Introduction

Ever wondered what's in toothpaste or how marshmallow Peeps are made? What's so special about those new fabrics that claim to keep you cooler as you work out? Many of the fundamental principles behind designing and making items we use every day are based in the science of chemistry. How better to learn about properties of matter, physical and chemical changes, and simple chemical reactions than through the objects and materials students use every day?

Learning chemistry should start in grade school—or at least it ought to, according to the National Science Education Standards. Elementary grades chemistry learning starts with a macroscopic world of observable phenomena. As students progress, they should move to the abstract world of molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles and the symbolic and mathematical world of chemical formulas, equations, and symbols.

In the middle grades, students should examine changes of state, solutions, and simple chemical reactions. They need to develop the knowledge and experience that will allow them to define the properties of chemical compounds and elements. Middle school laboratory investigations of the properties of substances and their changes through various chemical interactions will provide a basis for the high school student to understand diverse types of chemical reactions and their applications.

The National Science Education Standards provides an example of the standards in action in a story of a how a teacher taught the concepts of properties of substances such as boiling point, solubility, and density while encouraging his students to observe, discuss, write, and test ideas—Funny Water.

The resources selected for this publication will help your students understand chemistry at work, using examples that will spark their interest. A basic understanding of chemistry concepts and terminology will prepare them for more abstract studies in chemistry in their high school years and beyond.

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Copyright June 2007 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.