Principles of Alchemy

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions not addressed here, please email Merlin.

Many of your questions might be answered by having a look at the sample provided. Your attention might be drawn specifically to the sections "Hypertextbook Instructions" which explains the computer side of things and "Learning with your Hypertextbook" which tells you more about the specifics of the course and how to get the most from Principles of Alchemy.

Who is Merlin?
How difficult is the reading and how much is there?
What about the experiments?
I have lots of questions about the exams.
Can I get college credit?
What about copyrights?
Can I hire Merlin to tutor me?
Can Principles of Alchemy be used by Traditional Schools (as well as home-schools and hobbyists)?
How do I get a copy of Principles of Alchemy (Chemistry)
Is there a workbook to make the learning more interactive?

This Alchemy stuff is cute, but who is Merlin - really?

Dr Jamie Love is the man behind Merlin. Over the years Jamie has taught a wide variety of science subjects (from astronomy to zoology) to a wide variety of students (from thirteen-year-olds to thirty-somethings). Dr Love earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Louisiana State University Medical Center (New Orleans).

In 1990 he moved to Scotland, a part of The United Kingdom. (The best part! ) The UK is home to the oldest, biggest and most distinguished distance-learning university in the world, The Open University. Jamie spent several years studying its methods while working towards his diploma in Information Technology. He also earned an MBA by distance learning (from Heriot-Watt University).
Jamie knows first hand the difficulties one encounters studying alone.

Dr Love started Merlin Science in 1995 - teaching chemistry over the Internet. The following year he published Principles of Alchemy, his first self-paced, self-learning "hypertextbook". It was very well received and has become particularly popular among home schoolers.
Being an amateur astronomer, web master and expert in distance learning, Jamie began delivering astronomy courses over the Internet in 1997 as part of Science Explained. Thousands of eager students visited his website, asking questions about astronomy and getting answers. Several professional astronomers visited the website and congratulated him on his work. With curious students asking plenty of questions and professional astronomers helping him, Dr Love was able to create a first class astronomy hypertextbook.

In 1998 Dr Love joined the Department of Life Sciences at Napier University (Edinburgh) teaching a variety of subjects and developing the department's flexible (distant) learning modules. In that role Dr Love has acted as editor and coordinator of several distance learning books - teaching genetics, microbiology, immunology and biotechnology.
In June of 2000 Napier University awarded Dr Love the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. This certificate is awarded to those who complete a series of classes, workshops, peer review and an educational project. Jamie chose as his project to create a web-based, self-learning minicourse in evolution.
Dr Love is an Adjunct Associate Professor (part-time) with the University of Maryland University College. Via distance learning he teaches "Selection and Evaluation of Biotechnology Projects" to students working towards a Master of Science in Technology Management.

When he is relaxing, Jamie (aka Merlin) enjoys bird watching, fossil collecting, and stargazing.

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How about some more information on the reading? How long does it take?

The entire course could be done in 1 month if the student put a great deal of effort into it and took naturally to it. If the course is studied regularly, like a normal class, it should take about 3 or 4 months. It should take no more than 6 months for an average student, but every student is different. Learning is a not a race to be won but an experience to be enjoyed!

There's a lot of reading here but most of it is dialogue
so it goes faster than a standard science textbook.
The course starts slow and easy with the first Ancient Element, AIR.
Then it gets progressively more detailed.

Here's a breakdown of the entire book. (Q&A are questions and answers)

Title Page: 5,000 words, 11 pages.
AIR: 25,000 words, 55 pages, 16 diagrams, 25 Q & A.
WATER: 42,000 words, 80 pages, 45 diagrams, 32 Q & A.
EARTH: 46,000 words, 100 pages, 34 diagrams, 63 Q & A.
FIRE: 61,000 words, 125 pages, 14 diagrams, 66 Q & A.

The word count is accurate to within a thousand. The text has a Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level of approximately the 8th Grade. (This method is based on the average number of syllables per word and the average number of words per sentence.) However, Arthur's Notes are more condensed and increase the score to the 9th grade reading level.
The number of pages is roughly the amount of text pages produced if printed at standard font size but this book is not designed to be printed out and probably won't do so easily.
The diagram count is the number of unique diagrams - they are used many times throughout the hypertextbook but only counted once. Also, Merlin only counts images used for explanation so he doesn't count the images used to "spice up" the hypertextbook.
Most of the Questions and Answers advance the student's knowledge and are intended for learning, not as self-assessment. However, AIR's Questions and Answers are more for review and to get the student used to the method.

If the lectures are a dialogue between Merlin and Arthur, isn't it full of old English language?

NO!
"Principles of Alchemy" is scientifically correct, but not historically accurate.
The entire hypertextbook uses American English spellings with British grammar. Merlin is Scottish, so he likes to says "aye" instead of "yeah". Other than that, the dialogue reads like any conversation a 21st century chemistry teacher would have with his 21st century student.

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Did you say something about experiments?

It wouldn't be science without experiments!
Each Ancient Element concludes with a hands-on section called "Do This!" Common household materials are used to illustrate some of the concepts learned. "Do This!" is not intended to be a substitute for "real" laboratory work. Merlin cannot sincerely offer a true laboratory class without expecting a significant investment of your time and money. Instead, each "Do This!" is intended to be a "chemistry lab lite". You need not buy a chemistry kit, nor search for exotic (often dangerous) chemicals, in order to enjoy "Do This!".

However, some experiments do require the student to use a match, candle or stove and there is also the need to use some chemicals that are potentially dangerous if misused (hydrogen peroxide, bleach, etc.).
Parents and teachers should judge for themselves whether their children are mature enough to handle this and provide any supervision if necessary. Otherwise the student should be told not to "Do This!".

The very first "Do This!" (in Principles of Alchemy: AIR) is mostly a discussion of safety, like the first lab class in any school.

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Tell me more about the exams.

Each Element ends with a self-evaluation exam; a test. These exams cover everything explained in the Dialogue sections, and reviewed in Arthur's Notes, as well as the more advanced materials taught in the Questions and Answers section. The exams do not cover the experiments in "Do This!" so there is no reason to delay taking the exam after completing the Questions and Answers section. (And having reviewed and prepared for the exam - of course!)

Each exam is composed of 20 questions answered by multiple choice.
Merlin is the first to admit that multiple choice exams are not the best way to test a student's knowledge and understanding. However, computer-based grading does not lend itself to essay questions and even fill-in-the-blanks is a problem for computer-based exams because of spelling or position of spaces that the student uses. Other testing methods, such as matching or other forms of scrambling, are nothing more than multiple choice problems in a different format. Rather than confuse the student by changing formats, Merlin decided to present the exams totally in multiple choice formats.
Besides, a well-written multiple choice exam can be very good and educational!

What makes a multiple choice exam "good" and how can it be "educational"?

Merlin wrote the three wrong choices to represent common errors or misunderstandings that the student might have. That makes the choices harder but it also means a wrong answer, with feedback explaining why it is wrong, can turn a multiple choice exam into an educational exam. When a student chooses an answer s/he gets immediate feedback about the choice. If s/he has answered correctly, s/he is told so and a short repeat of the complete answer is given (perhaps reworded a little differently to make it worth reading). If s/he chooses the wrong answer the feedback explains that answer is not correct and goes on to explain why that is the wrong answer and often provides a clue to the right answer.
The only drawback of this immediate feedback is that the student is then free to change the answer! However, that is not the point. Merlin does not write exams that are meant to merely generate a score - they are meant to help the student. Exams without feedback are easy for teachers to grade but provide no learning for students. Merlin believes that learning continues into the tests.

After completing the exam, the student submits it and the computer will generate a "virtual page" that shows the grade and also scores each answer as "Right" or "Wrong". The student can jot down which ones were wrong and close the "virtual page". The exam will have been reloaded so all the previous answers have been wiped away.
At this point the student has two options - take the entire exam all over again (choosing all 20 responses) or click the web browser's "Back Button" to reload all the previous answers from earlier (including the wrong ones) and change them. Regardless of which method used, the student is given plenty of opportunities to correct errors and submit a "perfect" test. Please note that the "virtual page" does not print from most web browsers because it is not "seen" by the printer. It is not a real web page because it is generated "on the fly".

The student is encouraged (required?) to submit a "perfect" exam. When a student earns a perfect score s/he is sent to a "Congratulations Page" and instructed on how to pick up his/her certificate. After submitting his/her name, the computer will generate a "Certificate of Completion" for that Element which will include the student's name and date of completion. This can be printed just like any webpage. Check out the sample exam to see this first hand.
The Final Exam is comprehensive - covering all four Ancient Elements - and culminates in a Diploma, which can be printed out, and the student is awarded the Title of "Apprentice Alchemist"!
Of course, the student is on the "honor system" for the exams and the Certificates, Diploma and Title are meant to encourage the student to continue while providing some incentive to achieve a perfect score.
Note : students can take the exams as many times as they like but there is no way to save answers, certificates or diplomas (other than printing them). That is, once you turn off the web browser the answers are gone forever. Merlin experimented with ways to save these exams on the hard disk but it is difficult to get one method to work across all platforms (PCs and Macs) correctly and consistently. Also, most folks do not like the idea of software writing on the disk because it tends to set off the virus alerts!

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A structured course, experiments, five exams (100 questions) and a diploma!
Is Alchemy by Merlin an accredited program? Can I earn credit? Is Merlin Science affiliated with a University?

Nope.
Merlin has investigated many distance learning programs and even earned an MBA through one. Most are not able to offer credit because they deal ineffectively with testing. Accreditation and the honor system don't mix. To offer credit any (honest) school requires the students to take exams at a local testing center, driving up the cost and thus the price.

In view of this, Merlin created the Merlin Science as a non-accredited, virtual institution.
Merlin Science will provide low cost, high quality education via the Internet.

Students desperate for credit may wish to contact their local schools or universities to ask about "transfer" of Alchemy credit.
Merlin will be happy to explain his program to any education administrator.

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What about copyrighted materials, site licenses and stuff like that?

You are welcome to make a backup copy of your hypertextbook but you may not distribute it to others. You may place copies of the program on any and all computers in your home but you may NOT run it on other computers outside the home (and that includes the computers at school). Merlin (Dr Love) is "flexible" and understands that some students may have two homes (due to separated parents) and extends the license to include those extended circumstances.
The spirit of this license is that Principles of Alchemy can be enjoyed by the entire family but it is not meant to be distributed to others.

Schools, which Merlin defines as having more than three computers, require a group license and should email Merlin for details.

I don't want the hypertextbook, but I need help with my Chemistry. Can Merlin help? Can I hire email tutoring from Merlin?

Sorry, but no.
Merlin wrote the hypertextbook specifically to meet the needs of his students and he does not have time for tutoring.

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Can Principles of Alchemy be used by Traditional Schools?

Absolutely!
Teachers might want to use the hypertextbook as a foundation for the course they teach or reserve it for special students. Naturally, the teacher will want to give his/her own tests but the hypertextbook, with its exams, will help the student(s) to prepare for the classroom exams. CompuHigh, providing an online accredited high school diploma program and courses since 1994, uses Principles of Alchemy (Chemistry). The California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) has determined that Principles of Alchemy (Chemistry) meets the CLRN review criteria and is now included on the CLRN web site.

Each hypertextbook is sold per computer, not per student. The price is a single (one time) charge - there is no subscription fee. That means you can use the program for as many students as you want for as long as you want - per computer.
Traditional schools wanting more than one copy of the hypertextbook need a site license for the extra copies - for which there is a Group Discount. Your school probably needs to work with Purchase Orders but the online secure server will not accept a PO - only credit cards. Therefore, we will work in the "standard business format" of quote-PO-invoice-payment. Not a problem.
If you want your students to access the course from your servers (say, from their home) please ask for a "server quote" after telling me your needs. You are only allowed to install (upload) the course to a server that is behind a password-protected site and only under the restrictions of the license.
All rights are reserved. You are allowed to print hard copies of the pages from the hypertextbook for your students, under the doctrine of fair-use, as long as the copies are not offered for sale or otherwise distributed outside your school. (Frankly, printing the hypertextbook is a waste of trees.)
If you have a large project in mind, for a large school or district, Merlin can customize the course with your school's name, emblems, address, contact information (such as email links to your teachers, etc.). Just ask.

Merlin is happy to help you with your educational needs so email Merlin to ask for a quote. Please include information about the number of computers you have in mind and any other information that might be useful.

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How to Get a copy of Principles of Alchemy

You can download a copy of Principles of Alchemy on your computer for only $40 or get a CD sent to you for only $45 (plus shipping and handling).

If you chose to download your hypertextbook, instructions will be emailed to you explaining how to collect it. The entire hypertextbook has 173 files but, by bundling them into a single package, Merlin can get them to you over the Internet in just one download (1.6Mb). To collect your hypertextbook via the Internet all you need is a web browser, an email address, and the ability to unzip. Most folks already have unzipping packages. If you do not have one you can find them on the internet by just "goggling" around. (Merlin uses Winzip but you can use a free one such as 7-Zip for PCs. Mac users like StuffIt Expander.)

If you are not sure about the technology simply email Merlin to request a sample copy of Principles of Alchemy - AIR. Merlin will send you instructions on how to collect it (0.3MB) FREE! If you want the download instructions sent to an address other than the one you are now sending from, please write the address in the body of the message. Your email address will not be sold, shared or distributed.

Through PayPal or Google
(the companies that handle the transaction),
it's safe and easy to order a hypertextbook using your credit card.

PayPal

Google

You will receive your receipt by email with a few minutes.

Credit cards take about 24 hours to be verified and, due to differences in time zones, may take two days to complete - especially on weekends.

I promise to email you the download instructions as soon as possible (as soon PayPal or Google verifies your ordering details).

Merlin has been offering Principles of Alchemy as a download since 1996 but many students have asked for a CD or disk instead. Until recently, that was too difficult for Merlin to do. Burning high-quality CDs and sending them around the world is a complicated business.
That is why Merlin has recently chosen CafePress as the sole distributor of Merlin's courses on CDs!
It costs five dollars more to receive this professionally mastered CD in its Jewel Case with Booklet and Tray Card.
Plus you have to pay for shipping and handling. So, if you are not comfortable about downloading and unzipping, and are willing to pay a little more for the convenience and assurance of owning something physical, then leap over to CafePress and buy the Principles of Alchemy on CD for only $45 (plus shipping and handling).
Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back!

Traditional schools (non-home-schools) require a group license and will probably need to work with Purchase Orders, etc so you will need a quote.

People who buy the course might also be interested in the Principles of Alchemy Workbook, described below.

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About the Principles of Alchemy Workbook

The Principles of Alchemy Workbook, includes Arthur's Notes and Merlin's Questions and is used with the hypertextbook - not as a substitute for it. There is nothing in the Workbook not found in the hypertextbook, but students and parents asked for this book because it helps the student to become more immersed in the course. It's nice to have a book to uses as a reference and to encourage careful studies. Merlin agrees.
The Workbook is intended to be used by the student to review information presented in the course and in which the student writes answers to the 186 questions. The answers are not in the Workbook. They are found in the hypertextbook!

This large format (8.5'' by 11''), 155 page Workbook has wire-O binding for ease of use. To keep costs under control, illustrations are monochromatic and black is reversed to white. Each question is followed by plenty of room for the student's answer.

The Principles of Alchemy Workbook is ordered via Cafepress and costs only $16.98 (plus shipping and handling).