Expanding the Educational Toolset for Chemistry Outreach: Providing a Chemical View of Climate Change through Hands-On Activities and Demonstrations Supplemented with TED-Ed Videos

Solaire A. Finkenstaedt-Quinn, Natalie V. Hudson-Smith, Matthew J. Styles, Michael K. Maudal, Adam R. Juelfs, Christy L. Haynes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Climate change is a scientifically and chemically complex issue with both global and local impact. Public understanding and awareness of climate change are crucial for building support to address causes and impacts; unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans do not understand the basic science behind climate change. This trend applies even to first-year college students in general chemistry courses. To address this knowledge gap, we have developed a bimodal activity to teach students about the chemistry of climate change. Awareness of the impacts of light-matter interactions, properties that determine albedo and reflectivity, and properties of gases are crucial to understanding climate change. The program described herein shows promise in educating students on these topics. This program utilizes TED-Ed videos, simple demonstrations, and hands-on activities that can be reproduced in a classroom setting to supplement chemistry courses or in public outreach events.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)985-990
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Chemical Education
Volume95
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 12 2018

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Center for Chemical Innovation Program grant CHE-1503408 for the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. NVHS acknowledges the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program (No. 00039202). M.K.M was supported by the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Program of the National Science Foundation under Award Number DMR 1559833 and through the University of Minnesota MRSEC under Award Number DMR-1420013.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Keywords

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • High School/Introductory Chemistry
  • Multimedia-Based Learning
  • Nonmajor Courses

MRSEC Support

  • Partial

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