Between Two Worlds
I remember as a kid watching the 1966 science fiction movie Fantastic Voyage. The film is about a submarine crew who are shrunk to microscopic size and go inside the body of an important injured scientist to help save his life. Their journey takes them from their everyday macroscopic world to the microscopic world of cells. I was fascinated by the special effects of the movie. It shows the microscopic submarine crew swimming among red blood cells, and through arteries and veins.
I would recall this movie years later when I took my first Biology class in school. As we studied parts of human anatomy, my mind would flash back to the scenes from this movie. These reflections made the study of biology much more alive and real for me.
In Chemistry, students are spending time in the course, studying submicroscopic objects like protons, neutrons and electrons. I believe the key for your students in developing a true appreciation and understanding of this alien world of subatomic particles is to let them see its connection to their macroscopic world of the senses. For example, in the submicroscopic world if it is known that an atom has 96 protons, macroscopically this material with have a solid, orange, metallic appearance, and can be used to create things like jewelry, medals and electronics. You have the element gold.
A small change sub microscopically can have a dramatic change in the macroscopic world. If that gold atom gains just one more proton, and goes to proton number 97, all the macroscopic properties of this material change. The material will now have a grey appearance and be a poisonous, liquid at room temperature. You have the new element mercury.
The early alchemists of science unsuccessfully attempted to change certain “base” metals like iron into “noble” metals like gold. But with the incredible advancements of nuclear chemistry, we see topics like radioactive decay show us the ability for one element to “magically” turn into another element all the time. In the process of Beta Emission, a neutron spontaneously ejects an electron and turns itself into a proton, increasing its atomic number by 1! That is the real magic of the universe.
The study of electron configurations is another topic where the two worlds: submicroscopic and macroscopic, can be connected in many ways. The placement and number of electrons around the nucleus of a particular element can change the macroscopic properties of reactivity, magnetism, and conductivity. Also this incredibly small world of the electron can be viewed indirectly through the use in the macroscopic world of spectroscopes and the study of atomic spectra.
I believe when you teach chemistry it is very critical to continually take your students on the fantastic voyage. Take them on a journey between the two worlds. As they learn and study the submicroscopic world of chemistry in your room, make sure you provide plenty of connections to their more familiar macroscopic world.
When you teach a topic in chemistry do students see connections between the topic taught and the outside world? How can you make more of these connections for students on a daily basis?
