Colours, smells and sounds

Chemistry is a central science and connects several peripheral disciplines. In fact, it can be described as a giant banyan tree spreading its branches all around. A look at how chemistry touches everything from ‘salt to camphor’.

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The chemical complexity of life

Is everything that has the tag of ‘chemical’ bad? Are there no good chemicals? The fact is nobody really knows — not the doctors, not the scientists. The problem is that the human body is very complex and its interaction with the environment impossible to clarify. People are exposed to a vast array of compounds and how they interact with each other and with the naturally present compounds in the body defies analysis. This article highlights the fact that the numbers are important and everything chemical is not necessarily bad.

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An infusion of enthusiasm

How can teachers build on the natural curiosity of children and make chemistry a subject that students can enjoy learning? Involvement, humour and wonder can be powerful in helping students understand the subject. Here are a few tips that teachers can use to make their chemistry classes interesting.

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Acid or base? The colour tells it all

Demonstrations are the soul of chemistry teaching. These help trigger discussions and questions so that children enjoy watching the demos and also learn the concepts thoroughly. This article outlines a few demonstrations related to acid-base chemistry which is one of the first topics to be taught in chemistry. All the experiments are doable .

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Perspectives and challenges

Science teachers in Yadgir district of Karnataka come together to discuss their approaches to teaching chemistry and find solutions to their problems. A summary of these discussions.

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Statues, pigments and maps

What does history tell us about chemistry, and chemistry about history? Behind each question is a fascinating story and since history is a record of stories of human ingenuity and frailty, chemistry has a lot to say about history. Discover in this article some fascinating insights into the history-chemistry link.

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The birth of elements

There is much more to the stars that twinkle in the sky. They contain several elements and compounds and there are mechanisms by which these elements are synthesised inside the stars. Read all about the mystery behind stars.

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Back to basics: the structure of DNA

The concept of the DNA structure gives teachers an opportunity to integrate elementary concepts from chemistry. This article highlights some of these concepts as being necessary to understand if students wish to engage in biochemistry.

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