Description
Why Alchemy?
Chemistry has some of its roots in the ancient practice of alchemy. The alchemists experimented with trying to make gold out of ordinary substances. In the process, they learned a great deal about matter and about chemistry. When you understand the nature of matter and its composition, you will be able to answer the question, “Is it possible to turn ordinary substances into gold?”
• what matter is composed of
• to use the language of chemistry
• to decode information contained in the periodic table
• how new substances with new properties are made
• what holds substances together
A number of individuals joined the project as developers for various periods of time along the way to complete this work. Thanks go to these individuals for their contributions to the unit development: Karen Chang, David Hodul, Rebecca Krystyniak, Tatiana Lim, Jennifer Loeser, Evy Kavaler, Sari Paikoff , Sally Rupert, Geoff Ruth, Nicci Nunes, Gabriela Waschewski, and Daniel Quach.
David R. Dudley contributed original ideas and sketches for some of the wonderful cartoons interspersed throughout the book. His sketches provided a rich foundation for the art manuscript.
This work would not have been possible without the thoughtful feedback and great ideas from numerous teachers who field-tested early versions of the curriculum. Thanks go to these teachers and their students: Carol de Boer, Wayne Brock, Susan Edgar-Lee, Melissa Getz, David Hodul, Richard Kassissieh, Tatiana Lim, Evy Kavaler, Geoff Ruth, Nicci Nunes, Gabriela Waschewski, and Daniel Quach.
Dr. Truman Schwartz provided a thorough and detailed review of the fi rst edition manuscript. We appreciate his insights and chemistry expertise.
Thank you everyone at Bedford, Freeman & Worth who contributed to the development of this second edition. Special thanks to Jeff rey Dowling for masterfully guiding the development, to Donald Gecewicz for thoughtful development editing, feedback, and advice, and to Karen Misler for keeping us all on track with expert project management. Th ank you, Sharon Sikora, for help with assessments and appendix material. Finally, thanks go to the publisher Ann Heath, who believed in this program and helped to assemble and guide the team along the way.