Frank L. Pilar University of New Hampshire Durham 03824
New Directions to Old Principles
If one filled a huge barrel with little slips of paper on which were written the names of all the topics of interest and importance t o man, it would be difficult to draw out one a t random to which chemistry could not he applied. Yet, one of our most distinguished educators, the 1976 Priestley Medalist George Hammond recently stated1 The thine " that bothers me most is that there is so little varietv in chemical edurntrcm. It is a pity that students are all learning the same things, hecause there's an awful lot of chemistry that none of them is Learning. There is no valid excuse for this existence of famine in the midst of nlentv: " , it is well within our means to develon one vear sequences of general chemistry which differ strikingly in content from the twical courses based on anv of the dozens of current textbooks but which at the same time cover all of the nrincioles most chemical educators believe helone to the introductory level. Those of us who teach general chemistry have the o~oortunitvto Drove Professor Hammond wronean act whi'ch would kakk him most happy, indeed! Although it is unlikely that any two general chemistry teacbers would agree precisely on what are the absolutely necessary principles to teach to freshmen, a majority would perhaps agree that the_followiugought. to be included
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Stoichiometry Gas Laws Molecular Architecture Energetics Dynamics Nuclear Transformations
It always comes as somewhat of a surprise to find people who consider the last topic as somehow unfit for a general chemistrv course. Mv personal belief is that nuclear transformatiohs ought t o be taught early in the first semester or quarter so that its implications for topics such as tracers and biochemical effects of radiation may he adequately covered. T o those who object tomixing physics and chemistry, I men-tion the remark by Barry Commoner2 The sepnration OF the laws of nature among the difierent srienees is a humap conceit; nature iwelf is an integrated whole. I wonder how well we present nature as an integrated whole. Each year several students come to me after class with statements something like this: Why are you lecturing on DNA and RNA? We had somethine" about them in hieh school biolopv. "Whatever list of hasic topics one adopts as the core of an introductorv course. the actual buildine" of the course entails the choice of subject areas to serve as hackdrops for the illustration of the ~rincinles.Here is where chemistw teachers have the whole world a t their feet; chemistry touches upon so many facets of our lives that the biggest problem of the educator is to choose those which appear to he the more important andlor more interesting. In fact, enough topics meet the latter criteria so that each of us could teach a new course with different factual content each year for many successive years. Just to present a ~eneraliAea of what kinds of mew prnvide suitable backdrops tor . ~ e n e r aprinciples, l here are a feu,of my favorites
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504 / Journal of Chemical Education 1
Genetics Photosynthesis Animal Metabolism of Life The Chemical Oriein " Proteins and Enzymes Drugs Synthetic Polymers Environmental Control Oceanography My own criterion for deciding which topics to cover is: Is it an area in which chemical principles are now providing major insiehts or oromise t o do so in the near future? 1do not wish to imply that a single course could treat all of the above tonics at a nontrivial level. The most surcesdul (and palatable) approach is to choose a limited number of areas and to treat each of thew rehtivelv thorowhlv. Topics not covered in one year's classes may be covered i'n asucceeding year, yet both classes can be exposed t o essentially the same basic principles. One of the best strategies one can employ in order to develop highly interesting chemistry courses of the type I am advocating is to begin as early as possible with a generous dosage of organic chemistry. Organic chemistry will provide the instructor with excellent points of departure for the discussion of molecular architecture, chemical bonding, reaction rates and mechanisms, thermodynamics, biological reactions, and many, many other areas of major importance. However, if one is to take maximum advantage of this information-rich area. it is necessarv to carw out a serious discussion of owanic chemistry no later than the end of the first semester the middle of the second quarter. An even earlier exposure is better yet. Do not delayorganic chemistry to the last week or two of the course! I think that the current texts vbhich place organic chemistry a t the very end do chemical education a great disservice; the authors of such texts share a t least part of the blame for "bothering" Professor Hammond. Since organic chemistry is so information-rich, it is very important to be highly selective in what one teaches freshman students about that area. In order to avoid overwhelming the student with facts and yet prepare him for a maximum numher of applications, emphasis should he on molecular structure and on a limited number of reaction pathways. The latter can be chosen with specific applications in mind. Some topics which organic chemistry is especially good at illustrating are
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Role of geometry in chemical properties. Strategy and tactics in synthesis. Rnres and mechanisms ISNInnd 5 ~ reaetlons 2 are especially in"
Catulwis thoth hy surface adsorption and hy regeneration). Structures and properties of DNA and RNA. ~ 01 lvsozvme I'ruteins ( t h mechnn~sm . . action hrines in a lot of different chemical principles). Synthetic Polymers (strueture-propertiesrelations). Paper presented before the First Chemical Congressof the North American Continent, Mexico City, 4 December 1975at the Education, Information,Computers, and History Session. 'Quoted in Chemical & Engineering News, 28, (7 July 1975). Barry Commoner, "Science and Survival," The Viking Press, New York, 1967. p. 25.
Nothing I have said here should he taken to imply that inorganic chemistry should be neglected. Certainly there are areas such as the coordination chemistry of the transition elements which are fundamental to many of the topics mentioned earlier. Also, the chemistries of hydrogen, oxygen, the halogens, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, etc., are too important to neglect. In any event, a wealth of chemistry and chemically dependent science lies before us, waiting to be tapped by those who
only wish to do so. Were a majority of chemical educators to seize this opportunity now, perhaps we should have the 1986 Priestley Medalist saying
The thing that pleases me most is that there is so much variety in chemical education. It is gratifying that students are all learning different things, because there's an awful lot of chemistry and all of it should be learned by someone sometime.
Volume 53. Number 8. August 1976
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