Using NASA and the space program to help high school and college students learn chemistry. Part I. The shuttle and our living earth

Abstract

In this age of rapidly changing video images, MTV, and fast-moving commercials, both the high school and college educator, as never before, require tools that capture attention, instill curiosity, arouse questioning, and generate new challenges for students. Teachers who have incorporated ideas from NASA and the space program into their chemistry lessons have noted that students enjoy learning about material regarding, for example, the chemistry of the space shuttle. Discussion of the propulsion system on the shuttle not only raises technical questions but also, if the discussion is properly directed, ties chemistry to many social and economic issues.We will show, for example, how the reactions that describe the combustion of the shuttle's solid rocket fuel teach students about stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and acid-base chemistry and force them to address a host of environmental concerns.

Chemistry in the comics: Part 1. A survey of the comic book literature.

“…(2) A solid fuel and a solid oxidizer. Solid propellants, such as aluminum powder (fuel) and ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer), have been employed by NASA (25,26).…”

Lunar Resource Harvesting and Manufacturing: Rich Content for the Chemistry Classroom

“…As noted in various texts and articles, the electrolysis of water and the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen are also excellent topics relating to harvesting and use of lunar water. − Other student activities related to harvesting and utilizing water from the lunar regolith include: Investigate how a cold trap works and explain how the phase transitions of water could be used convert water vapor into ice using a thermal capture tent Explain how electrolysis could be used to convert water ice into liquid hydrogen (LH) and liquid oxygen (LOX).…”

An Experiential Learning Chemistry Course for Nonmajors Taught through the Lens of Science Fiction

“…The teaching of science through fiction has been previously explored. − For example, Brown et al argue for the use of Captain America to “set the pedagogical stage” of the courses . Jack Stocker put forth the chemical nature of a number of classical science fiction stories to make the connections between fiction and reality readily available for educators .…”