Abstract: Chemistry and chemical education at the turn of the century: changing goals, methods and generations. Chemistry and chemical education of the 21st century Modern system of chemical olympiads
Zavyalova F.D., chemistry teacherMAOU "Secondary School No. 3" with in-depth study of individual subjectsnamed after Hero of Russia Igor Rzhavitin, Revda
The role of chemistry in the modern world? Chemistry is a field of natural science that studies the structure of various substances, as well as their relationship with the environment. Chemical education is of great importance for the needs of mankind. In the second half of the 20th century, the state invested in the development of chemical science, as a result of which new discoveries in the field of pharmaceutical and industrial production appeared, in connection with this the chemical industry expanded, and this contributed to the emergence of a demand for qualified specialists. Today, chemical education in our country is in an obvious crisis.
Now at school there is a consistent squeezing out of natural sciences from the school curriculum. The time for studying natural science subjects has been reduced too much, the main attention is paid to patriotic and moral education, confusing education with upbringing, as a result, school graduates today do not understand the simplest chemical laws. And many students think that chemistry is a useless subject and will not be of any use in the future.
And the main goal of education is the development of mental abilities - this is memory training, teaching logic, the ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships, building models, and developing abstract and spatial thinking. The natural sciences, which reflect the objective laws of the development of nature, play a decisive role in this. Chemistry studies different ways of directing chemical reactions and the variety of substances, therefore it occupies a special place among the natural sciences as a tool for developing the mental abilities of schoolchildren. It may happen that a person will never encounter chemical problems in his professional activity, but by studying chemistry at school the ability to think will develop.
Studying foreign languages and other humanities alone is not enough to form the intellect of a modern person. A clear understanding of how some phenomena give rise to others, drawing up an action plan, modeling situations and searching for optimal solutions, the ability to foresee the consequences of actions taken - all this can only be learned on the basis of natural sciences. This knowledge and skills are necessary for absolutely everyone.
The lack of this knowledge and skills leads to chaos. On the one hand, we hear calls for innovation in the technological sphere, deepening the processing of raw materials, and introducing energy-saving technologies; on the other hand, we observe a reduction in natural science subjects in school. Why is this happening? Unclear?!
The next most important goal of school education is preparation for future adult life. A young man must enter it fully armed with knowledge about the world, which includes not only the world of people, but also the world of things and the surrounding nature. Knowledge about the material world, about substances, materials and technologies that they may encounter in everyday life is provided by natural sciences. Studying only the humanities leads to the fact that teenagers cease to understand the material world and begin to fear it. From here they escape from reality into virtual space.
Most people still live in the material world, constantly in contact with various substances and materials and subjecting them to various chemical and physical-chemical transformations. A person gains knowledge of how to handle substances in chemistry lessons at school. He may forget the formula for sulfuric acid, but he will handle it with care throughout his life. He won’t light a cigarette at a gas station, and not at all because he saw gasoline burning. It was just that at school, during a chemistry lesson, they explained to him that gasoline has the ability to evaporate, form explosive mixtures with air and burn. Therefore, it is necessary to devote more time to mastering chemistry, and I believe that it was in vain to reduce the hours for studying chemistry in schools.
Natural science classes prepare students for their future profession. After all, it is impossible to predict which professions will be most in demand in 20 years. According to the Department of Labor and Employment, today professions related to chemistry top the list of the most in demand in the labor market. Nowadays, almost all products that people use are in one way or another connected with technologies that use chemical reactions. For example, fuel purification, use of food coloring, detergents, pesticides for fertilizer and so on.
Professions related to chemistry are not only specialists working in the oil refining and gas production industries, but also those professions that can guarantee work in almost any region.
List of the most popular specialties:
- A chemical technologist or process engineer can always find a place in the city’s production. Depending on the training profile, he can work in food or industrial enterprises. The main task of this specialist is to control product quality, as well as introduce innovations into production.
- An environmental chemist, every city has a department that monitors the environmental situation.
- A cosmetologist chemist is a very popular profession, especially in those regions where there are large cosmetic enterprises.
- Pharmacist. Higher education gives you the opportunity to work in large companies producing medicines; you can always find a place in a city pharmacy.
- Biotechnologist, nanochemist, alternative energy expert.
- Forensics and forensic medical examination. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also needs chemists, there is always a position for a full-time chemist, their knowledge can help in catching criminals.
- The profession of the future is researchers of alternative energy sources. After all, the oil supply will soon run out, and the same will happen with gas, so the demand for such specialists is growing. And maybe in 10-20 years, chemists in this field will top the list of the most sought-after specialists.
The main requirements for modern specialists are a good memory and an analytical mind, creativity, innovative ideas, a creative approach and an unconventional look at familiar things. The study of chemistry plays a major role in the formation of these skills and abilities. And a person deprived of a natural science education base is easier to manipulate.
Unlike all other living beings, man does not adapt to environmental conditions, but changes it to suit his needs. A sharp increase in the population of the planet occurred after the great discovery of chemists, the invention of antibiotics and the beginning of their production on an industrial scale.
Taking into account all of the above, I think that it is necessary to increase the number of hours spent studying chemistry, and start getting acquainted already in the junior level.
If at the beginning of the last century education was understood as learning to count, read and write, then a century later we understand this concept as ensuring the fulfillment of human needs for development. Education for us has become a sustainable development, and it must be of high quality.
Literature:
- Russian Academy of Sciences - about the Mendeleev Congress in Yekaterinburg
- What chemistry should be studied in a modern school? — Genrikh Vladimirovich Erlikh - Doctor of Chemical Sciences, leading researcher at Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov.
Chemical and chemical-technological education, a system for acquiring knowledge in chemistry and chemical technology in educational institutions, and ways of applying them to solving engineering, technological and research problems. It is divided into general chemical education, which ensures mastery of knowledge of the fundamentals of chemical science, and special chemical education, which equips with knowledge of chemistry and chemical technology necessary for specialists of higher and secondary qualifications for production activities, research and teaching work both in the field of chemistry and related fields. with it the branches of science and technology. General chemical education is given in secondary schools, secondary vocational schools and secondary specialized educational institutions. Special chemical and chemical-technological education is acquired in various higher and secondary specialized educational institutions (universities, institutes, technical schools, colleges). Its tasks, volume and content depend on the profile of training of specialists in them (chemical, mining, food, pharmaceutical, metallurgical industries, agriculture, medicine, thermal power engineering, etc.). The chemical content varies depending on the development of chemistry and production requirements.
Improving the structure and content of chemical and chemical-technological education is associated with the scientific and pedagogical activities of many Soviet scientists - A. E. Arbuzov, B. A. Arbuzov, A. N. Bakh, S. I. Volfkovich, N. D. Zelinsky , I. A. Kablukova, V. A. Kargina, I. L. Knunyants, D. P. Konovalova, S. V. Lebedeva, S. S. Nametkina, B. V. Nekrasova, A. N. Nesmeyanova, A E. Porai-Koshits, A. N. Reformatsky, S. N. Reformatsky, N. N. Semenov, Y. K. Syrkin, V. E. Tishchenko, A. E. Favorsky and others. New achievements of chemical sciences are highlighted in special chemical journals that help improve the scientific level of chemistry and chemical technology courses in higher education. The magazine “Chemistry at School” is published for teachers.
In other socialist countries, the training of specialists with chemical and chemical-technological education is carried out at universities and specialized universities. The major centers of such education are: in the National Republic of Belarus - Sofia University, Sofia University; in Hungary - University of Budapest, Veszprém; in the GDR - Berlin, Dresden Technical University, Rostock University, Magdeburg Higher Technical School; in Poland - Warsaw, Lodz, Lublin universities, Warsaw Polytechnic Institute; in the SRR - Bucharest, Cluj universities, Bucharest, Iasi polytechnic institutes; in Czechoslovakia - University of Prague, Prague, Pardubice Higher School of Chemical Technology; in the SFRY - Zagreb, Sarajevo, Split universities, etc.
In capitalist countries, the major centers of chemical and chemical-technological education are: in Great Britain - Cambridge, Oxford, Bath, Birmingham universities, Manchester Polytechnic Institute; in Italy - Bologna, Milan universities; in the USA - California, Columbia, Michigan Technological Universities, University of Toledo, California, Massachusetts Institutes of Technology; in France - Grenoble 1st, Marseille 1st, Clermont-Ferrand, Compiegne Technological, Lyon 1st, Montpellier 2nd, Paris 6th and 7th universities, Laurent, Toulouse polytechnic institutes; in Germany - Dortmund, Hanover, Stuttgart universities, Higher Technical Schools in Darmstadt and Karlsruhe; in Japan - Kyoto, Okayama, Osaka, Tokyo universities, etc.
Lit.: Figurovsky N. A., Bykov G. V., Komarova T. A., Chemistry at Moscow University for 200 years, M., 1955; History of Chemical Sciences, M., 1958; Remennikov B. M., Ushakov G. I., University education in the USSR, M., 1960; Zinoviev S.I., Remennikov B.M., Higher educational institutions of the USSR, [M.], 1962; Parmenov K. Ya., Chemistry as an academic subject in pre-revolutionary and Soviet schools, M., 1963; Teaching chemistry using a new curriculum in high school. [Sat. Art.], M., 1974; Jua M., History of Chemistry, trans. from Italian, M., 1975.
From April 28 to April 30, 2014, the All-Russian scientific conference with international participation on the topic: “Chemistry and chemical education. XXI century”, dedicated to the memory of Doctor of Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member. RANS Nikolai Kaloev.
Scientists from Moscow State University, Samara State Regional University, Kabardino-Balkarian, Chechen, Ingush State Universities and, of course, our university will present their scientific works dedicated to the great science of chemistry.
Today marked the opening ceremony of the conference, followed by the first plenary session of the three-day event. The vice-rector of SOGU S.S. Galazova addressed the participants of the event with a greeting, then the dean of the Faculty of Chemical Technology Fatima Agayeva spoke. Being one of the organizers of such a significant forum, she spoke about the invaluable contribution of Nikolai Kaloev to the development of chemistry in North Ossetia-Alania.
“Today we opened the first conference held by the Faculty of Chemical Technology. It is dedicated to the memory of our first dean, head of the department of inorganic and analytical chemistry Nikolai Iosifovich Kaloev - our teacher, the man who inspired us to engage in science and instilled in us a love for teaching. Without exaggeration, we can say that almost all the current employees of our faculty are his students,” noted Fatima Aleksandrovna.
Head of the Laboratory of Physical and Chemical Analysis named after. DI. Mendeleev, professor of Samara University Alexander Trunin spoke about the development of physical and chemical analysis of multicomponent systems using innovative technologies in Samara. I remembered such historical figures significant for science as Peter 1, Mikhail Lomonosov...
Professor of the Department of Organic Chemistry of SOGU Vladimir Abaev presented his report at the conference on the new synthesis of indoles based on furan derivatives, and Lera Alakaeva, Professor of the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry of KBSU, discussed innovative technologies for training broad-spectrum analytical chemists at KBSU.
Among the invited guests at the plenary session were the daughters of Nikolai Kaloyev - Zalina and Albina Kaloyev.
“It is very pleasant that the conference is held in honor of the memory of our father. At one time, he also devoted a lot of time and effort to science, treated graduate students with great love, apparently this bore fruit. We are grateful to the conference organizers, participants, and students for adequately appreciating our father’s work. Thanks a lot!" - noted Zalina Kaloeva.
After the plenary session, the participants continued their work, only this time at the Faculty of Chemical Technology. After all the reports were read, the participants were divided into groups in order to work in sections. The first day of the conference ended with a tour of Vladikavkaz for the participants. The next two days of the conference “Chemistry and Chemical Education. XXI Century" promises to be no less interesting.
Performance at the second
Moscow Pedagogical Marathon
educational subjects, April 9, 2003
Natural sciences around the world are going through difficult times. Financial flows are leaving science and education for the military-political sphere, the prestige of scientists and teachers is falling, and the lack of education of the majority of society is rapidly growing. Ignorance rules the world. It comes to the point that in America, right-wing Christians are demanding the legal abolition of the second law of thermodynamics, which, in their opinion, contradicts religious doctrines.
Chemistry suffers more than other natural sciences. Most people associate this science with chemical weapons, environmental pollution, man-made disasters, drug production, etc. Overcoming “chemophobia” and mass chemical illiteracy, creating an attractive public image of chemistry is one of the tasks of chemical education, the current state of which in Russia we want to discuss.
Modernization program (reforms)
education in Russia and its shortcomings
The Soviet Union had a well-functioning system of chemical education based on a linear approach, with the study of chemistry beginning in middle school and ending in high school. An agreed scheme for ensuring the educational process was developed, including: programs and textbooks, training and advanced training for teachers, a system of chemical olympiads at all levels, sets of teaching aids (“School Library”, “Teacher’s Library” and
etc.), publicly available methodological journals (“Chemistry at school”, etc.), demonstration and laboratory instruments.
Education is a conservative and inert system, therefore, even after the collapse of the USSR, chemical education, which suffered heavy financial losses, continued to fulfill its tasks. However, several years ago, a reform of the education system began in Russia, the main goal of which is to support the entry of new generations into the globalized world, into the open information community. To achieve this, according to the authors of the reform, communication, computer science, foreign languages, and intercultural learning should occupy a central place in the content of education. As we see, there is no place for natural sciences in this reform.
It was announced that the new reform should ensure a transition to a system of quality indicators and education standards comparable to the world. A plan of specific measures has also been developed, among which the main ones are the transition to 12-year schooling, the introduction of a unified state exam (USE) in the form of universal testing, the development of new education standards based on a concentric scheme, according to which by the time they graduate from the nine-year school, students should have a holistic understanding about the subject.
How will this reform affect chemical education in Russia? In our opinion, it is sharply negative. The fact is that among the developers of the Concept for the Modernization of Russian Education there was not a single representative of natural science, therefore the interests of the natural sciences were completely not taken into account in this concept. The Unified State Exam in the form in which the authors of the reform conceived it will spoil the system of transition from secondary school to higher education, which universities created with such difficulty in the first years of Russian independence, and will destroy the continuity of Russian education.
One of the arguments in favor of the Unified State Exam is that, according to reform ideologists, it will ensure equal access to higher education for various social strata and territorial groups of the population.
Our many years of experience in distance learning, associated with the Soros Olympiad in Chemistry and part-time admission to the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University, shows that distance testing, firstly, does not provide an objective assessment of knowledge, and secondly, does not provide students with equal opportunities . Over the 5 years of the Soros Olympiads, more than 100 thousand written works in chemistry passed through our department, and we were convinced that the general level of solutions very much depends on the region; in addition, the lower the educational level of the region, the more decommissioned works were sent from there. Another significant objection to the Unified State Exam is that testing as a form of knowledge testing has significant limitations. Even a correctly designed test does not allow an objective assessment of a student’s ability to reason and draw conclusions. Our students studied the Unified State Exam materials in chemistry and discovered a large number of incorrect or ambiguous questions that cannot be used for testing schoolchildren. We came to the conclusion that the Unified State Examination can be used only as one of the forms of monitoring the work of secondary schools, but in no case as the only, monopolistic mechanism for access to higher education.
Another negative aspect of the reform is related to the development of new education standards, which should bring the Russian education system closer to the European one. The draft standards proposed in 2002 by the Ministry of Education violated one of the main principles of science education - objectivity. The leaders of the working group that compiled the project proposed thinking about abandoning separate school courses in chemistry, physics and biology and replacing them with a single integrated course “Natural Science”. Such a decision, even if made for the long term, would simply bury chemical education in our country.
What can be done in these unfavorable internal political conditions to preserve traditions and develop chemical education in Russia? Now we move on to our positive program, much of which has already been implemented. This program has two main aspects - content and organizational: we are trying to determine the content of chemical education in our country and develop new forms of interaction between chemical education centers.
New state standard
chemical education
Chemical education begins at school. The content of school education is determined by the main regulatory document - the state standard of school education. Within the framework of the concentric scheme adopted by us, there are three standards in chemistry: basic general education(grades 8–9), base average And specialized secondary education(grades 10–11). One of us (N.E. Kuzmenko) headed the working group of the Ministry of Education to prepare standards, and by now these standards have been fully formulated and are ready for legislative approval.
When starting to develop a standard for chemical education, the authors proceeded from the development trends of modern chemistry and took into account its role in natural science and in society. Modern chemistry
– this is a fundamental system of knowledge about the world around us, based on rich experimental material and reliable theoretical principles. The scientific content of the standard is based on two basic concepts: “substance” and “chemical reaction”.
“Substance” is the main concept of chemistry. Substances surround us everywhere: in the air, food, soil, household appliances, plants and, finally, in ourselves. Some of these substances were given to us by nature in ready-made form (oxygen, water, proteins, carbohydrates, oil, gold), the other part was obtained by man through a slight modification of natural compounds (asphalt or artificial fibers), but the largest number of substances that were previously in nature did not exist, man synthesized them on his own. These are modern materials, medicines, catalysts. Today, about 20 million organic and about 500 thousand inorganic substances are known, and each of them has an internal structure. Organic and inorganic synthesis has reached such a high degree of development that it allows the synthesis of compounds with any predetermined structure. In this regard, it comes to the fore in modern chemistry
applied aspect, which focuses on connection between the structure of a substance and its properties, and the main task is to search and synthesize useful substances and materials with desired properties.
The most interesting thing about the world around us is that it is constantly changing. The second main concept of chemistry is “chemical reaction”. Every second, an innumerable number of reactions occur in the world, as a result of which some substances are transformed into others. We can observe some reactions directly, for example, the rusting of iron objects, blood clotting, and the combustion of automobile fuel. At the same time, the vast majority of reactions remain invisible, but it is they that determine the properties of the world around us. In order to realize one’s place in the world and learn to manage it, a person must deeply understand the nature of these reactions and the laws to which they obey.
The task of modern chemistry is to study the functions of substances in complex chemical and biological systems, analyze the relationship between the structure of a substance and its functions, and synthesize substances with given functions.
Based on the fact that the standard should serve as a tool for the development of education, it was proposed to unload the content of basic general education and leave in it only those content elements whose educational value is confirmed by domestic and world practice of teaching chemistry at school. This is a minimal, but functionally complete knowledge system.
Standard of basic general education includes six content blocks:
- Methods of knowledge of substances and chemical phenomena.
- Substance.
- Chemical reaction.
- Elementary fundamentals of inorganic chemistry.
- Initial ideas about organic substances.
- Chemistry and life.
Basic Average Standard education is divided into five content blocks:
- Methods of learning chemistry.
- Theoretical foundations of chemistry.
- Inorganic chemistry.
- Organic chemistry.
- Chemistry and life.
The basis of both standards is the periodic law of D.I. Mendeleev, the theory of the structure of atoms and chemical bonds, the theory of electrolytic dissociation and the structural theory of organic compounds.
The basic intermediate level standard is designed to provide high school graduates, first of all, with the opportunity to navigate social and personal problems related to chemistry.
IN profile level standard the knowledge system has been significantly expanded, primarily due to ideas about the structure of atoms and molecules, as well as the laws of the occurrence of chemical reactions, considered from the point of view of the theories of chemical kinetics and chemical thermodynamics. This ensures that high school graduates are prepared to continue their chemical education in higher education.
New program and new
chemistry textbooks
The new, scientifically based standard of chemical education has prepared fertile ground for the development of a new school curriculum and the creation of a set of school textbooks based on it. In this report, we present the school curriculum in chemistry for grades 8–9 and the concept of a series of textbooks for grades 8–11, created by a team of authors from the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University.
The chemistry course program at a basic secondary school is designed for students in grades 8–9. It is distinguished from the standard programs currently operating in Russian secondary schools by more precise interdisciplinary connections and precise selection of material necessary to create a holistic natural-scientific perception of the world, comfortable and safe interaction with the environment in production and everyday life. The program is structured in such a way that its main attention is paid to those sections of chemistry, terms and concepts that are in one way or another connected with everyday life, and are not “armchair knowledge” of a narrowly limited circle of people whose activities are related to chemical science.
During the first year of chemistry (8th grade), the focus is on developing students' basic chemical skills, "chemical language" and chemical thinking. For this purpose, objects familiar from everyday life (oxygen, air, water) were selected. In the 8th grade, we deliberately avoid the concept of “mole,” which is difficult for schoolchildren to understand, and practically do not use calculation problems. The main idea of this part of the course is to instill in students the skills of describing the properties of various substances grouped into classes, as well as to show the connection between the structure of substances and their properties.
In the second year of study (9th grade), the introduction of additional chemical concepts is accompanied by consideration of the structure and properties of inorganic substances. A special section briefly examines the elements of organic chemistry and biochemistry to the extent provided for by the state education standard.
To develop a chemical view of the world, the course draws broad correlations between the elementary chemical knowledge acquired by children in the class and the properties of those objects that are known to schoolchildren in everyday life, but were previously perceived only at the everyday level. Based on chemical concepts, students are invited to look at precious and finishing stones, glass, earthenware, porcelain, paints, food, and modern materials. The program has expanded the range of objects that are described and discussed only at a qualitative level, without resorting to cumbersome chemical equations and complex formulas. We paid great attention to the style of presentation, which allows us to introduce and discuss chemical concepts and terms in a lively and visual form. In this regard, the interdisciplinary connections of chemistry with other sciences, not only natural, but also humanities, are constantly emphasized.
The new program is implemented in a set of school textbooks for grades 8–9, one of which has already been printed, and the other is being written. When creating textbooks, we took into account the changing social role of chemistry and public interest in it, which is caused by two main interrelated factors. The first is "chemophobia", i.e., the negative attitude of society towards chemistry and its manifestations. In this regard, it is important to explain at all levels that the bad is not in chemistry, but in people who do not understand the laws of nature or have moral problems.
Chemistry is a very powerful tool in the hands of man; its laws contain no concepts of good and evil. Using the same laws, you can come up with a new technology for the synthesis of drugs or poisons, or you can come up with a new medicine or a new building material.
Another social factor is the progressive chemical illiteracy society at all levels - from politicians and journalists to housewives. Most people have absolutely no idea what the world around them consists of, do not know the elementary properties of even the simplest substances and cannot distinguish nitrogen from ammonia, or ethyl alcohol from methyl alcohol. It is in this area that a competent chemistry textbook, written in simple and understandable language, can play a great educational role.
When creating textbooks, we proceeded from the following postulates.
The main objectives of the school chemistry course
1. Formation of a scientific picture of the surrounding world and development of a natural scientific worldview. Presentation of chemistry as a central science aimed at solving pressing problems of humanity.
2. Development of chemical thinking, the ability to analyze the phenomena of the surrounding world in chemical terms, the ability to speak (and think) in chemical language.
3. Popularization of chemical knowledge and introduction of ideas about the role of chemistry in everyday life and its applied significance in the life of society. Development of environmental thinking and familiarization with modern chemical technologies.
4. Formation of practical skills for safe handling of substances in everyday life.
5. Arousing keen interest among schoolchildren in the study of chemistry, both as part of the school curriculum and additionally.
Basic ideas of a school chemistry course
1. Chemistry is the central science of nature, closely interacting with other natural sciences. The applied capabilities of chemistry are of fundamental importance for the life of society.
2. The world around us consists of substances that are characterized by a certain structure and are capable of mutual transformations. There is a connection between the structure and properties of substances. The task of chemistry is to create substances with useful properties.
3. The world around us is constantly changing. Its properties are determined by the chemical reactions that occur in it. In order to control these reactions, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of the laws of chemistry.
4. Chemistry is a powerful tool for transforming nature and society. Safe use of chemistry is possible only in a highly developed society with stable moral categories.
Methodological principles and style of textbooks
1. The sequence of presentation of the material is focused on studying the chemical properties of the surrounding world with a gradual and delicate (i.e., unobtrusive) acquaintance with the theoretical foundations of modern chemistry. Descriptive sections alternate with theoretical ones. The material is evenly distributed throughout the entire training period.
2. Internal isolation, self-sufficiency and logical validity of the presentation. Any material is presented in the context of general problems in the development of science and society.
3. Constant demonstration of the connection of chemistry with life, frequent reminders of the applied importance of chemistry, popular science analysis of substances and materials that students encounter in everyday life.
4. High scientific level and rigor of presentation. The chemical properties of substances and chemical reactions are described as they actually occur. The chemistry in textbooks is real, not “paper”.
5. Friendly, easy and impartial presentation style. Simple, accessible and competent Russian language. Using “stories”—short, entertaining stories that connect chemical knowledge to everyday life—to facilitate comprehension. Wide use of illustrations, which make up about 15% of the volume of textbooks.
6. Two-level structure of material presentation. “Large print” is a basic level, “small print” is for deeper learning.
7. Widespread use of simple and visual demonstration experiments, laboratory and practical work to study the experimental aspects of chemistry and develop students’ practical skills.
8. Using questions and tasks of two levels of complexity for deeper assimilation and consolidation of the material.
We intend to include in the set of teaching aids:
- chemistry textbooks for grades 8–11;
- guidelines for teachers, thematic lesson planning;
- didactic materials;
- a book for students to read;
- Chemistry reference tables;
- computer support in the form of CDs containing: a) an electronic version of the textbook; b) reference materials; c) demonstration experiments; d) illustrative material; e) animation models; f) programs for solving calculation problems; g) didactic materials.
We hope that the new textbooks will allow many schoolchildren to take a fresh look at our subject and show them that chemistry is a fascinating and very useful science.
In addition to textbooks, Chemistry Olympiads play an important role in developing schoolchildren’s interest in chemistry.
Modern system of chemical olympiads
The system of Chemistry Olympiads is one of the few educational structures that survived the collapse of the country. The All-Union Olympiad in Chemistry was transformed into the All-Russian Olympiad, retaining its main features. Currently, this Olympiad is held in five stages: school, district, regional, federal district and final. The winners of the final stage represent Russia at the International Chemistry Olympiad. The most important from the point of view of education are the most widespread stages - school and district, for which school teachers and methodological associations of cities and regions of Russia are responsible. The Ministry of Education is generally responsible for the entire Olympiad.
Interestingly, the former All-Union Olympiad in Chemistry has also been preserved, but in a new capacity. Every year the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University organizes an international Mendeleev Olympiad, in which winners and prize-winners of chemical olympiads from the CIS and Baltic countries participate. Last year, this Olympiad was held with great success in Almaty, this year in the city of Pushchino, Moscow region. The Mendeleev Olympiad allows talented children from the former republics of the Soviet Union to enter Moscow State University and other prestigious universities without exams. The communication between chemistry teachers during the Olympiad is also extremely valuable, as it contributes to the preservation of a single chemical space on the territory of the former Union.
In the last five years, the number of subject Olympiads has increased sharply due to the fact that many universities, in search of new forms of attracting applicants, began to hold their own Olympiads and count the results of these Olympiads as entrance exams. One of the pioneers of this movement was the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University, which annually conducts correspondence and intramural Olympiad in chemistry, physics and mathematics. This Olympiad, which we called “MSU Entrant”, is already 10 years old this year. It provides equal access to all groups of schoolchildren to study at Moscow State University. The Olympiad takes place in two stages: correspondence and full-time. first - correspondence– the stage is of an introductory nature. We publish assignments in all specialized newspapers and magazines and distribute assignments to schools. Almost six months are allotted for a decision. We invite those who have completed at least half of the tasks to second stage – full-time tour, which takes place on the 20th of May. Written tasks in mathematics and chemistry allow us to determine the winners of the Olympiad, who receive advantages when entering our faculty.
The geography of this Olympiad is unusually wide. Every year, representatives from all regions of Russia take part in it - from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, as well as several dozen “foreigners” from the CIS countries. The development of this Olympiad has led to the fact that almost all talented children from the provinces come to study with us: more than 60% of students at the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University are from other cities.
At the same time, university Olympiads are constantly under pressure from the Ministry of Education, which promotes the ideology of the Unified State Exam and seeks to deprive universities of independence in determining the forms of admission of applicants. And here, oddly enough, the All-Russian Olympiad comes to the aid of the ministry. The ministry’s idea is that only participants in those Olympiads that are organizationally integrated into the structure of the All-Russian Olympiad should have advantages when entering universities. Any university can independently hold any Olympiad without any connection with the All-Russian Olympiad, but the results of such an Olympiad will not be counted towards admission to this university.
If such an idea is formalized into law, it will deal a rather strong blow to the university admission system and, most importantly, to high school students, who will lose many incentives to enroll in the university of their choice.
However, this year admission to universities will follow the same rules, and in connection with this we want to talk about the entrance exam in chemistry at Moscow State University.
Entrance exam in chemistry at Moscow State University
The entrance exam in chemistry at Moscow State University is taken at six faculties: chemistry, biology, medicine, soil sciences, the Faculty of Materials Sciences, and the new Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics. The exam is written and lasts 4 hours. During this time, schoolchildren must solve 10 problems of varying levels of complexity: from trivial, i.e., “comforting” ones, to quite complex ones, which allow differentiating grades.
None of the tasks requires special knowledge beyond what is studied in specialized chemistry schools. Nevertheless, most problems are structured in such a way that their solution requires thinking, based not on memorization, but on knowledge of theory. As an example, we would like to give several such problems from different branches of chemistry.
Theoretical chemistry
Problem 1(Department of Biology). The rate constant for the isomerization reaction A B is equal to 20 s–1, and the rate constant for the reverse reaction B A is equal to 12 s–1. Calculate the composition of the equilibrium mixture (in grams) obtained from 10 g of substance A.
Solution
Let it turn into B x g of substance A, then the equilibrium mixture contains (10 – x) g A and x g B. At equilibrium, the rate of the forward reaction is equal to the rate of the reverse reaction:
20 (10 – x) = 12x,
where x = 6,25.
Composition of the equilibrium mixture: 3.75 g A, 6.25 g B.
Answer. 3.75 g A, 6.25 g B.
Inorganic chemistry
Problem 2(Department of Biology). What volume of carbon dioxide (NO) must be passed through 200 g of a 0.74% solution of calcium hydroxide so that the mass of the precipitate formed is 1.5 g, and the solution above the precipitate does not give color with phenolphthalein?
Solution
When carbon dioxide is passed through a solution of calcium hydroxide, a precipitate of calcium carbonate is first formed:
which can then dissolve in excess CO2:
CaCO 3 + CO 2 + H 2 O = Ca(HCO 3) 2.
The dependence of the mass of sediment on the amount of CO 2 substance has the following form:
If there is a lack of CO 2, the solution above the precipitate will contain Ca(OH) 2 and give a purple color with phenolphthalein. According to this condition, there is no coloring, therefore, CO 2 is in excess
compared to Ca(OH) 2, i.e., first all Ca(OH) 2 is converted into CaCO 3, and then CaCO 3 is partially dissolved in CO 2.
(Ca(OH) 2) = 200 0.0074/74 = 0.02 mol, (CaCO 3) = 1.5/100 = 0.015 mol.
In order for all the Ca(OH) 2 to pass into CaCO 3, 0.02 mol of CO 2 must be passed through the original solution, and then another 0.005 mol of CO 2 must be passed through so that 0.005 mol of CaCO 3 dissolves and 0.015 mol remains.
V(CO 2) = (0.02 + 0.005) 22.4 = 0.56 l.
Answer. 0.56 l CO 2 .
Organic chemistry
Problem 3(chemical faculty). An aromatic hydrocarbon with one benzene ring contains 90.91% carbon by mass. When 2.64 g of this hydrocarbon is oxidized with an acidified solution of potassium permanganate, 962 ml of gas is released (at 20 °C and normal pressure), and upon nitration, a mixture containing two mononitro derivatives is formed. Establish the possible structure of the starting hydrocarbon and write the schemes for the mentioned reactions. How many mononitro derivatives are formed during the nitration of a hydrocarbon oxidation product?
Solution
1) Determine the molecular formula of the desired hydrocarbon:
(C):(H) = (90.91/12):(9.09/1) = 10:12.
Therefore, the hydrocarbon is C 10 H 12 ( M= 132 g/mol) with one double bond in the side chain.
2) Find the composition of the side chains:
(C 10 H 12) = 2.64/132 = 0.02 mol,
(CO 2) = 101.3 0.962/(8.31 293) = 0.04 mol.
This means that two carbon atoms leave the C 10 H 12 molecule during oxidation with potassium permanganate, therefore, there were two substituents: CH 3 and C(CH 3) = CH 2 or CH = CH 2 and C 2 H 5.
3) Let us determine the relative orientation of the side chains: upon nitration, only the para isomer gives two mononitro derivatives:
When the product of complete oxidation, terephthalic acid, is nitrated, only one mononitro derivative is formed.
Biochemistry
Problem 4(Department of Biology). With complete hydrolysis of 49.50 g of oligosaccharide, only one product was formed - glucose, the alcoholic fermentation of which produced 22.08 g of ethanol. Determine the number of glucose residues in the oligosaccharide molecule and calculate the mass of water required for hydrolysis if the yield of the fermentation reaction is 80%.
N/( n – 1) = 0,30/0,25.
Where n = 6.
Answer. n = 6; m(H 2
O) = 4.50 g.
Problem 5(Faculty of Medicine). With complete hydrolysis of the pentapeptide Met-enkephalin, the following amino acids were obtained: glycine (Gly) – H 2 NCH 2 COOH, phenylalanine (Phe) – H 2 NCH(CH 2 C 6 H 5) COOH, tyrosine (Tyr) – H 2 NCH( CH 2 C 6 H 4 OH)COOH, methionine (Met) – H 2 NCH(CH 2 CH 2 SCH 3) COOH. From the products of partial hydrolysis of the same peptide, substances with molecular masses of 295, 279 and 296 were isolated. Establish two possible sequences of amino acids in this peptide (in abbreviated notation) and calculate its molar mass.
Solution
Based on the molar masses of the peptides, their composition can be determined using the hydrolysis equations:
dipeptide + H 2 O = amino acid I + amino acid II,
tripeptide + 2H 2 O = amino acid I + amino acid II + amino acid III.
Molecular masses of amino acids:
Gly – 75, Phe – 165, Tyr – 181, Met – 149.
295 + 2 18 = 75 + 75 + 181,
tripeptide – Gly–Gly–Tyr;
279 + 2 18 = 75 + 75 + 165,
tripeptide – Gly–Gly–Phe;
296 + 18 = 165 + 149,
dipeptide – Phe–Met.
These peptides can be combined into a pentapeptide as follows:
M= 296 + 295 – 18 = 573 g/mol.
The exact opposite sequence of amino acids is also possible:
Tyr–Gly–Gly–Phe–Met.
Answer.
Met–Phe–Gly–Gly–Tyr,
Tyr–Gly–Gly–Phe–Met; M= 573 g/mol.
Competition for the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University and other chemical universities has remained stable in recent years, and the level of training of applicants has been growing. Therefore, to summarize, we assert that, despite difficult external and internal circumstances, chemical education in Russia has good prospects. The main thing that convinces us of this is the inexhaustible flow of young talents, passionate about our beloved science, striving to get a good education and benefit their country.
V.V.EREMIN,
Associate Professor, Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University,
N.E.KUZMENKO,
Professor, Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University
(Moscow)
A chemical element is a collection of atoms with the same charge. How are simple and complex chemical elements formed?
Chemical element
The entire diversity of nature around us consists of combinations of a relatively small number of chemical elements.
In different historical eras, the concept of “element” had different meanings. Ancient Greek philosophers considered four “elements” as “elements” - heat, cold, dryness and moisture. Combining in pairs, they formed the four “principles” of all things - fire, air, water and earth. In the middle of the century, salt, sulfur and mercury were added to these principles. In the 18th century, R. Boyle pointed out that all elements are material in nature and their number can be quite large.
In 1787, the French chemist A. Lavoisier created the “Table of Simple Bodies”. It included all the elements known at that time. The latter were understood as simple bodies that could not be decomposed by chemical methods into even simpler ones. Subsequently, it turned out that the table also included some complex substances.
Rice. 1. A. Lavoisier.
Currently, the concept of “chemical element” is precisely established. A chemical element is a type of atom with the same positive nuclear charge. The latter is equal to the ordinal number of the element in the periodic table.
Currently, 118 elements are known. About 90 of them exist in nature. The rest are obtained artificially using nuclear reactions.
Elements 104-107 were synthesized by physicists. Currently, research is continuing on the artificial production of chemical elements with higher atomic numbers.
All elements are divided into metals and non-metals. Non-metals include elements such as: helium, neon, argon, krypton, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, astatine, oxygen, sulfur, selenium, nitrogen, telurium, phosphorus, arsenic, silicon, boron, hydrogen. However, the division into metals and non-metals is conditional. Under certain conditions, some metals can acquire non-metallic properties, and some non-metals can acquire metallic properties.
Formation of chemical elements and substances
Chemical elements can exist in the form of single atoms, in the form of single free ions, but are usually included in simple and complex substances.
Rice. 2. Schemes for the formation of chemical elements.
Simple substances consist of atoms of the same type and are formed as a result of the combination of atoms into molecules and crystals. Most chemical elements are classified as metallic because the simple substances they form are metals. Metals have common physical properties: they are all hard (except mercury), opaque, have a metallic luster, thermal and electrical conductivity, and malleability. Metals form chemical elements such as magnesium, calcium, iron, copper.
Nonmetallic elements form simple substances classified as nonmetals. They do not have characteristic metallic properties; they are gases (oxygen, nitrogen), liquids (bromine), and solids (sulfur, iodine).
The same element can form several different simple substances with different physical and chemical properties. They are called allotropic forms, and the phenomenon of their existence is called allotropy. Examples include diamond, graphite and carbyne - simple substances that are allotropes of the element carbon.
Rice. 3. Diamond, graphite, carbine.
Complex substances are made up of atoms of different types of elements. For example, iron sulfide is made up of atoms of the chemical element iron and the chemical element sulfur. At the same time, the complex substance in no way retains the properties of the simple substances iron and sulfur: they are not there, but there are atoms of the corresponding elements.
What have we learned?
Currently, 118 chemical elements are known, which are divided into metals and non-metals. All elements can be divided into simple and complex substances. the former consist of atoms of the same type, and the latter - of atoms of different types.
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