Using Product Content Labels To Engage Students in LearningChemical NomenclatureM. Araceli Calvo Pascual*

Facultad de Formacion de Profesorado y Educacion, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT: This communication describes an activity to encourage learning chemistrynomenclature in which students use cameras (including readily available cellphone cameras) tophotograph and then evaluate consumer product content labels, linking classroom knowledge toreal-world experience. In addition to learning chemistry nomenclature, students engage indiscussions about differentiating actual product contents and the claims made about the product,while connecting how chemistry is in all the products that they consume.

KEYWORDS: Elementary/Middle School Science, High School/Introductory Chemistry, First-Year Undergraduate/General,Public Understanding/Outreach, Multimedia-Based Learning, Consumer Chemistry, Nomenclature/Units/Symbols,Student-Centered Learning

The activity “Go Chemistry: A Card Game To HelpStudents Learn Chemical Formulas”1 shows an interesting

card game that can be a quite useful resource for secondaryschool students when chemical nomenclature is first encoun-tered.As the author indicates, there are many chemical formula

card games reported in this Journal, but there are also severalmethods intended for learning chemical nomenclaturepublished in this Journal that I would like to mention. Aliterary review published since the 1980s describes games suchas a Web-based mnemonic game published recently2 and othergames published previously,3−8 computer programs,9,10 activ-ities based on flowcharts11 and schemes,12,13 procedures todetermine oxoacid formulas,14 mnemonic rules,15 and specificmethodologies.16−18

In addition, there are other activities published in this Journalnot categorized with the keyword term “Nomenclature/Units/Symbols”, but which can be used to learn this topic as well,such as the activity described by Pippins et al.19

Because students often have difficulty learning chemicalnomenclature, it is important for teachers to use many differentmethods to improve the teaching of this subject: The morehands-on activities that can be employed to teach nomencla-ture, the better.Accordingly, an activity to promote learning nomenclature

with a camera is suggested. The activity has been testedsuccessfully with first-year undergraduate students but couldalso be used at the high school level.

■ OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this activity are to:

Stimulate students’ interest in learning chemicalnomenclature.Promote mastery of chemical nomenclature throughexposure to everyday products.

Make students aware of the importance of chemistry intheir lives through products encountered outside theschool or college.Encourage students to develop the habit of readingproduct labels and to evaluate the product contents priorto purchase or use.Discover errors or inaccuracies on labels relating tonames, formulas, and abbreviations for units, accordingto the specifications given by IUPAC.

■ METHOD

The teacher introduced the activity to the students on the firstday of class and it lasted until the end of the year. In the firstclass session, the teacher made an assessment of students’existing chemical nomenclature knowledge and queried theiropinions about its importance in their daily lives.After the discussion, the teacher reviewed some common

substances, showing a presentation titled Chemical Nomencla-ture: Some Examples with Common Consumer Products withphotographs that showed one or more everyday products(without brands) that contained the substance whose name andformula was being discussed (see Figure 1).Afterward, the teacher instructed students to create their own

album by taking photographs of additional products thatcontained samples elements and compounds. The studentswere asked to write on the photograph the name and formulaof each substance that the product contained. Therefore,students were taking an active part in their own learningprocess.During the school year, as chemical nomenclature was

discussed, the teacher asked students to comment on thephotographs they had taken, encouraging students to continuetaking photographs and advising them on their work.

Published: March 31, 2014

Communication

pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc

© 2014 American Chemical Society andDivision of Chemical Education, Inc. 757 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed300659c | J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 757−759

At the end of the year, the students formed groups of five orsix members and shared their albums. They had to categorizethe photographs into ions, elements, and compounds(inorganic and organic), which then had to be subclassifiedby their chemical components. Finally, every group gave apresentation and discussed their findings with the rest of theclass.

■ RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

An analysis of the initial assessment showed that most of thestudents had a poor knowledge of chemical nomenclature andthat they thought that chemical nomenclature was a boringtopic that had to be studied in chemistry class but which had no

Figure 1. The label of a bottle of water as an example to study ions(cations and anions).

Table 1. Comparative Student Examples with Substance Identities and Sources

Ions Formula Name Product

Cations Li+ lithium ion camera digital batteryCa2+ calcium ion skimmed milk; soy milk

Anions Cl− chloride low-mineralized waterSO3

2− sulphite hard ciderElements Formula Name Product

Fe iron fertilizer stickI2 iodine povidone−iodineN2 nitrogen thermal water spray

Inorganic Compounds Formula Name Product

Hydrides NH3 ammonia household ammoniaOxides CO2 carbon dioxide carbonated soft drink

N2O dinitrogen oxide whipped creamSiO2 silicon dioxide glass bottle

Peroxides H2O2 hydrogen peroxide hydrogen peroxideSalts NaCl sodium chloride 100% natural sea salt (additive-free); rice drink from organic cultivation

KI potassium iodide iodized sea saltKF potassium fluoride fluoridated sea saltKCl potassium chloride salt low in sodiumMgCl2 magnesium chloride salt for hypertensive patientsNaF sodium fluoride toothpaste for sensitive teeth

Other Binary Compounds SiC silicon carbide valve grinding pasteHydroxides NaOH sodium hydroxide moisturizerOxoacids H2SO4 sulphuric acid car battery

HNO3 nitric acid liquid fertilizerSalts NaClO sodium hypochlorite bleach

CaCO3 calcium carbonate chalkNaNO2 sodium nitrite cooked hamKNO3 potassium nitrate toothpaste for sensitive teethK3PO4 potassium phosphate isotonic beverageCa3(PO4)2 calcium phosphate isotonic beveragePbCrO4 lead(II) chromate gloss enamel (yellow)

Acid salts NaHCO3 sodium bicarbonate liver saltsNH4HCO3 ammonium bicarbonate custard with biscuits

Organic Compounds Formula Name Product

Hydrocarbons CH3−CH2−CH3 propane a gas cylinderCH3−CH2−CH2−CH3 butane a gas cylinder

Alcohols CH3−CH2OH ethanol bottle of alcohol 96%; perfume (organic wheat alcohol); alcohol-free beer (1% abv)CH3−CHOH−CH3 2-propanol rubbing alcohol

Ketones CH3−CO−CH3 acetone solvent nail polish removerAcids CH3−COOH acetic acid vinegar; sliced bread from organic cultivationSalts (C6H5)−COONa sodium benzoate mouthwash; shower gelEsters CH3−COO−CH3 ethyl acetate solvent nail polish remover (acetone-free)Polymers [(C6H5)−CH−CH2−]n PS FCKW-free takeaway package

[−CH2−CH2−]n polyethylene plastic bag; facial exfoliating gel

Journal of Chemical Education Communication

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useful applications in their daily lives. Furthermore, they couldnot give examples of the substances found in products.Although at the beginning of the activity students’ interest in

chemical nomenclature was quite low, student interestincreased when this topic was studied using photographs ofcommon products that contained the substances discussed. Theproposal of creating an album with students’ own photographswas well received by them.Most of the photographs taken by the students showed the

label of the product that contained the substance discussed;thus, the students only had to write the formula of thesubstance corresponding to the name written on the label(except in the case of some labels that stated the formula).Most of the products photographed were food and beverageproducts, although photographs of other kinds of productswere also presented and discussed. Some examples are shownin Table 1.Sharing the photographs allowed students to note that two

apparently equal products may have different chemicalsubstances, leading students to appreciate the importance ofreading and evaluating a product’s label before buying theproduct, and that two different products may contain one ormore identical chemical substances. The activity also led todiscussion on how some advertisements can confuse consumerswith phrases such as “this food contains no chemicals”, “calciumof vegetable origin”, and an “alcohol-free beverage” that actuallycontains alcohol. Students also discovered inaccuracies anderrors present in labels according to IUPAC rules,20 such as“N2O” instead of N2O, “SO4Ca” instead of CaSO4, “fluorine(KF)” instead of fluoride, “HCO3” instead of “HCO3

−”, “SO4”instead of “SO4

2−”, “HCL” instead of HCl, “MG/L” or “mg/l”instead of mg/L, and so on.The students considered the activity a fun way of learning

chemical nomenclature and seeing how chemistry is in all theproducts that they consume. Their knowledge of this topicimproved significantly.

■ CONCLUSIONS

As had been anticipated, the implementation of the cameraactivity described above allowed both the teacher and thestudents to accomplish their objectives of learning and relatingtheir daily lives to chemical nomenclature. Therefore, it is fairto state that this activity promoted significant learning ofchemical nomenclature. There was every indication that thestudents would continue relating chemical nomenclature to thereading of consumer product labels in their daily lives.Although the activity was tested with first-year undergraduate

students, there is no reason it could not be implemented withsecondary school students when they first begin to studychemical nomenclature as well as begin to buy their own foodand beverage products. If the teachers agreed, the activity couldbe continued over subsequent years, when more complexchemistry content is taught.In addition, the students might upload their label photo-

graphs onto the secondary school’s Web site or blog for theirclassmates and families to see. In this way, it would be possiblefor others to improve their awareness of chemicals in everydayproducts.

■ AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*E-mail: macp@quimicosmadrid.org.

Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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Journal of Chemical Education Communication

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