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In the spring of 2002, we taught a 16-contact-hour course “Chemistry
Today” (1) to 133 undergraduate students from
years 1 to 3 in Tianjin University and Nankai University. They come from 29
majors, of which 48.9% are from chemistry and chemical engineering. The students
are very interested in the course, and on the final examination one of the
test questions is: “What is the biggest problem in chemistry? Please
design your program to resolve it.” The analysis of the students’ views
is given in Table 1.
Table 1. Chinese Students' Responses to
the Biggest Problem in Chemistry Problem | Number of
Students | Percentage
(%) | Environment | 79 | 59.4 | Energy resources | 17 | 12.8 | New chemical theories | 12 | 9.0 | New experimental methods | 9 | 6.8 | Applied in production | 7 | 5.3 | Synthesis of new compounds | 5 | 3.8 | Chemical education | 4 | 3.0 | From Table 1 it is clear that most students think the biggest problem in chemistry is environmental pollution. The environment problem includes several aspects, such as chemical production, water, food, air, solid waste, automobiles, and so on. We are happy to know that there are 15.8% students interested in developing new chemical theories and chemical experiment methods. The energy resources problem is mainly divided into two sections: one is how to find new energy resources; the other is how to use the energy resources more effectively and safely. We feel gratified that there are only 3.0% students who consider that the biggest problem in chemistry is chemical education. Most of the students confirm that the problems in chemistry are connected with each other, and they will be solved well in future, which mainly depends on the development of new chemical theories and experiment methods, and chemistry must combine with the knowledge of other scientific fields. Literature Cited- Breslow, R. Chemistry Today and Tomorrow—The Central, Useful and Creative Science; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1997.
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