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This issue is particularly interesting because I learned that at the turn of the 20th century there was mutual animosity between organic and physical chemists. Neither group appreciated or accepted the methods of the other. I had heard about the troubles of analytical chemists in getting accepted as a separate division in the academic world, but I never realized that organic chemists had to face some of the same issues. Why this is important personally is that I see similar resistance by current academic chemists who fail to fully accept chemical education as a viable research area.
Then I learned about the golden age of classical organic chemistry from Bernal’s article. The time was around 1860–1900, prior to the turn of the 20th century when there was a great debate about whether large molecules could even exist. Fischer even went so far as to suggest that substances with molecular weight higher than 5000 probably did not exist, and von Baeyer stated, “the field of organic chemistry is exhausted….” Not true! See Bernal’s article to learn how the concept of macromolecule developed. He makes reading about colloidal behavior and the aggregate theory of “micelles” very interesting. As an aside, Bernal tells us how James B. Conant championed teaching the history behind science lessons.
While much of this June issue is devoted to the latest in organic chemistry, don’t despair if organic is not your calling. There are many other articles that will be of interest to you. Knowing the origins of the terminology we use is important and also provides great stories to pass along to your students. If you are interested in the origin of the term allotrope, see William Jensen’s Ask the Historian column. If you have questions about the historical origins of a symbol, name, concept, or experimental procedure, all you have to do is ask Bill Jensen!
Language of Organic Chemistry
Organic chemistry is a fascinating subject, providing us with many useful products that have some very interesting names. The articles by Donahue and Bernal have given me a new appreciation for the soapy concoction we know as grease. I never knew that there was so much to learn about grease! Much of today’s organic chemistry influences what we teach, and while more and more general chemistry textbooks use organic molecules to pique student interest, are your students well versed enough to understand basic organic nomenclature? Palacios describes how to construct an Octachem model to help them begin to learn basic organic naming.
Many teachers also use the Molecule of the Week (MOTW)—usually organic compounds/macromolecules—from the ACS Web site to stimulate students interest. By copying and pasting a simple JavaScript code, you can add MOTW to your own Web site.1 Try out the MOTW Archive,2 or even suggest your own MOTW. The American Chemical Society’s “new vision” is “Improving people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry.” Much of this power is going to come from knowing about organic chemistry and sparking the interests of your students by giving them an open-ended approach to delve into how various models work (see Gimbel and Wedlock).
Announcements
The seventh volume in the Chemistry Comes Alive! (CCA!) series is available. It highlights flames and explosions and was showcased at the recent National Science Teachers Association national meeting in Anaheim. To find out how to order your very own copy of this newest volume, go to the JCE Online Store.
Have you completed your registration for the upcoming 19th BCCE at Purdue, July 30–August 3? Registration opened the first week of May…so it’s time to complete your registration and reserve your living accommodations in West Lafayette, IN. See the conference Web site for all the necessary details. See you in Boilermaker land!
Notes
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Support Your Molecule of the Week!—American Chemical Society (accessed Apr 2006).
- Archive MOTW: chemistry.org—American Chemical Society (accessed Apr 2006).
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Citation
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