You looked at Science News stories, Molecules of the Week, and Consumer Products this semester.
For your Final Science News assignment, post the following on the Chem 1A Blog:
1. Your name and lab section,
2. In one paragraph, describe your perception of science and chemistry now compared to the beginning of the semester. Do you view science and chemistry the same or differently as a result of this assignment and course?
Due Saturday, 12/10/22 at noon.
Reply: Now that you have posted your 2 Consumer Products of the Week, read your fellow classmate’s Consumer Products of the Week on the Chem 1A Blog. “Reply” to the Consumer Products of the Week (not your own) that you find most interesting. In your Reply, post the following:
1. your name and lab section,
2. one sentence on why you found this Consumer Products of the Week interesting.
Due Saturday, 12/3/22, noon.
Blog: As of last week (Week of 11/14/22), you should have recorded 2 Consumer Products of the Week.
Post the following information on the Chem 1A Blog:
1. Your name and lab section,
2. List the name and brand (company that makes the product) of your Two (2) Consumer Products of the Week,
3. For One (1) Consumer Product, give a one sentence description (or speculation) of the scientific principles that are involved in the product and how these scientific principles make the product work.
OR
3. one sentence supporting or refuting the claims of the advertisement.
Due Sunday, 11/28/21, 4 pm.
Consumer Product of the Week: We buy and use products at home and at work that serve many purposes. How do these products work? Do they work as advertised? Starting the week of 11/7/22, you will find a Consumer Product that you use and use your knowledge of science or chemistry or both to describe how it works.
Continuing to use the same notebook that you used for your science news stories and “Molecules of the Week” (you should have 3 news stories and 3 “Molecules of the Week” at this time), record your consumer product. I expect you to record at least one consumer product each week. I will collect and read your findings at various times during the semester. Or, I will select students at random to report to the class what they have found. Or, I will have you trade your notebook with another student so that others can see what you have been doing.
For each consumer product:
1. Give the brand name of the product.
2. Summarize how the product works or how advertisements claim the product works.
3. Then, describe (or speculate) the scientific principles that are involved in the product and how these scientific principles make the product work.
Or
3. support or refute the claims of the advertisement. For example, an antacid advertisement claimed that this antacid “consumes x times its weight in excess stomach acid”, Coors Artic Ice beer is spelled incorrectly (should be Arctic, not Artic), some shampoos claim to be pH balanced.
Please keep current with this ongoing assignment. Each finding should only take a few minutes to complete; I do not expect more than a few sentences for each substance.
Blog reply: Now that you have posted your 3 Molecules of the Week, next read your fellow classmate’s Molecules of the Week on the Chem 1A Blog. “Reply” to the Molecule of the Week (not your own) that you find most interesting. In your Reply, post the following:
1. your name and lab section,
2. one sentence on why you found this Molecule of the Week interesting.
Due Saturday, 11/5/22, noon.
Blog: As of last week (Week of 10/17/22), you should have recorded 3 Molecules of the Week.
Post the following information on the Chem 1A Blog:
1. Your name and lab section,
2. For each Molecule of the Week (3 total),
a. Give the name and chemical formula,
b. One sentence on where you heard of or found the substance,
c. One sentence summary on why you think this substance is useful to society or is interesting to you.
Due Saturday, 10/29/22, noon.
Molecule of the Week: Now that you are familiar with science news, the next part of this assignment will be more specific to chemistry. Starting the week of 10/3/22, you will find a “Molecule of the Week”. This Molecule (or ionic compound or element or mixture) must be found in something you use at home or at your work, a substance you read or heard about in the news, or a substance that interests you. For example, calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is found in Tums antacid tablets.
Using the same notebook that you used for your science news stories (you should have 3 news stories), record your “Molecule of the Week”. I expect you to record one substance each week. I will collect and read your findings at various times during the semester. Or, I will select students at random to report to the class what they have found. Or, I will have you trade your notebook with another student so that others can see what you have been doing.
For each substance:
1. record where you found or heard of this substance.
2. give the generic or commercial name of the substance, its chemical name, and its chemical formula.
3. summarize briefly why you think this substance is useful to society or is interesting to you.
Please keep current with this ongoing assignment. Each finding should only take a few minutes to complete; I do not expect more than a few sentences for each substance. There are Molecule of the Week websites.
Blog Reply: Now that you have posted your most interesting Science News Story on the Chem 1A blog, read your fellow classmate’s Science News Stories. “Reply” to the Science News Story (not your own) that you find most interesting. In your Reply, post the following:
- your name and lab section,
- one sentence on why you found this Science News Story interesting.
Due Saturday, 10/1/22, noon.
Blog: As of last week (Week of 9/12/22), you should have recorded 3 Science News stories. Choose your most interesting News Story and post the following information on the Chem 1A Blog:
1. Your name and lab section,
2. Title of story, source of story, and date story was published,
3. One sentence summary of story,
4. One sentence speculation on why story was reported and how reliable is the information.
Due Saturday, 9/24/22, noon.
Science News: We read newspapers, watch and listen to news shows and programs. Nowadays, technology, e.g., information technology and electronics technology, are terms that are frequently used and heard. Why is science and technology so important to be reported in the news? Why is a particular story newsworthy?
For this assignment, you will keep a notebook/file/record of science news stories. I expect you to record at least one news story each week. I will collect and read your findings at various times during the semester. Or, I will select students at random to report to the class what they have found. Or, I will have you trade your notebook with another student so that others can see what you have been doing.
For each news story:
1. record where (newspaper, news magazine, TV news, radio news, internet site) and when (date) you read or heard the story.
2. Summarize the story in one sentence.
3. Then, speculate why the story was reported and how reliable is the information. For example, politicians want to show how concerned they are about the environment, or corporations want to show how technologically advanced they are, or a scientific society is meeting in town, or a project needs more funding. The story may be a regular science feature, filler to fit an empty spot, or straight news. Occasionally, a story contains mistakes in scientific facts or principles. Report these mistakes if you find them and provide a correction if possible. The reliability of information is based on its source. Do you believe the source? Would you use this source as a reference? With the explosion of sites on the internet, how do you know how “good” these claims or information are?
Please keep current with this ongoing assignment. Each finding should only take a few minutes to complete; I do not expect more than a few sentences for each story.