as a web-implemented computer software, for example, a virtual calculator delivered on the web that solves chemistry and physics problems.
The present invention is described with reference to screen shots, block diagrams, and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatuses, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the invention. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the each block of the block diagrams and flowchart, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by computer or calculator program instructions. The computer or calculator program instructions may be written in various programming languages for various computer platforms such as various calculators, mobile device platforms such as iOS and Android, Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. The computer or calculator program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a calculator, a handheld device such as a smart phone, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to create a means for implementing the functions specified in the flow-chart block or blocks.
The computer or calculator program instructions may also be stored in a computer or calculator readable memory that can direct a computer, calculator, or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer or calculator readable memory produce an article of manufacture including computer or calculator-readable instructions for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer or calculator program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer or calculator-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.
It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer or calculator apparatus that perform the specified functions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. Various embodiments also describe hardware components and functions such as a button or pressing a button. It will be understood that a button may be an actual button on a device such as a calculator button, a keyboard key, or a button or link on a computer screen that can be clicked on or touched upon.
The chemistry and physics calculator solves chemistry and physics problems at a college level and operates by displaying unit analysis or providing the answer to the problem with the right units. Various embodiments of this invention have also the features of a graphing calculator, in addition to the chemistry and physics calculations capability. For example, if the chemistry problem to be solved deals with gas laws, one may press the proper key in the calculator keyboard which displays all the gas law equations on the screen. One then would select the proper equation, enter the known variables or data with the proper unit, and the calculator will provide the answer with the correct unit.
For example if one is dealing with chemical equilibrium problem solving, one would use the equilibrium equation that is stored in the program, for example:
Ka=[B]2[C]/[A]3, which is written for the chemical equation: 3A→2B+C
The chemical equations may or may not be balanced by the user. The calculator may have a capability of giving equations to be balanced when necessary.
In various embodiments, the equilibrium constant, Ka or Kb, for many chemical equations are stored in the computer, can then be easily accessed by pressing a key on the keyboard where one would select the necessary equilibrium constant from a list of equilibrium constant values for a particular chemical equation. In a similar fashion other constants such as ΔHf, ΔGf, the periodic table, and other chemistry and physics constants including physical and chemical constants are stored in the program and displayed on the screen when pressing the proper key.
In stoichiometry type problems, one can select an appropriate key to generate a list of chemical equations, select the needed ones from the list of equations and balance the equation. Molecular weights, atomic weights can be found from a periodic table stored in the calculator, computer or iPad. A user may press a key to display the periodic table on the screen, select the element needed with the proper unit to use in stoichiometry related problem solving.
The chemistry calculator may include many topics of chemistry and physics problem solving that includes pH calculations, equilibrium calculations, Newton law calculations, velocity and acceleration calculations, gas law calculations and more. Ideally, the calculator according to the present invention should be able to solve substantially all types of problems in college chemistry and physics problems in general chemistry and general physics courses.
This electronic calculator may be similar to the ones used by many chemistry and physics students such as the TI graphic calculator except that it has the additional feature of computing chemistry and physics problems with unit or dimension analysis. The student, lab technician, R&D personnel can perform physics and chemistry problem calculations with unit entry for variables and unit display for the answers.
According to one embodiment as shown in
The display 101 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or another display that is suitable for a portable device. The input means 102 can include a keypad, a keyboard, a trackpoint, a trackball, a touchpad, a touch sensitive display, a mouse, and any combination thereof. The keypad may have number keys, letter keys, function keys, arrow keys, a select key, and a scroll wheel. The memory 103 can include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), flash memory, optical disk, and magnetic disk. The program code can be written in any one or more of the hundreds of computer programming languages such as C, C#, C++, Basic, Fortran, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, XML, and TI-Basic.
In another aspect of the embodiment, the calculator further includes the following method steps to solve chemistry or physics problems: displaying a list of sub-topics corresponding to a user selected topic, preferably right after a user has selected a topic; displaying a prompt for a known variable for said user selected equation; and displaying a calculation process with unit analysis. These steps are added at appropriate points in the execution of the method. For example, when a user has designated certain variables in an equation to be unknown variable, the calculator may begin to display a prompt for a known variable, for example “A=”, and the user may input a value at the prompt. If there are more variables, the calculator will display prompts for them too. In calculations that involve unit cancelation, it is helpful to display the process of the calculation with unit conversion and cancelation, for example, 2 Kg*2 m/s2=4 N, and for another example, 2 Kg/*4=8 Kg. It helps the user understand the physical principle behind the calculations.
In a further aspect of the embodiment, the topics may include one or more of the following: balancing equations, stoichiometry, gas laws, equilibrium, dimension analysis, electrochemistry, electricity, Newton laws, thermodynamics, properties of matter, mirrors and lenses, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's Law, SI unit table, definition table, area & volume of objects, and density. The chemistry topics may be grouped together under a chemistry menu tab, and the physics topics may be grouped under a physics menu tab.
In certain aspects of the embodiment, the memory includes non-volatile storage medium such as flash memory so that said database and program will not be lost when power is out. On the other hand, the calculator may always include RAM (random access memory) coupled to the processor for fast processing. In other aspects, the calculator may further include a wired or wireless communication means to communicate with a network.
In various aspects, the input means may include an alphanumeric keypad, arrow keys, and a Select key. Where there are four arrow keys arranged in a cross arrangement or in a circle, the Select key may be conveniently located at the center of the arrow keys. In other various aspects, the input means may includes a touch sensitive display. In this case, the touch screen may be designed to include an on-screen alphanumeric keyboard, function keys, and scroll keys. An item displayed on the screen may also be selected by directly touching on the menu item itself. The touch screen may also include functions such as zoom in, zoom out, pan, and scroll.
In another aspect of the embodiment, the calculator may be designed to display menu tabs corresponding to one or more items selected from the following group: periodic table, problem topic chemistry, problem, equation, solve, operation, problem topic physics, math calculator, graph, and general idea.
In a further aspect, the menu tabs can be designed to have pull down menu that is arranged vertically. When a menu tab is selected, a pull down menu is displayed, said pull down menu including one or more sub-menu choices, each of which can be selected by the user. Alternatively, the menu items under a menu tab can be arranged in a horizontal pane or ribbon, in a manner similar to how the menu items are displayed in Microsoft Word 2010, thus allowing more menu items to be selected under one menu tab. In a yet further aspect, the sub-menu choices under the same menu tab are adapted such that they correspond to inputs from previous steps in solving a problem. Additionally, the label for the menu tab itself may change depending on the previous entries in a calculation sequence.
In another embodiment, a computer implemented method for solving chemistry and physics problems 200 includes the following steps: displaying a list of topics 201, said topics including one or more items selected from the group consisting of: balancing equations, stoichiometry, gas laws, equilibrium, dimension analysis, electrochemistry, electricity, Newton laws, thermodynamics, properties of matter, mirrors and lenses, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's Law, SI unit table, definition table, area & volume of objects, and density; accepting a user topic selection 202; displaying a list of one or more equations 203 related to said user topic selection, each of said equations including more than one variables; accepting a user selection of a user selected equation 204 from said list of equations; optionally accepting a user designation of one or more unknown variables 205 for said user selected equation; accepting user input of one or more values, and units where applicable, for one or more known variables 206 for said user selected equation; and displaying one or more values, and units where applicable, of one or more unknown variables 207.
Here, data calculation including one or more values, and units where applicable, of said one or more unknown variables may take place at a user computer or at a remote computer. The term “computer” is broadly interpreted to include a single computing device and a network of computing devices. A computing device can be a PC compatible computer running Microsoft Windows, a Macintosh, a computer running Unix, a handheld device running iOS such as an iPhone or iPad, or a handheld device running Android or another operating system.
The method may include additional features and steps. In one aspect of the embodiment, the computer implemented method includes the following additional steps: displaying a list of sub-topics corresponding to a user selected topic; displaying a prompt for a known variable for said user selected equation; and displaying a calculation process with unit analysis.
In another aspect, the computer implemented method includes the following additional steps: displaying one or more menu tabs corresponding to one or more items selected from the group consisting of: periodic table, problem topic chemistry, problem, equation, solve, operation, problem topic physics, math calculator, math calculator, graph, and general idea; accepting a user selection of a menu tab; displaying a description and an indicator, indicating that said menu tab is selected; and displaying a pull down menu including one or more sub-menu choices, each of which can be selected by the user.
In yet another aspect, the description of a menu tab and the sub-menu choices corresponding to the menu tab are adapted according to inputs from previous steps in solving a problem. In still another aspect, a menu tab may be highlighted in response to a previous user input in a previous step. For example, the user previously selected the equation “M=Moles/V.” At this time, a menu tab F3 becomes highlighted-showing F3 as “F3 Solve” in bold, color, or highlight. Thus, the user is suggested to select “F3 Solve,” selection of which would lead to the display of a pull down menu, including “Solve for M,” “Solve for Moles,” and “Solve for V.”
In certain aspects, one or more steps of the method are carried out on a handheld computing device. This would include a standalone calculator where all the steps are carried out in the calculator, a networked calculator, a smart device such as an iPhone, an Android device, a device running another operating system, a tablet computer. In other aspects, the method may be carried out on a network system including at least a user computing device, a network, and a server computer. Here, the user computing device may be a computer, a handheld device, or may even be a thin terminal.
In another aspect, the method may include the step of displaying a graph of the user selected equation. This is a convenient feature for a user to visualize the relationship among the variables in a given chemical or physical equation, and the user would not need to create the same graph from scratch. Additionally, the user may be able to trace one or more curves in the graph to read the points of interest on the display.
In yet another embodiment, one or more non-transitory computer readable media 300 have processor readable program code embodied on at least one of said non-transitory computer readable media, said program code programming at least one processor to perform a method of chemistry and physics calculation, including the following steps: displaying a list of topics 301, said topics including one or more items selected from the group consisting of: balancing equations, stoichiometry, gas laws, equilibrium, dimension analysis, electrochemistry, electricity, Newton laws, thermodynamics, properties of matter, mirrors and lenses, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's Law, SI unit table, definition table, area & volume of objects, and density; accepting a user topic selection 302; displaying a list of one or more equations 303 related to said user topic selection, each of said equations including more than one variables; accepting a user selection of a user selected equation 304 from said list of equations; optionally accepting a user designation of one or more unknown variables 305 for said user selected equation; accepting user input of one or more values, and units where applicable, for one or more known variables 306 for said user selected equation; calculating values, and units where applicable, of said one or more unknown variables; and displaying said values, and units where applicable, of one or more unknown variables 307. Here, the program code may be all stored on one computer readable medium on a computer local to a user, on an optical disc, on a flash drive, or on a magnetic disk drive. Alternatively, the program code may be distributed among more than one storage media. The program code may also be stored on one or more remote storage media and be sent to a user computing device via a network.
In another aspect of the embodiment, the method of chemistry and physics calculation further includes the steps of: displaying a list of sub-topics corresponding to a user selected topic; displaying a prompt for a known variable for said user selected equation; and displaying a calculation process with unit analysis.
In yet another aspect of the embodiment, the method of chemistry and physics calculation further includes the steps of: displaying one or more menu tabs corresponding to one or more items selected from the group consisting of: periodic table, problem topic chemistry, problem, equation, solve, operation, problem topic physics, math calculator, math calculator, graph, and general idea; accepting a user selection of a user selected menu tab; displaying a description and an indicator of said user selected menu tab, indicating that said user selected menu tab is selected; and displaying a pull down menu including one or more sub-menu choices, each of which can be selected by the user.
In various aspects, the description of a menu tab and the sub-menu choices corresponding to said menu tab are adapted according to inputs from previous steps in solving a problem. In other aspects, the method of chemistry and physics calculation is enabled to highlight a menu tab in response to a previous user input in a previous step. For example, a user previously selected the equation “M=Moles/V.” At this time, the menu tab F3 becomes highlighted-showing F3 as “F3 Solve” in bold, color, or highlight. Thus, the user is guided to select “F3 Solve” to display the pull down menu, including “Solve for M,” “Solve for moles,” and “Solve for V.”
In another aspect, the non-transitory computer readable media further includes processor readable program code for the processor to perform the additional method steps of: displaying a graph corresponding to the user selected equation; and tracing at least one curve on the graph.
The principles of the present invention will now be illustrated through some specific examples that show how a user may use a chemistry calculator according to some embodiments of the present invention to solve various chemistry and physics problems. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the examples described below are meant to explain how the teachings of the invention can be applied, rather than limiting the scope of the invention.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the chemistry calculator is designed to have the following home screen menu choices:
F1, Periodic Table: periodic table of the elements, constants, ka, kb, melting point, boiling points, specific heat and most physical constants found in the chemistry and physics hand book.
F2, Problem Topic Chemistry: Contains most of the chapter topics in general chemistry text book such as balancing equations, stoichiometry, gas laws etc.
F3, Solve: Gives options what variable to solve from an equation such as PV=nRT or any other equations from all chapters. The label for F3 will be selected from Problem, Equation, and Solve depending on the stages in solving a problem.
F4, Operation: Provides many options to choose from for the equation at F3 step to solve the variable, usually F3 precedes F4.
F5, Problem Topic Physics: Contains most of the chapter topics in general physics text book such as mechanics, electricity, optics etc.
F6, Math Calculator: Evaluates math expressions.
F7, Graph: for graphing chemistry related topics and for other math function plots.
F8, General Idea: Other important chemistry and physics problem solving equations, such as volume or area of different objects, glossary for chemistry and physics or definitions of terms, SI and metric unit tables and much more.
The chemistry calculator has the capabilities of storing many pertinent chemistry and physics data and constants such as Ka, ΔHf, Ki and many others. Chemical equations stored, when needed, can be displayed in the following format:
A+B→C+D
The correct equation when needed will be selected from the list of equations stored in the calculator. Alternatively there will be a function to select reactants and products so that the user will be able to create a chemical equation they need in the above format and balance the equation.
To balance the equation, the necessary function will be selected and the correct coefficients can be entered for the reactants and products. This will allow for stoichiometry, equilibrium and gas law problems to be calculated with the proper unit.
Dimension analysis can be displayed on the screen of the calculator, and a user may be able to select a unit from a list of units. For example the user may press a key, or click on an icon, that says (UNIT) and all relevant chemistry and physics problems unit will be displayed. The user selects from this list to enter in the intended calculation. Alternatively, the unit for a calculation can be directly entered using an alpha-numeric keypad.
The operation of the chemistry calculator according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be illustrated through the following examples in which various chemistry and physics problems are solved.
A sample of gas at 15° C. and 1 atm has a volume of 2.58 L. What volume would this gas occupy at 38° C. and 1 atm?
As shown in
After the user selects F3→New Problem, the label for F3 becomes Equations, as shown in
Next, the user will choose from F2 PTC “Problem Topic Chemistry” among Balancing Equations, Stoichiometry, Gas Law, Equilibrium, Dimension Analysis, Electrochemistry, and More Topics as shown in
The equation “V2=V1T2/T1” is then displayed on the screen in the working area, as shown in
The user would select “F4 Operation” in the next step, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The steps described above are interconnected. As the user finishes one step, the function menu choice for the next step will be highlighted so that the user knows what the next step should be. For example, once the user selects an equation under F2, F3 is expanded to display “F3 Solve” and is highlighted. Pressing the down arrow moves the highlight to the sub-menu choices under F3. The label for F3 will change depending on which step it is in the process. The sub-menu choices under each function are also variable depending on the choices made in the previous menu steps and on the content displayed on the screen.
For the chemical reaction below, if you start with 5 g of methane, how many grams of water will be produced:
CH4(g)+2O2(g)→CO2(g)+2H2O(g)
The user will select the pull down menu choice “New Problem” from F3 Problem. The label for F3 changes to Equation. The user then selects “Linear Eqn.” from F3 Equations. The menu choice F2 PTC becomes highlighted, and the user presses the up and down arrows to navigate among the pull down menu choices under F2, as shown in
As shown in
At this point the user goes back and selects F2, “problem topic chemistry” again and highlights and chooses “2. Stoichiometry” from the pull down menu, as shown in
As shown in
The menu item F4 Operation then becomes highlighted, as shown in
The calculator then prompts the user to input the known variables (
As shown in
Moles=(5.0 g CH4)/(16 g/mol CH4)=0.31 moles
Next, the user selects F2 PTC (
As shown in
The user then selects the menu item F2 PTC again, as shown in
Then the menu item F4 Solve becomes highlighted (
g H2O=(5.0 g CH4)/(16.0 g/mol CH4)×(2 moles H2O/1 mole CH4)×(18.00 g/mole H2O)=11.3 g
Another scenario for solving this type of problem is, for the calculator to draw the elements from the periodic table stored in the calculator when the user enters the equation written below:
CH4+2O2→CO2+2H2O
The above reaction will be balanced by the user, the atomic weights are recognized by the calculator for each element drawn since it is connected to the periodic table stored in the calculator. As discussed above, the calculator transforms a large chemistry problem into a series of connected multiple choice questions. The user needs to input the value and unit for variables, and the user needs to make the correct choices from a multitude of sub-menu choices.
At a certain temperature, 4.0 mol of NH3 is introduced into a 2.0 L container, and the NH3 is partially dissociated by the reaction: 2NH3 ((g))N2 ((g))+3H2 ((g)). At equilibrium 2.0 mol of NH3 remains. What is the value of K for the reaction?
The user should be able write the equation and balance it first, in other words the user will go to a list of molecular formulas and select the reactants and products and set up the chemical equation.
The user will enter the K expression from the equation as follows:
K=[N2][H2]3/[NH3]2
The calculator recognizes the bracket, [ ] as moles per liter concentration unit or other concentration units.
The user will set up an ICE table, (Initial, Change, and Equilibrium table) by pressing the right key on the keyboard, maybe {ICE}.
The values will be entered in the ICE table and the K calculated by substituting the values on the K expression. User first would have to solve for x without the calculator on the ICE table and substitute in the K expression.
2NH3(g)N2(g)+3H2(g)
The user must solve for x manually, x=[N2]=0.5 moles/L in this case.
In another aspect, the pH scale is stored in the calculator in the range from 0-14. The equations involved in calculating pH are also stored in the calculator and can be displayed on the screen when needed. For example:
pH=−log [H+]
The pH value should also be set up to follow significant rules. The calculator should give the correct significant figures to all the calculations by following the significant rules.
The user will perform unit conversion with dimension analysis, the prior art only perform unit conversion without unit analysis or dimension analysis.
For example, convert 5.0 m to inches.
The user will choose the key for dimension analysis or unit analysis, and sets up the unit cancellation as follows:
5.0 m×100 cm/1.0 m×1.0 in/2.54 cm=1.9×102 in
All the above set up with units should be displayed on the calculator screen with the correct answer with the correct unit, if the user sets up the unit cancellation wrong, the calculator should show an error message.
A typical inorganic chemistry textbook for a college freshmen will have about 350-400 compounds and molecules for an equilibrium chapter end problems involving chemical equations. How do we represent these equations in the calculator to the user?
All these chemical equations can be displayed to the user possibly by selecting a key from the keyboard or from a pull down menu from the screen. This will display all the necessary molecules and compounds on the screen alphabetically in the following manner:
NH3(g),NH4OH(aq),N2(g)
O2(g),O3(g)
PH3(g),PO4−3(aq)etc.
NaCl(s)
The user proceeds to select the reactants and products as stated above and completes writing the chemical equation.
First from the list above the user will highlight or place the cursor in the front of the compound or molecule or ion and hit enter, one of the reactants will be selected. Then proceeds selecting more reactants from the list if needed and places an arrow for forward and reverse reactions and a double arrow for an equilibrium reaction. The calculator is programmed to recognize what the arrows mean. Then the user proceeds to select the reactants and completes writing the chemical equation.
Next the user will select a key from the keyboard or the pull down menu for (Bal) to balance the chemical equation. The user will place the cursor in front of the compound, molecule, or ion and enter the coefficients for reactants and products and the equation is balanced.
The calculator is also programmed that the state (g), (s), (l), and (aq) mean at room temperature condition 20-21 degree centigrade. In other words the boiling point and melting point of each substances in the list above can be programmed and respond for temperature change conditions in the chemical equation.
For example, if the equilibrium problem involves the following equation:
H2O(l)+CO(g)H2(g)+CO2(g)
The calculator will recognize that this is an equilibrium problem, because once the sub-menu item Equilibrium is selected and the double arrow is setup in the equation, the calculator will associate this to the requirements for equilibrium reaction mode.
The differential equations for the above equilibrium equation will also be recognized by the calculator for the above equation.
Rate=−Δ[H2O]/Δt=−Δ[CO]/Δt=Δ[H2]/Δt=Δ[CO2]/Δt
The rate of disappearance of the reactants to the appearance of products is programmed and can be monitored by the following plot for this equilibrium reaction and other reactions.
The “F7 Graph” menu tab is selected from the pull down menu to view the plot for that particular equilibrium reaction, see
Similarly the concentration versus time plot will be associated to the equilibrium reaction above.
H2(g)+N2(g)→2NH3(g)
The calculator is capable for the user to move the dashed line left and right on each plot and see the shifting of the equilibrium to view changes in rate and concentration at any time.
The equilibrium equation is incorporated to the law of mass action expression K through a generic equation programmed in the calculator:
iA+jBkC+lD with the equilibrium expression:
K=[C]k[D]l/[A]I[B]j
The square brackets are the equilibrium concentrations usually moles/L. All the above equations, plots and K are connected or programmed to function when “Equilibrium” is selected from the pull down menu. Note that K for the equilibrium expression is identified from Ka and Kb for acid base equilibrium constants in the calculator's program.
By choosing K for a balanced reaction the user will be prompted to enter the concentrations of each species, the user enters the data: [C]=0.921M, [D]=0.763M, [A]=0.375M, and [E]=0.345M.
The user will select or hit the enter key, the calculator will display the answer for K without unit, since K has no units. The calculator recognizes what the letter V means (volume) in an aqueous or gaseous problem solving.
For example to calculate the volume (V) of a 0.1 M NaOH (aq) solution needed to make 100 mL of 0.01 M solution of NaOH (aq), the following formula needs to be pulled out of the calculator and displayed in the screen. This can be achieved by selecting “Dilution” from a pull down menu in the calculator.
The equation displayed at this point is: M1V1=M2V2
The Variables will be ready to be given the values or each in a row or one by one. M1=0.1M, M2=0.01M, and V2=100 mL.
At this point when the enter key is selected the variable V1 will be displayed with the answer with the correct unit. The calculator will be programmed with a standard unit for volume (Liter), the user has to convert it to the proper unit if needed using the unit conversion or dimension analysis function.
If the user is trying to balance a chemical equation but it is not correctly balanced, an error message will be displayed until it is correctly balanced. For a stoichiometry problem if the set up is incorrect, the user will try again and again until the set up is correct, otherwise the calculator will give an error message.
If a molar mass or atomic mass is needed for chemistry calculation the user selects F1 Periodic Table from the list of pull down menu's or the keyboard, as shown in
The periodic table is programmed to relate to each molecule or compound stored in the calculator weather it is a gas solid or liquid. In other words when a chemical equation is properly balanced, the law of definite proportion or the fact mass and energy are conserved will be recognized by the periodic table for each element in the equation associated with the compound or molecule.
Additionally, the calculator may have the following features: calculating chemical equilibrium; setting up a chemical equation and checking it for errors, plotting a graph, associating with the periodic table and storing the law of mass action; and the calculator identifies the phase (g), (l), (s), (aq) of a chemical compound molecule or ions, which stands for gas, liquid, solid, aqueous solutions. In addition, the calculator may be able to carry out the following functions: Dimension analysis, Chemical kinetics calculations, Electrochemistry calculations, Solving quadratic equations, Colligative properties calculations, Thermo chemistry calculations, and Stoichiometry calculations.
Calculate the molarity of the following solution: A 6.523 g sample of NaHCO3 is dissolved in enough water to make 360 mL of solution.
Similar to Example 1, as shown in
The user then selects the F2 PTC menu tab, as shown in
Next the user selects “F1 Periodic Table” or just selects the choice from the pull down menu and finds the atomic mass from the periodic table displayed on the diagram below by clicking on the specific element on the periodic table, and then adds the atomic masses using the math calculator portion of the chemistry calculator.
At this time the user proceeds to select the correct equation by going back to F2 PTC “problem topic chemistry” as shown in
Once the correct equation is selected and appears on the screen the user is guided to the next function F3 Solve as shown in
As shown in
In the following screen, as shown in
Then the user carries the result of the calculation above to the next step to calculate the molarity of the solution in this problem. The user will choose F2 PTC, and select from the multi-level pull down menu to select “2. Stoichiometry”→“9. Molarity”→“M=Moles/L,” as shown in
The equation “M=Moles/L” is displayed on the screen, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Some of the national football league weighs more than 305 pounds. At this weight, their Body Mass Index (BMI) places them at Grade 2 obesity, which is one step below morbid obesity. Determine the mass of a 305 pound (1352 N) football player.
The user will choose “1. New Problem” from the pull down menu F3 Problem and then “Linear Eqn” from the updated F3 Equation pull down menu. As the user moves among the function tabs, the selected function tab expands to display the full name of the function tab. The drop down menu will be displayed if the select key or the down arrow key is pressed. Alternatively, as the user scrolls among the function tabs, the pull down menu for the selected function tab is automatically displayed. Here the question is a physics question, so the user will choose F6 PTP for “Problem Topics Physics,” as shown in
The equation “m=F/a” is displayed on the screen, and the menu tab F3 is expanded to read F3 Solve and is highlighted, as shown in
The function tab F4 then expands to read F4 Operation and is highlighted, as shown in
Here, there are three variables in the equation, m, F, and a. The calculator is told in an earlier step to “solve for m,” so the calculator prompts the user to enter the value for the other two variable, as shown in
As the user clicks on ENTER on the screen or hits the Enter key on the keypad, the calculator displays the calculation “m=F/a=(1351 N)/(9.8 m/s2)=138 kg” as shown in
A star is estimated to have a mass of 2.0×1038 kg. Assuming it to be a sphere of average radius 7.0×106 Km, calculate the average density of the star in units of grams per cubic centimeter.
To begin the calculation, the user selects F3 Problem and then New Problem from the pull down menu thereunder. The label for F3 then changes to F3 Equation. The user will select F3 Equation and choose Linear Equation from the pull down menu under F3 Equation. Next, the user needs to first calculate the volume of the star. As shown in
As shown in
The menu tab F3 Solve then retracts to read F3, and the menu tab F4 expands to read F4 Operation and is highlighted, as shown in
As shown in
The next step is for the user to solve for density. As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Here, the volume was calculated from the previous step, so the calculator only prompts the user to input the value for m, as shown in
The sub-menu under F4 then retracts, and the calculator return to the main display. Upon pressing the enter key on the screen or the key pad, the calculator returns the calculation process with unit analysis and the result, D=(2×1038 kg)*(1000 g/kg)/(1.44×1036 cm3)=1.39×105 g/cm3, as shown in
In most embodiments, the system 1200 includes some type of network 1210. The network can be any type of network familiar to those skilled in the art that can support data communications using any of a variety of commercially-available protocols, including without limitation TCP/IP, SNA, IPX, AppleTalk, and the like. Merely by way of example, the network 1210 can be a local area network (“LAN”), such as an Ethernet network, a Token-Ring network and/or the like; a wide-area network; a virtual network, including without limitation a virtual private network (“VPN”); the Internet; an intranet; an extranet; a public switched telephone network (“PSTN”); an infra-red network; a wireless network (e.g., a network operating under any of the IEEE 802.11 suite of protocols, GRPS, GSM, UMTS, EDGE, 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, Wimax, WiFi, CDMA 2000, WCDMA, the Bluetooth protocol known in the art, and/or any other wireless protocol); and/or any combination of these and/or other networks.
The system may also include one or more server computers 1202, 1204, 1206 which can be general purpose computers, specialized server computers (including, merely by way of example, PC servers, UNIX servers, mid-range servers, mainframe computers rack-mounted servers, etc.), server farms, server clusters, or any other appropriate arrangement and/or combination. One or more of the servers (e.g., 1206) may be dedicated to running applications, such as a business application, a Web server, application server, etc. Such servers may be used to process requests from user computers 1212, 1214, 1216, 1218. The applications can also include any number of applications for controlling access to resources of the servers 1202, 1204, 1206.
The Web server can be running an operating system including any of those discussed above, as well as any commercially-available server operating systems. The Web server can also run any of a variety of server applications and/or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, database servers, Java servers, business applications, and the like. The server(s) also may be one or more computers which can be capable of executing programs or scripts in response to the user computers 1212, 1214, 1216, 1218. As one example, a server may execute one or more Web applications. The Web application may be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C# or C++, and/or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, as well as combinations of any programming/scripting languages. The server(s) may also include database servers, including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase®, IBM® and the like, which can process requests from database clients running on a user computer 1212, 1214, 1216, 1218.
The system 1200 may also include one or more databases 1220. The database(s) 1220 may reside in a variety of locations. By way of example, a database 1220 may reside on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or more of the computers 1202, 1204, 1206, 1212, 1214, 1216, 1218. Alternatively, it may be remote from any or all of the computers 1202, 1204, 1206, 1212, 1214, 1216, 1218, and/or in communication (e.g., via the network 1210) with one or more of these. In a particular set of embodiments, the database 1220 may reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”) familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to the computers 1202, 1204, 1206, 1212, 1214, 1216, 1218 may be stored locally on the respective computer and/or remotely, as appropriate. In one set of embodiments, the database 1220 may be a relational database, such as Oracle 10 g, that is adapted to store, update, and retrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands.
The computer system 1300 may additionally include a computer-readable storage media reader 1312, a communications system 1314 (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device, etc.), and working memory 1318, which may include RAM, flash memory, and ROM devices as described above. In some embodiments, the computer system 1300 may also include a processing acceleration unit 1316, which can include a digital signal processor DSP, a special-purpose processor, and/or the like.
The computer-readable storage media reader 1312 can further be connected to a computer-readable storage medium 1310, together (and, optionally, in combination with storage device(s) 1308) comprehensively representing remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information. The communications system 1314 may permit data to be exchanged with the network and/or any other computer described above with respect to the system 1300.
The computer system 1300 may also comprise software elements, shown as being currently located within a working memory 1318, including an operating system 1320 and/or other code 1322, such as an application program (which may be a client application, Web browser, mid-tier application, RDBMS, etc.). It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments of a computer system 1300 may have numerous variations from that described above. For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets), or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.
Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, or portions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in the art, including storage media and communication media, such as but not limited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmission of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data, including RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, data signals, data transmissions, or any other medium which can be used to store or transmit the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the various embodiments.
As discussed above, embodiments are suitable for use with the Internet, which refers to a specific global internetwork of networks. However, it should be understood that other networks can be used instead of the Internet, such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any LAN or WAN or the like.
The security of a particular user system might be entirely determined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. For example, where a user account identification transaction may involve a portable identification alpha-numeric data field physically or digitally linked to a personal primary identification device to request services from a provider account and wherein the user is using a particular user system to interact with System, that user system has the permissions allotted to that user account. However, while an administrator is using that user system to interact with System, that user system has the permissions allotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical role model, users at one permission level may have access to applications, data, and database information accessible by a lower permission level user, but may not have access to certain applications, database information, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level. Thus, different users will have different permissions with regard to accessing and modifying application and database information, depending on a user's security or permission level.
A network can be a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network), wireless network, point-to-point network, star network, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriate configuration. As the most common type of network in current use is a TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol) network such as the global internetwork of networks often referred to as the “Internet” with a capital “I,” that will be used in many of the examples herein. However, it should be understood that the networks that the present invention might use are not so limited, although TCP/IP is a frequently implemented protocol.
User systems might communicate with a system using TCP/IP and, at a higher network level, use other common Internet protocols to communicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTP is used, a user system might include an HTTP client commonly referred to as a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP messages to and from an HTTP server at System. Such HTTP server might be implemented as the sole network interface between a system and network, but other techniques might be used as well or instead. In some implementations, the interface between a system and network includes load sharing functionality, such as round-robin HTTP request distributors to balance loads and distribute incoming HTTP requests evenly over a plurality of servers. At least as for the users that are accessing that server, each of the plurality of servers has access to at least one third party entity system data schema; however, other alternative configurations are contemplated.
According to one arrangement, each user system and all of its components are operator configurable using applications, such as a browser, including computer code run using a central processing unit such as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly, a computer system (and additional instances of an enterprise database, where more than one is present) and all of their components might be operator configurable using application(s) including computer code run using a central processing unit such as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like, or multiple processor units. A computer program product aspect includes a machine-readable storage medium (media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used to program a computer to perform any of the processes of the embodiments described herein. Computer code for operating and configuring systems to intercommunicate and to process web pages, applications and other data and media content as described herein is preferably downloaded and stored on a hard disk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof, may also be locally stored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory medium or device as is well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on any media capable of storing program code, such as any type of rotating media including floppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk (DVD), compact disk (CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, and magnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/or data. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may be transmitted and downloaded from a software source over a transmission medium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another server, as is well known, or transmitted over any other conventional network connection as is well known (e.g., extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using any communication medium and protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet, etc.) as are well known. It will also be appreciated that computer code for implementing aspects of the present invention can be implemented in any programming language that can be executed on a client system and/or server or server system such as, for example, in C, C++, HTML, any other markup language, Java™, JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language such as VBScript, and many other programming languages as are well known. (Java™ is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.).
An exemplary application platform peer to peer network includes an application setup mechanism that supports application developers' creation and management of applications, which may be saved as metadata into a database by save routines for execution by subscribers as one or more processes managed by distributed database management processes for example. Invocations to such applications may be coded using PL/SOQL that provides a programming language style interface extension to an application programming interface API or other suitable programming languages. Invocations to applications may be detected by one or more system processes which manage retrieval of application metadata for the subscriber making the invocation and executing the metadata as an application in a virtual machine.
It should also be understood that each application server may be communicably coupled to one or more distributed database systems, e.g., system database and multi-enterprise database(s), via a different network connection to form a peer to peer network. For example, one server might be coupled via the Internet, another server might be coupled via a direct network link, and another server might be coupled by yet a different network connection. Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicating between servers and one or more distributed database systems. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that other transport protocols may be used to optimize the system depending on the network interconnect used to implement the peer to peer, distributed network.
Each of the one or more distributed database systems can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, such as a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefined categories. A “table” is one representation of a data object, and is used herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and custom objects according to the present invention. It should be understood that “table” and “object” may be used interchangeably herein. Each table generally contains one or more data categories logically arranged as columns or fields in a viewable schema. Each row or record of a table contains an instance of data for each category defined by the fields.
While embodiments and applications of this disclosure have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications and improvements than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. Specific embodiments of components and processes are described to help clarify the invention. These are, of course, merely embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention from that described in the claims.
This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/523,046 filed 12 Aug. 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61523046 | Aug 2011 | US |
