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GREEN CHEMISTRY AND SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE: A Green Approach to Sustainable STEM in K-12 - Chapter 2: Human and Environmental Impacts

GREEN CHEMISTRY AND SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE: A Green Approach to Sustainable STEM in K-12 - Chapter 2: Human and Environmental Impacts
Contributors
Retired K-12 Educator | Beyond Benign, Inc.
New Visions Medical Teacher | Questar III BOCES
Middle School Science Teacher | Boulder Valley School District - Casey Middle School
Teacher | Bretton Woods Elementary School
Certified Lead Teacher/Adjunct Lecturer | W.H. Maxwell High School
Founder | STEM Learning Design LLC
Beyond Benign, Inc.
Beyond Benign, Inc.
cover image for textbook with white text on a green background
Summary
The impacts of chemicals on humans and the environment are a critical consideration for green chemistry practices. The three lessons in this chapter provide opportunities for students to consider the potential impacts of chemicals in the products they use and are exposed to in their lives. The objective of the lessons in this chapter is to make these considerations explicit for students. In doing so, we aim to:

Raise students’ awareness of personal safety, empower them to take action, and develop their ability to exercise personal choice. Emphasizing a personal focus also increases relevance and engagement for our students.

Extend from personal empowerment to considering implications of chemical use for communities, society, and systems.

Chapter 2 Contains:
1. Introduction
2. Animal Adaptations and Engineering Design: Lesson 2: ABC’s of Biomimicry (Elementary School; Veronica)
3. Toxicology: How Do We Decide What is Safe? (Middle School; Erin)
4. How to Use Chemical Safety Data Sheets (High School; Stefanie)
File (PDF, PPT, image, etc)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.59877/UPCW9599
Learning Goals/Student Objectives
Raise students’ awareness of personal safety, empower them to take action, and develop their ability to exercise personal choice. Emphasizing a personal focus also increases relevance and engagement for our students.

Extend from personal empowerment to considering implications of chemical use for communities, society, and systems.
Object Type
Activities/Technology (e.g., in-class activities, online games, hands-on activities/manipulatives, outreach, virtual tools, etc.)
Lesson summaries
Books
Audience
Elementary School
Middle School
High School (Secondary School)
Green Chemistry Principles
Waste Prevention
Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses
Design for Degradation
Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention
Safety Precautions, Hazards, and Risk Assessment
See individual activities
NGSS Standards, if applicable
Elementary
5-ESS3-1
Middle
MS-ESS3-3
High
HS-ETS1-3