This computer based instructional software uses tutorials, simulations, interactive exercises, quizzes, and a final project to teach students the basic concepts of acids and bases. The scores of the quizzes and the project can be printed out. The curriculum is broken down into four units:

• Dissociation & The Beharior of Water
• pH & Calculating pH
• Properties of Water Solutions
• Neutralization & Titration

In the final unit, The Ritzytown Water Projects, students work at a fictional water testing company and use the material learned in the four previous tutorials to take samples, run tests, and make decisions.

A list of the curriculum covered in the four units (1, 2, A, & B) and screen shots with brief descriptions are given below.

Unit 1:
Dissociation & The Behavior of Water

• Dissociation
  - Dissociation / Dehydrated Ions
  - Ionization
  
• Self-Ionization of Water
  - Self-Ionization
  - The Ion Product of Water
  
• Definition of Acids & Bases
  - Definition of an Acid
  - Definition of a Base
  - Strong & Weak Acids & Bases
  - Conductivity & Conductivity Tests
  - Electrolytes
  
• Quiz

Unit 2: pH & Calculating pH

Topics Covered:

• pH of a Solution
  - H and OH Ion Concentrations
  - Definition of pH
  - Overview of pH
  - pH Guessing Game
  
• Calculating pH
• Quiz
  

Unit A: Properties of Water Solutions

Topics Covered:

• Propeties of Water Solutions
  - Determination of Acid & Base Properties
  - Liquid Testing Lab
  
• Practice Quiz Question
• Quiz

Unit B: Neutralization & Titration

Topics Covered:

• Neutralization
  - Overview of pH
  - Indicators
  - The Buret and Using the Buret
  - Neutralization
  - The End Point & H and OH Ions
  
• Titration Procedure
  - Titration
  - Titration Procedure - Step by Step
  
• Titration Lab
• Concentration Calculations
  - The Equation & Derivation
  - Examples & Practice Problems
  
• Quiz
  

Liquid Testing Lab

In this interactive simulation, students first experiment with and then use various tests to determine whether a solution is an acid or a base. The tests include the feel, taste, reaction with a metal, reactions with blue and red litmus paper, reactioni with pH test paper, a pH probe, and whether the solution is harmful.

Titration Lab

In this simulation of a standard titration setup, students can practice and later, in the project section, run tritrations to analyze water samples. Students are instructed in a step by step fashion, from making sure the stopcock is closed to taking the reading of the miniscus, how to run the titration.

The Ritzytown Water Projects

In the project, students play the role of an assitant tester working for a fictitious company called Chem Test Inc. They visit test sites, collect and analyze samples, talk by phone with clients, and submit their results to the "The Boss." If their work is not up to par, they can be fired, and have to reapply. If they are successful, they are promoted and given more difficult assignments. The project section helps students see how their classwork applys in the "real" world.

Ritzytown Reservoir Dye Test

At various times during the project, students get to mix their learning with game playing. For example, at one point in the project, students must run a dye test to determine the pattern of waste released from the waste treatment plant. They must collect dye samples while being fired on by the plant's defenses.