Chemistry Within; Chemistry Without

School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
[t.p.kee@chem.leeds.ac.uk and p.c.mcgowan@chem.leeds.ac.uk]

Many textbooks currently on the market for the tertiary education sector have two features in common. They are frequently large, comprehensive surveys which can be used in a similar manner to encyclopaedia’s and they are primarily written to provide sufficient chemistry within a certain field (organic, inorganic, analytical, physical etc) to satisfy an undergraduate student over the course of a full degree scheme.

As teachers it is quite clear from our one-on-one sessions that students can find much of chemistry dry and lifeless, especially when compared to other higher profile areas such as medicinal, forensic and environmental sciences, each of which is seen as relevant, exciting, meaningful and financially rewarding! Many of our current texts do little to dispel this image.

Chemistry may in fact be doubly damned since not only can it frequently seem dry but it also has an image of being a difficult science, fuelled in part no doubt by attitudes within the academic community. Chemists have often thrived upon and glorified in this image but ultimately perhaps to the detriment of our future students.

We believe it is time for us to be bold by trying to help our students realise:

1. Chemistry is a powerful force in modern society.
2. This power stems from the variety and flexibility of the uses of chemistry.
3. That with power; comes responsibility.
4. That with responsibility comes the need to act.
5. That taking action requires a knowledge of how chemical applications and their consequences depend upon fundamental chemical principles.

It is our belief that student motivation can only come from within the student themselves and that this motivation can only be stimulated, not implanted, by teachers such as ourselves. Students will motivate themselves when the right buttons for them are pressed, when they themselves recognise the importance and significance of what they themselves are learning. It is our job, as teachers, to inspire them, to encourage them, to challenge, disturb and push them so that each student feels the desire to get the best from their efforts. We offer Chemistry Within; Chemistry Without as our attempt at this result.

Introduction

Chemical applications are rooted in chemical fundamentals. Indeed, we feel that one of the major reasons for the rather dry manner in which much of chemistry is presented, both through texts and through lectures, is that intimate connections between theory and application are not always highlighted clearly enough. It is sometimes hard to see the relevance of what you are studying and why it is important. Moreover, in our experience, applications are often included as an additional feature rather than as an integral part of teaching the fundamental features of our science.

Our contribution seeks to address these shortcomings; a novel approach to presenting fundamental principles of chemistry through a series of linked case studies. Each study deals with a specific application which is deconstructed to reveal the underlying chemistry and consequences of exploiting that chemistry.

Fundamental chemical principles?

Chemistry is concerned basically with the interactions (i) between matter and (ii) between matter and electromagnetic radiation. Within this framework, the chemist is most frequently interested in questions concerning structure (electronic, molecular, lattice, motion, stability etc) and interaction (bonding, mechanism, rates, stabilities etc). These two basic topics are underpinned by two sub-topics, energy and symmetry. Together, we envisage these four interdependent themes as being fundamental to chemistry and these are the important features which we wish to bring out through Chemistry Within, Chemistry Without.

How does Chemistry Within, Chemistry Without work?

Chemistry Within, Chemistry Without focuses on a particular theme. Within that theme lies a sequence of case studies, each one composed around a particular topic which is associated with the application of chemistry in a familiar or recognisably important context. Each case study is linked to the next through a logical sequence of consequences, making choices based on chemical knowledge (Figure 1). Each case study builds upon the previous one by dealing with a topic of broader scientific and human impact, the thread of the story being maintained by the chemistry linking one application to the next. Within each case study, questions are posed, addressed and explanations linked to fundamental chemical principles. The story-line running through the case studies is:

"Whenever a choice is made based on chemistry there are consequences which have an impact in other areas of our lives."

Hence we have chosen a title for the approach, "Chemistry Within, Chemistry Without" which has a double message. Chemistry helps to address a problem within a certain area but may have consequences without (ie; outside) that particular field and also, prompting the question; what would we do without chemistry?

Specimen Contribution

If, as an example, we consider cleanliness as a theme, from which a number of linked case studies may be developed such that the storyline running throughout is, "how does chemistry help us to clean things and what consequences result from the exploitation of this chemistry in a wider or different context" (Figure 2).

Thus, the first case study considers soap as a means of keeping our bodies clean which leads into a case study of washing powders as a means of keeping fabrics clean. Both of these case studies lead back from the application to the underlying chemical principles and also highlight important chemical components such as builders and chelating agents which perform valuable functions in the cleaning material (Figure 2). Indeed, the chemical principles upon which these components are based make them highly valuable also in industrial cleaning. However, these same types of additives in cleaning materials have less desirable effects down-stream such as the eutrophication of water-ways. These consequences in turn require clean-up procedures because our water supplies also impact directly upon our earth (through rainfall, leaching, land-fills); those clean-up processes are also based firmly upon chemical principles. Therefore, there is a thread that leads the reader from the small environment (within) to the wider picture (without).

Who is Chemistry Within, Chemistry Without aimed at?

Since "Chemistry Within, Chemistry Without" is a tool for presenting information to students, it can be applied in a variety of scenarios depending upon the points to be presented, their depth and the nature of case studies appropriate to the subject matter. We feel the approach has particular merit when addressing students at the (1) A-level chemistry - Level 1 Undergraduate stages and (2) at the Foundation level for non-chemistry majors. Indeed, we feel that the non-denominational approach may be particularly appropriate for students whose major is a subject other than chemistry (eg; food science, environmental science, earth sciences, biological and life sciences etc) or who may have found their previous exposure to chemistry somewhat unfulfilling.

Summary

Many chemistry textbooks contain significant chemical detail which, whilst important, is not always essential for the dual purpose of (i) maintaining interest and relevance and (ii) outlining the fundamentals. Although a number of monographs do provide highly valuable applications-based descriptions of chemistry^1-9 we believe that none combine the specific attributes of Chemistry Within, Chemistry Without:

(i) Deriving fundamental chemical concepts from applications.

(ii) Focusing on fundamentals rather than factual material.

(iii) Emphasising that chemical decisions have consequences.

(iv) The use of linked case studies to reinforce how chemistry influences our lives both within and without our immediate environment.

(v) Flexibility in both material covered and level of knowledge assumed.

References