Chemistry for Everyone
Using Proverbs in Chemistry Jorge G. Ibanez Mexican Microscale Chemistry Center, Universidad Iberoamericana, Prol. Paseo de la Reforma 880, 01210 México, D.F., Mexico;
[email protected] Informal techniques have frequently been used to provide a relaxed atmosphere at various points in chemistry courses. They offer a good opportunity to introduce, reinforce, or clarify some concepts. Anecdotes, stories, analogies, wordsearches, games, puzzles, and matching tests are among them (see, e. g., 1, 2). The exercise presented in the box consists of matching a proverb or popular saying in the left column with its
counterpart chemical phenomenon or application in the right column. It takes less than one hour to complete. It is more enjoyable for the students when they work in pairs (they also tend to get much better marks in this way!). The proposed answers are given below. All of these sayings and proverbs can be found in standard sources (3–5). Please, allow a certain degree of ambiguity by not being penny wise and pound foolish. Enjoy!
Popular Saying or Proverb
Chemical Phenomenon
A. One man’s loss is another man’s gain.
1. ( ) Describes a coordinated bond, where the two shared electrons are provided by one of the atoms.
B. A nod is as good as a blink to a blind horse.
2. ( ) Depicts a second-order reaction.
C. First come, first served
3. ( ) UV and X-rays may cause genetic damage, but vis and IR radiation will not.
D. It is the pace that kills.
4. ( ) Long-range interactions and energy transfers in molecules become weaker with distance.
E. If the cap fits, wear it.
5. ( ) In a mixture of substances, the one that diffuses fastest will be the first to react with a fixed substrate.
F. Beauty is only skin deep.
6. ( ) Neutrons that provoke fission reactions must be slowed down so as to prevent an uncontrolled production of energy.
G. Punctuality is the politeness of princes.
7. ( ) Illustrates a redox process, where one species gets reduced (electron gain) and another one gets oxidized (electron loss).
H. One for the mouse, one for the crow, one to rot, one to grow.
8. ( ) It is the principle that regulates the action of molecular sieves.
I. One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
9. ( ) Explains why some reagents render low yields of a desired product due to side reactions.
J. A mouse may help a lion.
10. ( ) Selected metal ions are excellent catalysts for some reactions, whereas they may inhibit others.
K. What a neighbor gets is not lost.
11. ( ) Diffusion coefficients of metal cations decrease with the number of ligands bound to them.
L. Old habits die hard.
12. ( ) Crystal growth may take years.
M. One nail drives out another.
13. ( ) Describes a highly ordered crystal lattice.
N. Out of sight, out of mind.
14. ( ) Describes substitution reactions in which one group leaves a chemical structure while another takes its place.
O. A place for everything, and everything in its place. 15. ( ) When all the necessary conditions are present, corrosion occurs. P. An open door makes a thief.
16. ( ) A small amount of catalyst may transform an industrial process into a more profitable one.
Q. Prevention is better than cure.
17. ( ) Thin surface finishings are often produced to provide objects with a more appealing facade.
R. Rome was not built in a day.
18. ( ) Generalized corrosion of a metal usually starts with a small spot that soon spreads over the entire surface.
S. A rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel
19. ( ) Microscale chemistry.
T. Small is beautiful.
20. ( ) Clock reactions fit well here.
U. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
21. ( ) Explains how to prevent possible losses in lixiviation processes, where the important substances are frequently in the liquid phase.
V. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
22. ( ) Describes the principle of epitaxial growth, where a substance being deposited onto a substrate follows its lattice pattern only if both have the same lattice parameters.
W. He travels fastest who travels alone.
23. ( ) It is like trying to analyze a colorless sample by obtaining its absorption spectrum with a spectrophotometer in the visible region.
X. It is a wise child that who knows its own father.
24. ( ) Many electrodes must have their surface activated (undesired coatings removed) before they can be used for substance recognition.
Y. A cat in gloves will catch no mice.
25. ( ) Describes the memory-shaped alloys, capable of returning to their original shape upon heating.
Z. It takes two to make a quarrel.
26. ( ) Modern environmental care is based on the notion of pollution prevention.
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Chemistry for Everyone
Acknowledgments Helpful discussions with Alberto Rojas and Maria Teresa Ramirez sparked my interest in this topic. Financial assistance by the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program, Loyola University Chicago, CONACYT, and Universidad Iberoamericana is gratefully acknowledged.
2. Ibanez, J. G. Contactos (Mexico) 1989, 4, 466. 3. Simpson, J. A. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs; Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1982. 4. Whiting, B. J. Modern Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings; Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 1989. 5. Castillo, C.; Bond, O. F. University of Chicago Spanish Dictionary, 3rd ed.; The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1977.
Literature Cited Proposed Answers 19-T, 20-G, 21-V, 22-X, 23-B, 24-Y, 25-L, 26-Q 11-W, 12-R, 13-O, 14-M, 15-P, 16-J, 17-F, 18-S, 1-K, 2-Z, 3-U, 4-N, 5-C, 6-D, 7-A, 8-E, 9-H, 10-I,
1. The following were all published in J. Chem. Educ. Alber, M. 2001, 78, 478. Helser, T. 2001, 78, 483. Kitson, T. M. 2001, 78, 504. Denny, R. A.; Lakshmi, R.; Chitra, H.; Devi, N. 2000, 77, 477. Keck, M. V. 2000, 77, 483. Rybolt, T. R.; Waddell, T. G. 1999, 76, 489. Russell, J. V. 1999, 76, 481. Castro-Acuña, C. M.; Dominguez-Donache, R. E.; Kelter, P. B.; Grundman, J. 1999, 76, 496. Spencer, H. E.; Kusdra, L. 1998, 75, 487. Read, J. 1960, 37, 110.
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