Chemical Education Today
Editorial
A Chemistry Leaflet for Today’s Students Beery’s time. Her dedication to attracting more students to Until recently I knew little about the Chemistry Leaflet chemistry is obvious. Finally, Beery often quotes from except that it was once published by JCE. Last summer, at “Conversations on Chemistry” an early 19th century book the 18th BCCE, Bob Gayhart of Bradley University gave by Englishwoman Mrs. Jane Marcet in which a character me a box of Chemistry Leaflets published during the 1930– identified only as Mrs. B converses with two young women, 31 academic year. I took one look, was hooked, and found Caroline and Emily, about chemistry. The lots more issues in the library. Edited by young women are clearly fascinated by and Pauline G. Beery, the Chemistry Leaflet was, High School Chemistry competent in science. Presumably Beery into quote page 1 of volume 1, number 1, “A Topics, 1927–28 tended the Chemistry Leaflet to encourage Publication Especially Designed to Interest women into science. the Student of Elementary Chemistry”. Each Hydrogen, Oxygen, and During the 1930s or 1940s the conacademic year the Leaflet published 34 issues Their Compounds nection between JCE and the Chemistry that paralleled the curriculum of the time, States of Matter Chlorine and Its Compounds Leaflet was broken. By 1944 the Leaflet had presenting “interesting bits of information— The Other Halogens been transformed into Chemistry magazine, ancient, modern, and current” about topics Acids, Bases, and Salts which was published through 1961 by that students were studying each week. Sulfur and Its Compounds Science Service and then purchased by the The list of topics is itself interesting (see The Air American Chemical Society. Chemistry was box). Students did not learn about atoms and Nitrogen and Its Compounds published by ACS until 1979 when it molecules until near the end of the academic Phosphorus and Its Compounds became SciQuest, a general science magazine year. In 1927–28 the standard curriculum Arsenic, Antimony, and Bismuth similar to Discover or Scientific American consisted almost completely of descriptive Carbon that soon ceased publication. This left a gap and practical chemistry of the elements. Such More about Carbon that was filled 20 years ago by ACS’s a curriculum probably needed some spicing Coal and Wood ChemMatters. (In honor of its 20th anniverup—doesn’t every curriculum—and the Textile Fabrics and Dyes sary, ChemMatters has created a CD-ROM Chemistry Leaflet was an excellent condiThe Hydrocarbons that includes all issues published to date (see ment. In the first issue, for example, a stuSilicon and Boron p 1566)—highly recommended.) dent would learn that bees are “the heaviest Some Unfamiliar Non-Metals The Periodic Table When I tore myself away from reading consumers of oxygen in proportion to their The Alkali Metals Chemistry Leaflets, I had two main thoughts. weight” of any animals (17,336 cm3 per The Alkaline Earth Metals First, so that others might have access to kilogram per hour, T and P not specified). Copper Leaflets, I would like to scan unbound copies This first Leaflet devotes more than two Silver and Gold and digitize them for JCE Online. If you pages to Joseph Priestley’s personal descripMercury have copies, or know of someone who does, tion of his discovery of oxygen. Priestley Magnesium, Zinc, and please contact me. Second, I was impressed speculates about using “dephlogisticated air” Cadmium that Pauline Beery brought in so much relto produce high-temperature flames, to Aluminum evant, fascinating, and timely information to treat the lungs of seriously ill patients, and Tin and Lead illuminate chemical principles and facts. as “a fashionable article in luxury”. The same Iron Her medium was the printed page; content issue includes news items about oxy-acetyCobalt, Nickel, and Manganese was obtained from newspapers and magalene welding and treatment of Rudyard Platinum, Osmium, and Iridium zines. Today’s students are far more likely to Kipling’s pneumonia with oxygen. One item Chromium, Molybdenum, and consult the Web for information, and decried the use of pure oxygen by athletes— Tungsten there’s a lot more information there. I would perhaps the first performance-enhancing Radium and Its Relatives love to find a cadre of volunteers to Google drug. The first Leaflet also describes Atoms and Molecules appropriate subjects, vet the Web pages restoration of the Priestley house in Some Unfamiliar Metals found, provide an annotated set of links to Northumberland, PA, not far from Penn Undiscovered Elements material that is both interesting and scienState University, where Beery was located. tifically correct, organize those links around Each Chemistry Leaflet was 16–20 pages the National Science Education Standards, and include long, so in a year student subscribers would have read more them in JCE Online. How about it? Are you game for some than 500 pages about the chemical elements in addition to fascinating work that could help both teachers and their textbooks. Presumably many students were willing to students? If so, let me know. Together we could create a do so. The Leaflet also suggested other sources of informaChemistry Leaflet for today’s students. tion, such as brochures from manufacturers of oxy-acetylene welding equipment. Finding sources and writing original material each week must have required a major part of Pauline
www.JCE.DivCHED.org
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Vol. 81 No. 11 November 2004
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Journal of Chemical Education
1543
