provocative opinion Le Chatelier and Chemical Equilibrium John lhde Wausau West High School, 1200 West Wausau Avenue, Wausau, WI 54401 Having been involved in science education for the better part of 25 years, i t has become apparent that, not only does Le Chatelier's principle apply to chemical reactions, hut i t applies to science education in general and chemical education in particular. In fact, one might make a case for Le Chatelier's principle heing a fundamental driving force in all human actions and interactions. I first began thinking along these lines when I encountered something called "The First Law of Ecology". Simply stated, this law suggests that "Everything is related to everything else." Support for this idea can he found in the recent interest in somethiue called the Gaia hvoothesis. which sueeests that the world g o n e large equi1ihr"i;m system that reacts to stresses placed on it. I have lone felt that the concept of equilihr&m is one of the most important ideas for scfence students to understand. and I trv to impress this on mv beginning chemistry students. If
