Highlights: Ventures in Freshman Chemistry

James M. Farrar. Richard Elsenberg, - and J. A. ~ampmeier Ln versty of Rocnesfer Rochester, NY 14627

Developing a course in freshman chemistry that empha- sizes the critical relationships between chemical principles and issues of societal relevance is not a new idea. Such courses are generally taken by nonscience students, how- ever. At Rochester, we have designed a new freshman chemistry course based on the themes of energy and the environment, complete with a laboratory component, that provides a rigomus introduction to chemical concepts, sys- tems, and practices. The course prepares students for fur- ther study in chemistry and other natural sciences. We have packaged our chemistry curriculum with a writing course offered by the philosophy department that teaches students to analyze and construct arguments, and a his- torv course emohasizine the development of scientific t hkgh t from the beginning of the 18thLcentury to the mod- ern environmental movement. At Rochester, this multidis- ciplinary linkage of courses comprises our "Venture in En- ergy and the Environment", with an enrollment of approximately 40 students per year. Students must apply to participate in the Venture, ameeing to take all courses . - in the package.

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In a traditional freshman chemistry course, we teach students the principles of chemistry, following the intro- duction of those concepts with illustrative examples. We invert this logic in our venture chemistry course, using ex- amples of important current issues and problems to moti- vate the science we teach. We ask the questions "What chemistry do we need to know in order to understand ozone depletion?" or "What chemistry underlies global warming?" By choosing carefully the subjects of en- ergy and the environment, we can cover most all of the top- ics that normally comprise a traditional beginning course. For examnle. understandine ozone depletion reauires a . , - consideration of chemical bonding, spectroscopy, reaction kinetics, and catalysis. The topic of global warming re- quires discussions of combustion stoichiometry and the chemistrv of fuels. includine petroleum and biomass: shapes, structures, and spect~o&opy of molecules; ~ h a s e diagrams of pure substances; chemical equilibrium; and solubilities of gases in liquids. All of these topics are a cen- tral part of a freshman chemistry curriculum. In formulat- ing our specific course structuk, we have introduced the concepts of e n e w production and utilization first, letting environmental issues follow as consequences of these a& tivities. By focusing on energy first, we introduce thermo- dynamics and properties of macroscopic systems early. We also avoid launching the course on the negative note of chemical contaminants in the environment.

Our curriculum considers the relationship of scientific activities to other human endeavors, addressing current

issues without sacrificing scientific rigor. Writing is an im- portant component of our Venture, not only in the accom- panying philosophy and history courses, but also in the chemistry course, where essay questions that require stu- dents to inteaate concepts and develop areuments with

& - explicit chemical reasoning often appear on exams. Stu- dents have ample o ~ ~ o r t u n i t v to revise their written work.

The outline &to& shown below illustrates the organ,- zamn we have followed in the first offerings ofour course:

Energy and the Environment-Semester 1

Introduction to Chemical Concepts Stoichiometly Resources of the Planet-The Periodic Table

Where does our energy come from? Chemical Fuels Energy Conversion and Conservation: The First and Sec-

ond Laws Why Chemical Reactions Happen: Chemical Equilibrium Energy and Environmental Issues in Industrial Processes

Energy and the EnvironmentSemester 2

Electroehemica1 and Photochemical Energy Conversion Aqueous Resources: Chemical Equilibrium ~ c i d Rain: Acid-Base Chemistm Ozone Depletion: Chemical Kinetics Sources of enem from nuclei: fission and fusion -. Energy from atoms Understanding Energetics and Chemical Stability: Chemical

Structure and Bonding

The weekly laboratory for thecourse focuses on chemical analysis and reactivity, and includes experiments usinn gas &matographic a*d spectrophotome~ric methods. AL though many of the experiments cover the traditional sub- jectsof volumetric analysis, synthesis, inorganic qualita- tive analysis, and kinetics, the spirit of motivated inquiry is similar to the lecture portion of the course. The experi- ments pose current chemical questions and problems, sharpen observational and technical abilities by building opportunities to reinforce newly acquired skills, and inte- . . &ate with lecture material.

In addition to the course curriculum, the small class size, close student- faculty interactions, and cooperative colle- gial relations that develop among students have contrib- uted to the success of the Venture'. Even in the first years of the program, we have clear evidence that Venture stu- dents perform as well or better in organic chemistry than students from the traditional freshman courses, with a sig- nificantly enhanced number of students indicating their intent to major in chemistry.

Acknowledgement This work has been suooorted in oart throueh National

Science Foundation ~ r a h i DUE 91'56173. we-also grate- fully acknowledge support from the Dreyfus Foundation.

Volume 70 Number 10 October 1993 847