Our aim is to put emphasis on chemistry and history of chemistry understanding in secondary school classrooms.
With this in mind, on Saint Albert‘s day 200912, the Technical Section of Education from the CBC in collaboration with the Faculty of Chemistry from the University of Barcelona prepared some activities directed to secondary school students about the classification of elements that link the history of chemistry to the present day.
To relate to the history of chemistry, it is necessary that we go back to 1934, to classroom 111 in the historical building of the University of Barcelona. In this classroom, after a proposal by professor García Banús, a periodic table was painted on one of the walls. This periodic table had the same structure, symbols and colours than the periodic table from Andreas von Antropoff13.
10 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1996 was awarded jointly to Robert F. Curl Jr., Sir Harold W. Kroto and Richard E. Smalley "for their discovery of fullerenes" and professor Josep Font i Cierco, chemistry from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. http://www.uab.es [accessed February 27, 2011]
11 The Catalan Board of Chemists (CBC), Col·legi Oficial de Químics de Catalunya. www.quimics.cat [accessed 20 october 2010]. In addition, the Catalan Board of Chemists‘ publication is named News for Chemists, Notícies per a Químics.
12 Saint Albertus Magnus or Doctor universalis was declared in 1941 by Papal decree the Saint Patron of all who cultivate the natural sciences. In Spain Saint Albert‘s day is the 15th November.
13 On this point see Eric R. Scerri, (2007) The periodic table: its Story and its Signifiance. Oxford University Press, Oxford; Eric R.Scerri (2009) Selected papers on The Periodic Table. E. Scerri Ed. University of California, Los Angeles, USA. And also, Claudi Mans (2009)
In addition, at that time in this classroom, professor García Banús put up a lecture hall with a big laboratory table with water facilities to be able to set up and present chemical experiments in front of the students. This allowed chemistry teachers to have a lecture and also to perform experiments while giving theory explanation. It was the first lecture hall used as a laboratory classroom in the University of Barcelona.
As time passed and the painted periodic table colours were fading, a restoration was needed. When we moved forward to the 21st century, the University of Barcelona decided to restore von Antropoff‘s periodic table. On 3rd April 2009 this renovated periodic table was shown again to the university members and general public14.
This important restoration was combined with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first presentation in society of the ―periodic table of the chemical elements‖ by Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev in 1859, one of the most important episodes in the history of chemistry15.
These two events gave CBC in collaboration with the University of Barcelona the opportunity to prepare some activities around Saint Albert‘s day to involve secondary school students, chemistry and its history. These activities tried to engage the majority of secondary school chemistry teachers so that they could motivate more and more secondary school students.
The history of chemistry can raise new options to secondary school science teachers to increase science knowledge to many secondary school students. It is necessary to continue building bridges between chemistry and its history or between science and its history16. With this approach, we get more teachers involved with the history of chemistry explanations.
Methodology
The CBC and the University of Barcelona sent a letter, addressed to the chemistry teaching staff of secondary schools, proposing two different activities to commemorate Saint Albert‘s day.
First activity
The first activity was developed in science classrooms. Students had to work on the periodic table of the chemical elements and its history starting before Mendeleev‘s periodic table (an organization of macroscopic chemical properties of the chemical elements according to their atomic weight), continuing with Andreas von Antropoff‘s periodic table (an organization of the chemical elements according to their atomic number) and finishing with the standard periodic table that present day students use (chemical properties are an approximate manifestation of the electronic configurations of the atoms of the elements). For a review see Eric R. Scerri 2009, footnote number 13.
Teachers and students could work on the general vision of the periodic table of elements from the Zaragoza &
Fernández-Novell‘s text17, that was sent in pdf format to secondary school science teachers. In this article Mendeleev‘s periodic table was used to teach chemistry and to discuss the properties of the elements predicted before they were discovered. The study of Andreas von Antropoff‘s periodic table was supported by a Claudi Mans‘ article18 in the magazine Notícies Per a Químics, News for Chemists, edited by the CBC. In this article, which was also sent to all secondary school chemistry teachers, the history of the periodic table painted in the University of Barcelona, its restoration and the recent history of chemistry from the University of Barcelona was exposed.
La taula periòdica de l‘edifici històric de la universitat de Barcelona. Notícies per a Químics, 446, 5-10. Furthermore, you can visit
Claudi Mans‘ web site, www.angel.qui.ub.es/mans/Documents/Textos/ [accessed July 16, 2010]
14 See Josep M. Fernández-Novell (2009) La taula periòdica de l‘aula Garcìa Banös The Periodic Table from Garcìa Banös‘ classroom.
Notícies per a Químics, 446, 11-12.
15 See Isaac Asimov (1985) Nueva guía de la ciencia. Plaza & Janés Editores. Barcelona. Translation from Asimov‘s New guide to science. Basic Books, Inc. New York 1960 and Isaac Asimov (1986) La búsqueda de los elementos. Plaza & Janés Editores.
Barcelona. Translation from The search for the elements. Basic Books, Inc. New York (1962).
16 See Carme Zaragoza & Josep M. Fernández-Novell (2006) Bridging the gap between secondary school and the History of Science: an educational experience. In: M. Kokowski (Ed.), The global and the local: The History of Science and the Cultural Integration of Europe.
Proceedings of 2nd ICESHS (Cracow 6-9 September 2006). pp. 160-165.
17 See Carme Zaragoza & Josep M. Fernández-Novell (2008) Teaching Chemistry Through History: The Importance of The Periodic Table.
In: Bertomeu, Thorburn, Van Tiggelen (ed.) Neighbours and Territories the Evolving Identity of Chemistry , Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on the History of Chemistry.(Leuven, 2007) Belgique, pp. 685-693.
18 See footnote number 13.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the ESHS, Barcelona 2010 129
Second activity
The second activity took place in classroom 111 of the historical building of the University of Barcelona, where the restored periodic table and its history was showed, presented and explained to everybody. This presentation was performed in front of secondary school chemistry teachers, theirs pupils and the general public who attended the session.
Results
Participation
All data in the table were obtained from the information that the secondary school teaching staff had sent to the organizers.
The welcome and participation of schools in these activities were important. As it can be observed in this table, the participation was of more than 1500 students, boys and girls, between 15 and 18 years old. Doubtlessly, they transmitted their motivations and interests in chemistry and its history to their parents and friends.
Table 1. Results 2009
Participating Schools 54 Secondary School Students 547 High School Students 971
Total. 1518
The second activity took place in classroom 111 of the historical building of the University of Barcelona, and it was related to the presentation of recent history of chemistry to students and general public. The considerable participation of secondary school science teachers and students in this event showed the importance of linking the evolution of chemistry in the city of Barcelona, the University of Barcelona and secondary school students from Barcelona.
Working questions
Several examples of questions posed and worked in classroom by secondary school chemistry teachers are presented:
How can you explain the differences between von Antropoff‘s and Mendeleev‘s periodic tables? Remember that in Mendeleev‘s times chemists didn‘t know about the atoms electronic configuration (teacher‘s suggestion).
Who were Newlands, Döbereiner and Meyer?
Could you write a little story about the classification of elements?
Could you write a little story about the discovery of elements?
How was chemical knowledge passed on from generation to generation?
Controversies between the ancient idea of element and 19th century element classification.
Which concepts guided chemical investigations?
Which were the last elements found by Seaborg?
Each teacher worked on these activities in the best way for their students. So, as well as Mendeleev and von Antropoff‘s periodic tables, pupils worked on Dôbereiner‘s ―triads‖, Newlands‘ ―octaves law‖ and Meyer‘s ―elements classified by valence‖. They have to answer some questions about the history of the atom, the elements and the periodic table. These questions are related to the students‘ level: last years of compulsory secondary school students (15-16 years old) and non-compulsory secondary school students (17-18 years old).
It is important to realize that students‘ works, their classroom discussions about the historical discovery of the elements and their classification related to von Andropoff‘s periodic table were very successful (teacher‘s information).
Working the differences
Secondary school students found few differences between Mendeleev‘s and von Antropoff‘s periodic table of elements, summarized as:
Mendeleev‘s periodic table was proposed supposing the property of atomic weight constant for each element, and Mendeleev‘s historical support was based on the fact that his predictions were successful. However, in the early twentieth century the property of atomic number was chosen as more appropriate.
The view that the periodic table should be thought of primarily as an organization of macroscopic chemical properties of the elements, rather than as a tool for accessing the electronic structure of the atoms of elements, is important to present the history of the periodic table to young pupils. Secondary school students must be taught that the elements classification was prepared when chemists didn‘t know about the electronic configuration of the atoms of elements.
Secondary school students found many differences between von Antropoff‘s periodic table, represented in the figure below, and the current periodic table that appears in their secondary school textbooks.
Surprisingly for secondary school students, von Antropoff‘s periodic table has an element with number 0, that is no protons and no electrons but only neutrons. It was a hypothetical element predicted by von Antropoff that doesn‘t exist. At this point students and teachers could discuss the importance of mistakes and controversies in chemistry evolution, because the advance of science involves not only established conclusions, but also strong controversies. Even mistakes could be helpful in chemistry education.
The group of noble gases has doubled; there is one column in each side of the periodic table.
The restored von Andropoff’s periodic table at the University of Barcelona, with the points that need an explanation.
In this periodic table appeared three empty places: numbers 61, 85 and 87. These three elements were not discovered by 1934. These elements are: 61 Promethium (Pm), 85 Astatine (At) and 87 Francium (Fr). Students easily understand that the number of the discovered elements is period-depending and, for this, the discovery of elements is increasing with time up to the present day.
There have been many changes in the elements symbols from von Antropoff‘s periodic table to now:
Number 43 before 1934 was thought to be the element Masurium, represented as Ma, but was synthesized in 1937 as the Technetium element, represented as Tc.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the ESHS, Barcelona 2010 131
Number 53 Iodine was represented as J because its name in old German language is Jod, now represented as I.
Number 54 Xenon was represented as X, now as Xe.
Number 69 Thulium was represented as Tu, now as Tm.
Number 71 was thought until 1950 to be the element Cassiopeium, represented as Cp, but now it is named as Lutetium, Lu.
Number 86 was named Radium Emanation from 1910 to 1960 and was represented as Em, now it is the element Radon, Rn.
Clarifying these differences increased students‘ interest in chemistry and its history, they were asking for an explanation that they put in context with the history.
Conclusions
Collaboration between the CBC and the University of Barcelona allows the dissemination of the history of chemistry within Catalonian secondary schools.
Finding links between the history of chemistry, the history of science and the present day is a prerequisite to involve young students in this venture.
Working with a restored painted periodic table and the 150th anniversary commemoration of the social presentation of Mendeleev‘s periodic table was a good help for science teachers to spread the history of chemistry.
This project allowed us to involve more teachers, more secondary schools, more classrooms and more secondary school students in disseminating the history of chemistry. A lot of secondary school chemistry teachers presented the history of chemistry in their chemistry courses.
As Kuhn proposed, the history of chemistry produces a crucial transformation in the image of chemistry in young students. The majority of secondary school students that had participated in these activities got a better and more positive image of chemistry and the history of chemistry; they could spread this image to their family and friends.
Acknowledgements:
We want to thank secondary school science students and their chemistry teachers from Catalonia for their collaboration. And Mr. Gideon Coetzee for his contribution on the English manuscript.