Java Molecular Editor

This question type drives OpenMark into an area that is rarely available to CAA systems. Organic chemists describe their work not in words or standard chemical equations (e.g. H₂O) but in diagrams of molecules or 'structural formulae'. The Java Molecular Editor enables students to respond to questions using this common language of organic chemistry.

Points to note

• the Java Molecular Editor has been provided by Peter Ertl of Novartis Pharma AG, Switzerland; your browser will need to be Java enabled
• the underlying technology uses SMILES - Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry Specification; all molecules are represented by a unique SMILES string, irrespective of how the molecule is drawn in the JME
• the technique has wide applicability in creating interactive activities in organic chemistry
• answers can be readily analysed and feedback algorithms devised that can automatically mark a variety of wrong answers