Comic Chemistry: Why I Hated Chemistry in High School

It has been a while since a webcomic addressed chemistry in any direct way. there have been some XKCD and SMBC comics that used molecules and some people in lab coats in other comics but for the most part chemistry has been under the comic radar for while. That said, The Born Loser (of all things) had a chemistry related comic.

At one level it references the amount of memorization in Chemistry. I think we can all agree that in the university context, all the sciences are in fact opportunities to have a educated conversation. The issue however is that to have the educated conversation a person must have the language skills which means that in may ways introductory courses in science are often like introductory course in any language. You must have a working dictionary of nouns and an understanding of syntax.

The problem of course is that there is insufficient time to give sufficient background knowledge in chemistry and then get the students out to the edge of knowledge where all the interesting things happen. Our current pedagogy's all seem to want to enthuse the students with an illusion of understanding complex but interesting topics long before they have the appropriate understanding.

Which leads us back to Mr. Goodguy the high school chemistry teacher that has been given the idea that the best preparation for university chemistry is to memorize the periodic table. Now, to be fair, a couple of lifetimes ago I taught chemistry to engineers. I loved teaching engineers, they were so academically whipped by then engineering faculty that they considered chemistry to be a bit of a holiday. They had no curiosity or enthusiasm, for that had been ground out of them by their major, but man they loved to memorize useful information and they loved their mnemonics. They swallowed the periodic table whole and would share their mnemonics with me.

This blog is supposed to be family friendly so I cannot share the most memorable ones but for example: He Now Admits Kissing X-Ratedly gives the sequence and first letter of the chemical symbols for the noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and Rn). The thing with the mnemonics is that once you hear them you cannot unhear them.

Memorization is the necessary first step to an educated conversation. Welcome to being two years old again.

Then there is this ...

Selling with Chemistry: Vancouver Island Tourism

Well this is a new one for me. Using the idea that the element symbol and the cell from a periodic table would tie into the word "element" in the minds of the regular population. The tourism society of Vancouver Island likes the idea of elements. elemental as fundamentals and created a website devoted to the idea. I think it looks well done and rather artsy / slick.

I have referenced the creation of periodic tables of non elements as an organizational trope before (here and here for example). This is new however and depends on a non-repulsive response to the linking of a clearly chemical metaphor to the natural environment. Risky and effective I think.

So this would appear to be their "periodic table" (I would note that their symbols uses two capital letters with the second letter smaller than the first).

Ma  Marine Activities
Wl  Wildlife
La  Land Activities
Ss  Sip and Savor
Sp  Spas
Gn  Gardens
Fn  First Nations
Fg  Fishing
Gf  Golfing
Ct  Culture

I also like a second component of their scheme. The tagline "Finding Your Element Takes the Right Formula" brings another chemical concept to the consumer. In this case clicking on the element cell takes you to a new pop-up page.





Their choice of molecule for all the graphics is the same and it is interesting as it is adrenaline, a surprisingly simple molecule for what it does physiologically and an apt choice for what they are trying to communicate. What I find interesting is that as far as I can see the website never tells the user that the molecule is adrenalin. Cool.

There is a final cute function in the website that allows you to combine elements and the website will do a "calculation". All in all it affirms chemistry and uses the similes and metaphors with some intelligence.

Best News of the Day: We Can Go back to Wasting Helium

As Humans we have a poor track record of functioning of stewards of anything let alone the Creation we were told to take care of while God was busy. The best example I can think of is the element helium that we first discovered in the gases that are tapped off of oil fields so we can get to the sweet sweet hydrocarbons.

The story of the discovery of helium is a remarkable one in that it was discovered in the spectrum of the sun before it was discovered here on Earth. On Earth, our helium is the product of radioactive decay in the deep rock of the Earths crust and is therefor a non-renewable resource.  Anyway, helium is a noble gas which means it has little chemistry and because of its density it functions poorly as a blanket gas so we decided to pretty much throw it away in the form of floaty party balloons.

Policy changes by the American government meant that the National Helium Reserve was  liquidated and the and the stability of the helium market was subject to violent and expensive fluctuations. It seems like it was only then that we realized that helium is a crucial natural resource and chemistry departments all over the world spent millions and millions of dollars upgrading their instruments to minimize and re-cycle their helium used in their labs.

The panic can now be set aside with the discovery in Tanzania of a huge natural reserve and I have no doubt that we will go back to wasting the resource letting our superconducting magnets quench and blow the helium up to the stratosphere.

For us, that means that we can now go back to mass releases of helium filled party  balloons that will eventually end up in the ocean where they will kill turtles. It is almost like we do not think we will ever be called to accounts for our stewardship.

Chemistry and Culture: Rule Britannia

I see that Sainsbury has posted their Christmas video and it makes you have all the feels. there is one tiny moment that merits a shout out and this is the image.

Gotta love a little British girl that dreams of getting a chemistry set for Christmas. I wonder if her parents know about this Kickstarter project.

Comic Chemistry: The Truth About Chemistry Kits

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal has a comic up today that bemoans the pulling of the teeth of chemistry sets. This has been commented on at length on the internet (LINK) but that does not change the betrayal of science that is captured by removing any risk from the sets.

I received my first chemistry set when I was 12. It was my gateway to DIY science and a remarkable insight for may parents to not only appreciate that I would like a chemistry set but to also purchase one for me.

The problem of course is the potential for lawsuits arising from the use of the equipment and chemicals in the set. And so the sets have been reduced to what the comic implies ... a safe irritant blocking further interest in chemistry.

It also makes me wonder about the curriculum of homeschooled students and how the lab experience of those students could possibly approach that of the experience and possibilities in a structured school lab unless the parents are science adept (and I have to say my experience is that the parents are often the ones getting the A's).

Comment added after initial post:

So, the day after this was posted a blog I follow posted on the solution to the whole problem as available in England. Perhaps soon it will come to Canada.

Comic Chemistry: Love and Preservatives

The webcomic Bug today had something positive to say about food preservatives:

While the webcomic Sheldon seemed to be having an off day with a reductionist fatalism about the reality do love and purpose.

I have to say that the idea of food preservatives acting as a preservative for us is an interesting one. the principle of Mithriditism (yes, there is a shout out to LOTR fans) is an old one and has some basis in fact for cumulative toxins like arsenic and mercury. Some very cool chemistry and biochemistry at the bottom of that idea.

As for the second comic I have to object to the word "only". Chemistry should be enough love for everybody. The comic then ends with a reference to "processed sugar" that has to make us pause when we consider the language. Sugar is a highly processed food and there is no "natural" process for making it other than personally sucking to juice out of sugar cane. That said, as an industrial process sugar and salt may come from natural sources but the food industry markets them as chemically pure reagents which I think is cool in itself. The only other foods that I can think of that are chemically pure would be home preservatives such as vinegar, alum and baking soda.

Chemistry and Culture: Chemistry as the Universal Image of Science

The website for the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression had this up on their website today.

I have argued in the past that the only scientific discipline that is visually recognizable as science is chemistry and this is another example, not only of the lab coated chemist but also the Erlenmeyer flask as universally recognizable symbols for science. It is a cute reversal of the observer being observed but also confined.

Chemistry and Culture: Images of Mixtures

It is not often that you see a humanities style magazine use chemical imagery to convey concepts but the Chronicle of Higher Education did it today (warning link behind pay wall).

To my eyes there seems to be a volume mis-match between the flasks and the beaker but I get what they are selling and appreciate the use of chemistry as a image for mixing in various proportions. I might have used graduated cylinders.

As for the mix in an ideal class, the selection is truly American with the reference to SAT marks standing in for academic ability and parents income for ability to pay. In the spirit of the liberal arts I appreciate the extracurricular like athletics in the creation of whole persons as well.