Welcome to Quandary This! Chemistry in the News, where we will investigate a new topic each month. This series guides students through reading literature, answering questions, and citing sources, helping develop the skills they need for the workplace.
We are excited to launch our new ACS Axial series, Quandary This! Chemistry in the News. This series is designed to help you, the chemistry educator, and your students explore the fascinating world of chemistry as it relates to real-world events and current news stories. Whether it is the latest breakthrough in renewable energy, new medical treatments, or the environmental impact of industrial processes, we will highlight related ACS journal articles, historic industry news, and related books that illuminate the chemical principles and reactions that shape our world.
Easy Course Integration
Communication is a critical part of science education. Educators, administrators, accrediting bodies, and industry partners alike have all shared the growing importance of undergraduate students being able to find topics within chemical literature, consume the content, and most importantly—apply the information gained. This forms the foundation for students to be able to clearly communicate their work.
This series will provide ample content for educators to integrate literature into their science curriculum using current events. By highlighting newsworthy science, instructors capture students’ attention and spark interest in science. The questions included in each article provide an opportunity for students to expand their reading, research, and fact-checking skills, which prepares them to find their own answers in the workplace.
Engaging Explorations for Students of All Levels
To make this series more educational for students, we will include recommended reading and a set of questions after the topic summary. These questions will be tailored to various levels of chemistry experience and knowledge:
- Quick answer: Questions will require students to search literature for simple answers. Recommended reading will be included, so students will have a reliable place to start looking. For example, students may be asked to figure out what compound is being investigated in an article.
- Analysis: Students will need to demonstrate a rudimentary level of understanding of technical reading, such as a journal article or patent, to answer the advanced questions. For example, we may ask what innovation is being patented, and students will need to differentiate innovation from prior art.
- Short Essay: We will also include an essay prompt, allowing students to show the breadth of their understanding of the topic area while also allowing them to find and cite sources of information they find on their own.
We share in the goal of ensuring students graduate with the capability to read scientific discoveries, find answers, and investigate beyond what is already known. For those interested in maintaining a ACS-approved chemistry program, this includes ensuring graduates have the professional competencies to work in a professional setting. This series provides a unique way for instructors to engage their students and check that students of all levels can use the tools chemistry professionals in the field use daily.
Citing Sources
Credible and reliable information is critical.We encourage educators to ask their students to cite their sources, in ACS style, for each answer they supply. This is particularly important when they are answering the advanced questions and the essay and potentially expanding their references beyond the recommended reading.
Each Quandary This! article provides links to example citations to help students recognize and practice proper citation techniques—which are crucial for academic and professional success.
Be Alerted to New Quandaries!
There are a few ways to find out when the newest quandary is available. The easiest way is to sign up for our monthly Education Insider newsletter and get alerted for new releases in this series. We will also update our series posts with the latest episodes, or you can use the search feature above for the latest Quandary This! Chemistry in the News updates.
We look forward to starting this journey and helping students improve their research skills as they prepare for the workplace.
Read the Latest Quandaries
Quandary This! The Science of Urban Fires and the Chemicals That Stop Them