Green Chemistry

The historian of science may be tempted to exclaim that when paradigms change, the world itself changes with them. Led by a new paradigm, scientists adopt new instruments and look in new places. Even more important, during revolutions scientists adopt new instruments and look in new places. ¹

Introduction

As educators, it is imperative to teach students the fundamentals and concepts of what we are directed to teach. It is also extremely important to be able to teach students what the context of what they are learning has on their daily lives in the present and in their future. The basic understanding of chemistry and the role it plays is an essential part of middle school education. This understanding helps better prepare students for the rigors of high school chemistry and also provides an understanding of how the natural world operates in relation to that of the synthetic world of the chemist. It is with these thoughts of basic chemistry that this unit unfolds before you as it encompasses an understanding of what students already are familiar with while also providing them with the understanding of some new principles that will change the course of chemistry forever.

Green Chemistry brings about a fundamental difference in how the chemical process is treated. It is the cutting edge of the chemical industry today and can fundamentally change our lives for the better in the future by assessing environmental concerns today. Once one understands the twelve principles of Green Chemistry that have been established it becomes painfully obvious how this form of chemical synthesis should have been established for many years. Based on the roles of normal science and how science evolves over time, Green Chemistry, relates to why change in science can sometimes take so long, while other times can seem explosive. ² Chemistry as it is practiced today has changed little with the processes used over one hundred years ago. The Green Chemistry approach is changing how the chemical industry creates new products for use and is slowly creating a revolution in the industry that will forever change how chemistry is practiced. ³ This will be achieved when it is embraced universally by chemists and consumers everywhere.

It is due to the nature of what Green Chemistry has to offer that it becomes vital for students of this day and age to know, understand, and practice the principles of Green Chemistry in their daily lives so they become the first of a full generation to practice this concept. ⁴ This is not designed to make them future chemists; it is designed with the dogmatic approach to teach them these new concepts so they may be aware of better use and practice of chemistry in the real world so they may become outspoken advocates of the movement in their future.

The following unit is designed to take existing form of chemistry education and expand upon it by including this revolutionary new approach. The target audience for this is an 8 ^{t h} grade science classroom. It is intended to be used during the instruction of basic chemistry as an extension to the curriculum guidelines already established. By following this plan, the students in my class will achieve all of the state standards of Georgia (see appendix) while also teaching a new and exciting subject that has yet to become part of the standards. The unit should be integrated into the daily rituals of learning basic chemistry; the subject matter will be used in pieces over a four to five week period before finally culminating in a student project that will be done independent of class time.