in this issue

What's It Good For?

"What's i t good for?" is a question we see being asked about science these days. "What's i t good for?" asks the stu- dent about a difficult concept, implying that the lesson could be just a trick to snare the unwary rather than a challenging route to useful information. "What's i t good for?' ask administrators about student laboratory classes and research projects, not sure if there is true pedagogic value to these expensive cumcular items. 'What's i t good for?" asks the taxpaying public about state-supported re- search projects that do not seem to hear any relationship to daily life. In part Science, as an institution, has brought this on itself. Scientists have represented their work as having direct benefits for humankind and have solicited public monies for research on the basis that the public will see their lives enhanced by the results. Unrealistic expec- tations coupled with scientific illiteracy have led to a skep- ticism that emanates not only from the general populace but also from the science student and school administra- tions. Teachers realize that in order to retain credibility they must address this issue in their classrooms and in their committee meetin~s. This issue contains articles that provide interesting ansnws and information tbr those con- fronted with the auestion: 'What's it c r d for'?'. whether it is asked about a specific chemical concept or about the en- tire discipline.

The most direct approach is taken by Whisnant (page 191, who uses the question as the title of his article and answers i t with a set of application problems that he has devised for his physical chemistry class. The problems are designed to be done in class by groups of students just be- fore maior exams and are drawn from articles in the recent llterat;re that show how the material in the course 1s used by chemist.;. l i t udd LO the vtrisim~l~tude ofthe s~tuation, students not only need to make calculations but also must ask for information or decide what measurements are needed before they are given data. Two samples of these problems are given in detail for those who wish to emulate the approach.

The more abstract the concept, the more likely students are to perceive i t as being useless. The phase rule, encoun- tered initially in general chemistry and in detail in physi- cal chemistry courses, qualifies easily for this criterion. Usually introduced through the phase diagram for water, the concept must seem to many students to be another ex- ample of how science takes something simple (aRer all, they think they already know when water boils and freezes), and makes it more complicated (who cares how

long it takes to boil a n egg on Mt. Whitney?). Even in ad- vanced courses, physical chemistry students seldom see how phase diagrams can be used in many practical situa- tions. Laughlin (page 26) has addressed this lack in un- dergraduate courses with an article on phase science that shows both how to apply the phase rule in a multitude of systems and gives real life examples of areas in which it is very useful. To help teachers a t the introductory level, he gives examples that are familiar to the novice, showing how the phase diagram for a salkwater mixture can be used to control road deicing and to produce ice cream and going on to explore the sucrose-water system and fudge- making.

An on-going feature in this Journal, What's the Use by Banks, is designed for teachers who want to present some information on the properties, availability, importance, and real-world uses of the chemical elements. This month the featured element is aluminum (page 18).

While some hostility toward science stems from not see- ing any practical application for it, some derives from a perception that the application of science has negatively affected our lives. This view results both from unrealistic expectations and from an inability to separate social deci- sions from technological ones. The introductory chemistry course is an ideal opportunity for teachers to provide a more balanced view of the benefits and limitations of sci- entific endeavor. Mahaffy (page 52) points out that the textbooks for these courses should he a major factor in pro- viding this view and has done an extensive analysis to de- termine how well they do their job. He examines the use of photographs and illustrations, how the books cover the his- tory of chemistry, and how they explain the scientific method, the personal dimension of science, and the role of chemistry in society.

While the general public may have many misperceptions about the value of research to society, chemists themselves are not immune to unexamined assumptions on this topic. I t has long been asserted that the research activity of a faculty member makes him or her more proficient in the classroom. However, a study by Luehrs and Brown (page 35) that relates research activity (as measured by publica- tions) to student evaluations found there was no correla- tion. While this report in no way negates the value of uni- versity research in training graduate chemists, i t does indicate that the question "What's it good for?" may need to be applied more often to current trends in higher educa- tion, such as those discussed this month i n Editorially Speaking (page 1).

2 Journal of Chemical Education