A NATURAL APPROACH TO CHEMISTRY

AUTHORED BY: DR. TOM HSU, DR. MANOS CHANIOTAKIS AND DAN DAMELIN

PROGRAM FEATURES
A Natural Approach to Chemistry is a complete learning system consisting of a textbook, a full-color lab manual, and an equipment package which includes:

• A reliable, rugged and easy to use probe system that:

1. measures temperature and pH by colorimetry and by voltage for electrochemistry
2. Is easy to set up and has automatic probe recognition and calibration
3. Both graphs and numbers!
4. Is rugged, reliable and spill-resistant

• A temperature-controlled heating unit that boils 20ml of water in less than 3 minutes, safely, with no open flames
   
• A 3-axis (RGB) spectrophotometer which allows students to explore reaction dynamics, pH reactions, and other aspects of chemistry

Students are taught how and why chemistry occurs using the overarching themes of energy, atoms and systems. More traditional content, such as states of matter, reactions, pH, electrochemistry and stoichiometry are also covered extensively.

Examples throughout the course emphasize the importance of chemistry in the human body, the environment, and in the laboratory.

A Natural Approach to Chemistry takes a fresh look at how chemistry is used today, in and out of the laboratory. Experiments have been developed that allow the program to do real, quantitative chemistry, using only non-toxic chemicals that are easy to dispose of.

Traditional chemistry classrooms are not required to teach this course. Fume hoods are not required and open flames are not used.

The course builds on a foundation of physics and is an ideal follow-up to a ninth grade physics program.

Reading and math levels are appropriate for grades 10-12 and the course satisfies high school content standards for chemistry.

COURSE OVERVIEW
Chemistry is all around us. Chemistry is us. We eat it. We drink it. We breathe it. So what is Chemistry? It is the complex choreography of atoms and molecules that sustains life. Chemistry is both how we create the materials of human technology, and how the natural world builds and renews itself.

A Natural Approach to Chemistry incorporates the “Five-E” model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate). It provides a well-tested structure for the program’s pedagogy. Concepts progress from hands-on observation in the lab (engage, explore), to conceptual understanding of what happened (explain, elaborate), and finally to rigorous quantitative analysis (evaluate). This approach teaches problem solving and critical thinking skills in a manner that has proven to be far better than the “theory-followed by verification” model used by most traditional chemistry texts.

The labs use a hands-on, guided-inquiry approach to build student understanding. Chapters begin with an exploratory lab which is designed to engage students in the concepts in the chapter.

Chapters close with a summative lab, which asks students to put concepts together to explain a more challenging phenomenon, often with quantitative analysis using their own data.

A Natural Approach to Chemistry emphasizes (and builds from) the foundational concepts of atoms, systems, and energy. The program is an ideal follow-up to a ninth grade physics (or physical science) program.

LabMaster System Includes:

• 1  LAB-MASTER SYSTEM:
        · RGB Spectrophotometer
        · Temperature Probe (NAC-P0051)
        · Voltage Probe (NAC-P0052)
        · Test Tube Heater (NAC-P0040)
        · Data Collection System
• 1  Condenser with Mounting Ring
• 1  Molecular Model Kit
  4  Ob-Scertainers
• 3  Atom Model Board (w/marbles)
• 1  Spectroscopy Card Set
• 1  Dimensional Analysis Card Set
• 8  25 mm test tube
• 8  15 mm test tube
• 1  Foam test tube insulator
• 16  Cuvettes
• 1  Cuvette/Test Tube Rack
  
• 2  Rubber stoppers
• 1  Stopper w/glass tube
• 1  Pressure cap
• 2  Ring stand clamps
• 1  LED; High Efficiency Red
• 1  100mL beaker, PMP
• 1  250mL beaker, PMP
• 1  10 mL graduated cylinder
• 1  100mL graduated cylinder, PMP

For complete program information and sample pages from the student book and teacher's guide, please visit http://www.ANaturalApproachToChemistry.com.