Term Essay:

    In your every-day lives, the opinions and actions of students taking chemistry 101 are potentially more influential than those of chemistry majors.  You will be making decisions of a chemical nature in the future that are far removed from the typical chemical laboratory.  As a public servant or citizen, you could be involved with making decisions that might affect the environment.   Or you might need to consider whether substance "X" is or is not a "hazardous" material. It might be up to you how much money is to be spent on a school chemistry laboratory.  Learning how to make informed decisions on these and other issues is part of the aim of this course.  For instance, sources of information may come with biases, and I hope that this course will assist you in accessing the soundness of various sources.  I hope to help you to distinguish the validity of urban legends (alligators in the sewers), the National Enquirer, and Consumer reports.  Thus I ask you to personally engage in one of the following suggestions for an essay assignment for this course. 

      1.  the film "Nuclear Reaction" which will be shown in class.

      2.  the film "Dirty Bomb" which will be shown in class.

      3.  an episode of the TV show "Numbers" about dirty bombs which will be

           shown in class..

      4.  a topic from one of these web sources:

 http://www.levity.com/alchemy/amcl_related_material.html
http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/cow103_01.html
http://www.oss.mcgill.ca/didyknow.php click on "features"
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/MTBASradon.html
http://www.crisismagazine.com/june2002/feature1.htm 
http://www.radonmine.com/pdf/greatfallstribune.pdf             

In all cases, your first task is to listen to or read closely the material you choose and create a precise summary of the points made therein. This summary should take no more than ONE HALF of the first page of your essay This summary will then serve as data for you to analyze, interpret, and/or apply as you consider  how the information might impact your life and the lives of others.  For instance, if you chose the film "Nuclear Reaction" as an essay topic, you will create a short summary and then use this summary as a source to relate how your attitudes about electricity or nuclear energy may have changed.   Or you might choose to exercise your creativity and use these data as a basis for a short story as you imagine how energy (or some chemical) might affect human life in the future.  
     The bottom line goal of this assignment is that a reader of your essay should acquire some new insight that he/she can only gain by reading how YOU interpret these "data" in your own personal essay.

If you need help getting started with your essay,  I suggest that you go to the writing center in the DuBois Library Learning Commons.  They operate on a walk-in basis - no appointment is necessary.  The hours are M and W 10 - 10, Th 10 - 7, and
Sunday 2 - 7.
The Writing Center Website is http://writingprogram.hfa.umass.edu/writingcenter/writingcenter.asp

ESSAYS are due on or before 5:00 p.m. Thursday April 12, 2007.
Essays may be turned in to me in class or at my office (149 Goessmann).  Don't wait until the last minute to begin writing your essay.  You should begin writing your essay as soon as possible after the event that you have chosen, as your observations and opinions will be fresher.

Essays will be returned in class on Thursday, May 10, 2007

Your essay should comprise:
  • Page 1. Title page: please adhere rigidly to the following format for the title page. Deviations form this format will not be accepted for consideration or credit.
      • Upper left: LAST NAME, FIRST NAME
      • Upper right: SPIRE Number
      • Lower right: The Essay Topic You Have Chosen
    Pages 2, 3, 4. Essay: Three pages, typewritten, double spaced.
                     Indicate your information source at the bottom of page 4.