provocc&iveopinion A Call for a General Chemistry Subcommittee Fred H. Walters University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette, LA 70504
I helieve the time has come for the ACS to appoint a suhcommittee made up of educators from large and small institutions to reevaluate the content, philosophy, and orientation of the general chemistry course that is offered a t many universities and colleges. The space race alerted America to the need for hetter science and mathematics harkgrounds and caused rhnngcs in many currirula including chemistry. Ih~wever,the content and prrsentation of mntrrinl in Gentral Chemisrrv has rhnneed little since then. Harry Dent commented on the predominance of physical chemistry in the general chemistry curriculum in a recent C&E News (March 11, 1985, page 83). Charles Davis, in reading Dent's comment, echoes the feelings of mans that generai chemistry should he general c h e m k r y and-not a watered down version of p-chem. He feels organic and hiochemistry are underrepresented. There is a gush to include more descriptive inorganic chemistry in our course so that students know that silver chloride is not a green gas. This descriptive chemistry can he integrated into the text or the tonic of several cha~ters.As a result of these legitimate concerns, general chemistry hooks have expanded in size to 800-page epics. Unfortunately the time allotted to general
chemistry has not, and many people have difficulty covering the basics, much less descriptive, organic, and biochemical to~ics. Recently two other pressures have exerted themselves. Core curricula that must he fulfilled hv all undergraduates are now being considered by many schools. This shortens the number of courses that can he taken by a major a t the time when the ACS recommends new topics and courses in areas such as polymer chemistry and biochemistry. I believe this trend is such that the bachelor's degree may need t o be a five-year degree. This is an unpopular approach, especially since many students require five years to get a four-year degree right now. There is also a widening gap in the quality of students seen. This is due to open admissions a t many state schools, poor science and mathematics preparation in high schools, the influx of many foreign students, and the returning of many older students. The larger, better institutions may not see the problems as severely as the smaller or the public open admission schools, but the problem is one that needs to he addressed. As a result of these pressures, I would like to see the ACS appoint a suhcommittee to address these concerns.
Volume 63 Number 2
February 1986
141
