Web Quests For Chemistry

Select From the Following Web Quests:

• Acid Rain
• Alchemy
• Drinking River Water
• Forensic Science
• Groups and Periodic Trends
• Nuclear Power
• To Fertilize or Not To Fertilize
• Wastewater Treatment

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What is a Web Quest?

Have you ever wished to use your chemistry knowledge for more than just "academic" use? Would you like to explore how chemistry plays a role in "real life" decisions? Do you like working in groups and brainstorming new ideas and perspectives? Would you like to go beyond your chemical knowledge into new frontiers of thought? If so, a Web Quest is for you.

Web Quests are real-life scenarios whereby students in the group take different roles and then interpret relevant information from that role's perspective to form a joint conclusion. Relevant information on the subject can be found using the World Wide Web or other printed materials. A group of students in your class may agree to complete a Web Quest this term by forming a Web Quest Team of between 2 and 4 people, depending on the Web Quest.

To complete the project, the Web Quest Team must complete a paper which includes the following:

• title page
• an abstract outlining the relevant information and conclusions in one or two paragraphs
• a statement explaining the problem at hand. Write the statement for non-scientists.
• a perspective statement from each member of the Web Quest Team outlining their perspective's views and conclusions. These statements can be technical.
• a joint conclusion statement which reflects the combined perspective of the group (which should be written by all the members collectively). The joint conclusion should be written for non-scientists. If there is dissension as to the final conclusion, a Dissension statement must be supplied by the objecting member outlining the nature of the dissension.
• a list of references.

Grading will be based upon the quality of the work, the quality of the conclusions drawn, and the amount of sharing exhibited by the group members amongst themselves. This must be discussed, debated and concluded upon by the Web Quest Team; the Team need not agree at the end on the final conclusion, but a Dissension statement must be included. 3 of the 5 points will be graded on individual effort, while 1 point will be graded on the group effort as a whole; also be aware that each member of the team will complete an anonymous grading handout relating your performance to the Team, and this will affect your grade.

Realize that you might do great work on this project - receiving 3 out of 3 points - but if your group slacks off, the group score might be 0 out of 2, leaving you with 3 + 0 = 3 points total. Questions should be addressed to the instructor. One Web Quest can be completed per term, and no Web Quest can be repeated in subsequent chemistry quarters. You must let the instructor know you are starting a Web Quest by the end of the seventh week to receive credit.

If you see any broken links while completing your webquest, please contact the instructor.

For complete details and deadlines, please refer to the "Class Information" link on your course website.