A Winter's Entertainment, XI
Chemistry is a funny subject. . .
While many students think there is nothing funny about having to take chemistry, their teachers often find that humor is indeed a good way to get and hold their attention while they make points that would otherwise be given scant notice. A teacher who is not afraid to make a fool of him or herself often finds he or she has actually gained more interest and respect from students than one who remains aloof and implies chemistry is only for the sober and decorous. Espousing this viewpoint, Eberhart (page 1076) declares "...anything a professor can do to create a positive classroom environment is well worth the effort" and relates how he uses jokes, cartoons, and funny songs (including one he wrote himself) to make pchem more palliative. Williams (page 1123) also advocates using humor but has the students supply it instead. At the beginning of their general chemistry course they are invited to submit limericks on topics being discussed; he chooses the best and reads them in class to provide enlivening breaks in the lecture. A sampling is given in the article. While general chemistry and pchem certainly are associated with tedium, to many students the greatest yawner is the required safety seminar at the beginning of the class. Hill and Greco (page 1126) have turned the tables on the normal procedure of reciting a list of do's and don'ts by creating a hilarious skit in which the participants (played by faculty members) manage to break every known safety admonition in a 15-minute period. Students are challenged to find the most violations and the winner is given a prize. Needless to say, a combination of watching faculty do the unthinkable along with the potential for a reward produces a rapt and enthusiastic audience.
Chemists may be portrayed in the press as having no interest in the human or the humorous, but in reality they do a good job of poking fun at themselves, their subject, and each other. Exasperated with listening to badly presented papers at meetings and aware that the guides to successful presentations are obviously being ignored by many, Bunnett (page 1119) has chosen irony as his tool in "Techniques for Spoiling Your Own Scientific Talk". Many of our readers will be able to recall presenters who have managed to follow each of these rules in excruciating detail; some may even want to post this in a prominent place in their own departmental seminar rooms (possibly anonymously). Another amusing view of scientists comes from Sherritze (page 1117), a book editor who relates her introduction to science publishing and scientists from the viewpoint of a tolerant outsider finding her way through a maze of "chem speak".
The differences in perspective among the natural and social scientists is entertainingly laid out by Vemulipalli (page 1122) in his story of how each explains why the chicken crossed the street. Karlik (page 1075) adds a light note to atmospheric chemistry with his definitions of lesser known compounds such as JOx and LOx. And anyone who thinks chemists can't take a joke needs to read the comic description Spargo (page 1134) provides of his own foibles and adventures in trying to dispose of a SO2 cannister, a story that could well serve as another how-many-safety-violations-can-you-spot contest.
Chemistry is sure puzzling. . .
Puzzles and games also are good pedagogic devices for enlivening a classroom and many have humorous components as well. The most elaborate puzzle in this issue is the one presented to Sherlock Holmes in "The Problem of Woolstharp Prison" (page 1090). These "Chemical Adventures" by Rybolt and Waddell have become an annual tradition, and we hear reports of teachers using them in the classroom to the delight of their students and readers who anticipate them for their own enjoyment. Also in this issue, Mattern (page 1092) offers another "Elemental Anagram" and Helser adds two more biochemistry rebuses (pages 1098 and 1124) to the series he started several years ago. A pedagogically oriented game is offered in this month's Trading Post feature by Tejada and Palacios (page 115), who have turned the periodic table into a bingo card and use it to involve students in the discovery of periodic properties. For those who want a really challenging puzzle, Stout (1125) offers one created by nature: complex redox equations known to exist but difficult to balance on paper.
Chemistry has lots of bright colors and goes bang!
Chemists have one advantage over many of their academic colleagues: they can invigorate even the most reluctant class with a properly done and eye-catching demonstration. In this month's Tested Demonstrations column, Elsworth (page 1128) presents three that are designed particularly for their entertainment value for a wide range of audiences; each also has a pedagogic side that makes it useful for classroom discussions. Clyde (page 1130) describes a familiar demonstration that went unexpectedly amok, presenting both a puzzle and a warning. The well-known iodine sublimation demonstration is adapted for the overhead projector by Goldsmith (page 1132).
The colors associated with acid-base chemistry are fascinating and many of the indicator compounds can be derived naturally from plants. Kanda, Asano, Itoh, and Onoda (page 1131) have devised a method for making beads their students have named "chameleon balls" from these compounds; the bead have the advantage of being easily portable and able to repeat their colorful changes several times. Equally colorful are the flash papers that Solomon, Hur, Lee, and Smith (page 1133) have found a quick way to make. Their bright ephemeral flames have many teaching applications, but we can also see them delighting friends at an (outdoor) holiday party--they may realize chemists do not have "colorless" personalities after all!
|
Citation
