Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
taken for or against chemistry - therefore it is very important to know where the
difficulties come from” [
20
].
7.4 Human Element: Laymen's Understanding of Scientific
Terminology
Scientific terminology and chemical symbols serve as an important tool for easy
and rational communication, as a communication tool with high information
content: it can be understood worldwide regardless of culture, language, or social
system [
1
]. At the same time every terminology is a boundary for all those who are
not familiar with it. Severe problems for communication even exist between the
sciences because of their highly specialized terminology: only those people who are
proficient in science's terminology are able to talk about specific issues.
Of course scientific terminology complicates communication with the public and
their understanding of science [
21
]. In a public dialog mistrust towards the experts
is usually created, when they are not able to translate scientific terminology into
everyday language: this situation led to the development of popular scientific
publications that try to make science understandable.
Teachers should not only see themselves as rivals to this popularization in
magazines, radio, TV and on the internet, instead they can be mediators who
address students' issues. They can also integrate everyday dialogs into their
Name of the salt
involved ions
ion ratio
empirical formula
Ca
2+
, F
-
{(Ca
2+)
, (F
-
)
2
}
Calcium fluoride
CaF
2
Calcium nitride
Barium chloride
Aluminium fluoride
Lithium oxide
Sodium hydroxide
Calcium hydroxide
Magnesium nitrate
Sodium carbonate
Calcium sulfate
Aluminium sulfate
Potassium aluminium sulfate
Fig. 7.12 Worksheet on the formulation of symbols for ionic structures
