Weapons of Mass Destruction: It Is All about Chemistry

Abstract

Discussion about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has increased since so many saw the World Trade Towers collapse. The term evokes anxiety, political debate, and ethical concerns. But, what are WMD and how do the work? The topics involved with WMD touch many areas of chemistry, including general chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry. A discussion of WMD can be brought into the classroom in many subjects. These subjects correlate with the curriculum and stimulate students to engage with chemistry content.

Using Pop-Culture to Engage Students in the Classroom

“…Breaking Bad, a crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan in 2008 122 for AMC, also offers numerous opportunities for use in classroom. The chemist protagonist, Walter White, chooses to stop using his chemistry skills to teach for an immoral world of drugs, death, destruction and destabilization 123 Many other references from this series can be used for illustration, such as the reaction of hydrofluoric acid with silicon material (bath tube), the chemical composition of the human body (63 % hydrogen, 26 % oxygen, 9 % carbon, 1.25 % nitrogen, 0.04 % sodium, 0.25% of calcium, 0.00004% iron and 0.19 % phosphorus), chirality of molecules and its possible consequences (such as Thalidomide 125,126 ), explosives, and ricin poisons 127 . As discussed later, an activity with such a controversial series must be well supervised by educators.…”

“…Many other references from this series can be used for illustration, such as the reaction of hydrofluoric acid with silicon material (bath tube), the chemical composition of the human body (63% hydrogen, 26% oxygen, 9% carbon, 1.25% nitrogen, 0.04% sodium, 0.25% of calcium, 0.00004% iron, and 0.19% phosphorus), the chirality of molecules and its possible consequences (such as thalidomide , ), explosives, and ricin poisons . As discussed later, an activity with such a controversial series must be well supervised by educators.…”

Introducing the Journal of Chemical Education’s Special Issue on Chemical Security

“…We are honored to serve as Guest Editors for this Special Issue on Chemical Security . Although the Journal of Chemical Education has published stand-alone articles related to chemical security in the past, − the effort here is to holistically address the topic of chemical security education to provide the chemical education community with a collection of resources on this topic. This diverse issue provides many lessons, thoughts, and approaches, but it will not conclusively answer the questions above.…”

Chemical Weapons Education in the Analytical Chemistry Curriculum: A Case-Based, Active-Learning Approach

“…The OPCW understands education and outreach to be critical to peace-making efforts and encourages teaching strategies that expose students to the topics of chemical weapons and multiple uses of chemicals. , Publications in this Journal have highlighted opportunities to incorporate the topic of chemical weapons in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry courses. , The project presented here expands on these previously reported educational materials by contextualizing chemical weapons education in a case-based, active-learning project in the advanced analytical chemistry curriculum.…”