Embedding Soils and Agricultural Contexts into a General Chemistry Course.

At Purdue University in 2011 we began reforming Chemistry 11100, the general chemistry course taken by approximately 950 students in the College of Agriculture and College of Health and Human Sciences.  As part of the revision process we met with the curriculum committees in both colleges.  In the College of Agriculture we found faculty colleagues who were delighted to discuss with us their interests in soils, turf grass science, agronomy, and biochemistry.  This, in turn, facilitated and enriched the ways in which we could embed concepts and applications from these areas into the course.  We became very comfortable with asking what it was that we wanted the students to learn, how it related to their majors, and embracing the notion that we could not teach the courses as if all the students were chemistry majors.  We have found ways to help students learn about ions, atomic and ionic radii, and oxidation-reduction reactions using soil science as a context.  Additionally, we have woven agricultural and soil science contexts into our general chemistry laboratories.