Organic Nomenclature and Safety of Chemical Products
Contributors
Summary
This is a discussion prompt where students find a molecule they use in a personal care product, cleaning product, or processed food. They find the structure, relate components of the name to aspects of the structure, look up the product on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) or FDA websites, and look up the molecule in PubChem. At the end, they need to decide whether they are happy with their product or if they want to find an alternative.
Keywords
Safety Precautions, Hazards, and Risk Assessment
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Teacher Recommendations or Piloting Data (if available)
I use this as a prompt on a class discussion board in the LMS we use (Canvas). I instruct students that they are not allowed to repeat someone else's molecule so they must read through what has already been posted and pick a new molecule. I encourage them to read and discuss each other's entries, which sometimes leads to robust discussion and other times silence, depending on the class. I have used this in both 1-semester and 2-semester organic classes, around the time that we talk about nomenclature. It could be used in other ways, as a homework assignment or as part of larger group projects about chemical safety or green chemistry.
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