Discussions held in the chemical education community have generated a variety of reports and recommendations for reforming the chemistry curriculum. The recommendations refer to teaching chemistry in the context of real-world issues. This has been suggested as a way to enhance students' motivation. It is suggested that real-world problems…

The inexpensive and disposable electrode based on a double-polymer-modified pencil lead is proposed for upper-division undergraduate instrumental laboratories to enable the highly sensitive detection of perchlorate. Students fabricate and utilize their own electrodes in the 3-4 h laboratory session to learn important concepts and methods of…

Learning about the water situation in other regions of the world and the devastating effects of floods on drinking water helps students study science while learning about global water quality. This article provides science activities focused on developing cultural awareness and understanding how local water resources are integrally linked to the…

Science education should foster students' epistemological view on models and modelling consistent with formal epistemology in science and technology practices. This paper reports the application of a curriculum unit in the classroom using an authentic chemical practice, "Modelling drinking water treatment", as the context for learning.…

The analysis of drinking water for lead, which has well-known health effects, is presented as an instructive example for undergraduate chemistry students. It allows the students to perform an experiment and evaluate to monitor risk factors and common hazard of everyday life.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a plastic monomer and plasticizer and is a chemical that has one of the highest volume production worldwide, with more than six billion pounds each year. Its primary use is the production of polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins used to line metal cans in a host of plastic consumer products such as toys, water pipes, drinking…

In science education, students should come to understand the nature and significance of models. In the case of chemistry education it is argued that the present use of models is often not meaningful from the students' perspective. A strategy to overcome this problem is to use an authentic chemical modelling practice as a context for a curriculum…

Describes a simple way to demonstrate the principles involved in a drinking water plant. This demonstration developed for a general public lecture can be used in chemistry and biology courses for an ecological and environmental emphasis. (HM)

Describes a four-week laboratory module for an introductory chemistry course that focuses on the analysis of trace levels of xenoestrogenic pesticides in local drinking water and a comparison of the molecular shapes of these pesticides to the hormone estrogen. (WRM)

Describes students' activities in introductory chemistry to fulfill their requirement for service learning. Explains the investigation of the causes for the foul taste of drinking water coming from a specific fountain. (YDS)

Presents a three-day mini unit on purification of drinking water that uses the learning cycle approach. Demonstrates the typical technology that water companies use to provide high-quality drinking water. (JRH)

In response to a provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 which called for a study that would serve as a scientific basis for revising the primary drinking water regulations that were promulgated under the Act, a study of the scientific literature was undertaken in order to assess the implications for human health of the constituents of…

The goal of this mini-curriculum is for students to discover what drinking water really is. Five units are designed to be presented as a lecture and to allow 30 to 40 students to perform every procedure, each testing their own tap water sample. Games are provided in each section to reinforce the concepts presented in each unit. Unit 1 introduces…

The program is a terminal course in chemistry for 9-12 grade students who are non-science majors, low achievers, and/or American Indians. Its objectives include to provide a systematic and practical overview of the discipline of chemistry; to change student behavior through this knowledge; to develop social responsibility, scientific attitude, and…