Jim Donovan - Shimer College

Introduction
NATURAL SCIENCES 1 (NS1)
Laws and Models in Chemistry
Fall 2012 Instructor: Jim Donovan, jdonovan@shimer.edu
Natural Sciences 1, Laws and Models in Chemistry, traces the efforts in Western thought to
understand what makes up the physical world - what remains the same in the midst of change. At its
most basic level, Nat Sci 1 addresses the questions:
What is “stuff”?
How does “stuff” behave?
How do we know that?
The story includes the insights ranging from the natural philosophers before Plato through the
chemists of the 19 th century who began to think that electricity and “stuff” were the same thing. As a
part of understanding the answers to this question, we will learn some of the methods used—ancient
and modern—and the ideas produced by these efforts.
The methods are important. Because science is in large measure a technical activity, we have to
acquire some technical language and practice in order to discuss and evaluate it. In this way it is like
baseball. We might be amused or annoyed—but certainly not enlightened—by a person who held
forth on the strengths and weaknesses of baseball if that person didn’t even understand a ground
ball, a home run, a steal, or a double play. On the other hand, we might respect their ideas if they
had knowledge gained from both theory and practice. In NS 1 we gain our knowledge by following
the developing scientific explanations of burning, of heat, and of the nature of the atmosphere.
As part of the practice, we will be performing a few simple experiments. You will be asked reflect in
some depth on the experiments in which you participate.
Dialog
Being born in the 20 th century, we have a distinct disadvantage in this class. Even the non-scientists
today know much of modern scientific answers. However, in class discussions we will operate on the
assumption that being born in the twentieth century should not be confused with having wisdom. We
will remember that each author is an intelligent, insightful investigator. The elements of an author's
work which appear rustic or silly to us probably appear so because we have failed to understand what
is significant to the author. Rather than trivialize an author's work by treating it as an outdated opinion
that we have advanced beyond, we will bring the authors and ourselves into genuine conversation by
searching for the integrity of their contributions, even if what they say seems strange or just plain
wrong at first. We seek to converse and dialog with the author
The same skill of energetic open-mindedness which we apply to the readings we should also apply to
one another. We can work together and develop this skill carefully following the thread of each
conversation and by sympathetically understanding each person's position in the conversation—
particularly when we disagree with that position. You should be able to repeat each person's
argument with precision and force. In addition to thinking through the evolution of our culture's ideas
about the material world, a fundamental objective of the course is the development of our dialogal
abilities, the abilities that enable us to inquire together as a group.
Student Competencies
The heart of the Shimer educational method is the encouragement and practice of those skills that
will make possible lifelong learning. To this end certain commitments and competencies are expected
to be developed in Natural Sciences 1. These include:
Commitment to one's own learning
This is measured by your attending classes, letting others know what you do and don't
understand, and identifying for yourself issues of safety in the class discussion.

Reading the source materials for the class carefully and completely
Asking genuine questions within the discussion
A growing ability to recapitulate someone else’s point of view
The ability to understand and express your emotional reactions to the readings and to the
process of learning
The ability to write effectively
In addition to the above, certain competencies are specific to Nat Sci 1. These include the ability to:
Explain Aristotle’s classification of causes and identify how they relate to modern scientific
thinking.
Carry out a written scientific procedure and write a lab report.
Balance the notions of change and constancy in a description of the world.
Describe the basic behavior of gasses, especially the relation between mass, temperature,
pressure, and volume.
Explain the atomic model of matter and describe experiments that support that model.
Define “heat” and describe experiment(s) based on that definition.
Explain what a chemical equation means.
Finally, these represent only some key and basic objectives. No list of objectives is rich enough to
exhaust these readings, and I hope that you will identify your own objectives that go beyond these.
Grading
At the beginning of most class periods, preselected members of the class will distribute a short
(about one page) written focus statement concerning the readings for that period. Focus statements
consist of a few sentences that state what you would like the class to focus on during that class
period. You might have a set of questions, a place in the text you want us to discuss, or an issue you
wish to bring up. These will provide the class with an initial focus and a way to set the agenda for that
day's discussion.
You will also write a short paper, four to six pages double-spaced. It will describe a system of natural
philosophy of your own creation that explains what changes and what remains the same in our
physical world. In it, you will describe a model of the world in which you balance explain why we
observe both order and change. That is, you need to reconcile the alternatives:
- If the world can change, why isn’t it chaotic and unpredictable?
- If the world is orderly and consistent, why is there spontaneity?
The paper is due Midnight, 9/16. Papers are to be emailed to me; if this is impossible, let me know.
Papers must be on-time. I allow rewriting of on-time papers, so it’s better to hand it in ‘imperfect’ and
fix it later than to get no credit at all.
You will also receive additional problem-oriented assignments, one of which will serve as a final
exam. The final will include some problems and a short essay on an assigned question. Students
are encouraged to discuss the exam questions with each other, as long as they do their actual writing
alone. Your course grade will be based upon the following: class participation (quality as well as
quantity) 40%, focus statements 10%, paper 20%, problems, lab report and final 30%. Remember, it
is up to you to demonstrate by your participation that you have read and understand the material.
Class attendance
Each student is expected to attend every class session on time—every tardiness or absence from
class counts against your participation grade. Further, you are subject to failing the course if you miss
four (4) class sessions. The instructor will warn the student after two (2) such absences. After four
absences, the student may continue and pass the course under a rigorous contractual agreement
with the instructor. If you must miss a class, please let me know in advance. If you have any difficulty
with the class or the readings, please talk with me. Don't wait.

Course readings
Aristotle, The Physics
Bacon, The Novum Organum
Shamos, Great Experiments in Physics
Lucretius, On the Nature of The Universe
Wheelwright, The Presocratics
Shimer College Reprints
Avogadro A Manner of Determining the Relative
Masses...
Berzelius Electrochemical Theory, Chemical Symbols
and Formulas
Black Lectures on the Elements of Chemistry
Curie 1911Nobel Lecture, On Radioactivity
Cannizzaro Sketch of a Course of Chemical Philosophy
(to p. 34)
Clausius On the Nature of the Motion that We Call Heat
Dalton 1810 Extract, Atomic Principles of Chemistry,
Letter to Nicholson, 1808 Extract
Dulong & Petit Atomic Weights and Specific Heat
Faraday Decomposition of Tin Chloride
Aug 21 Presocratics pp. 31-63
22 pp. 64-89
24 pp. 90-119
27 pp. 120-136, 143-154
29 pp. 200-229
31 Lucretius On the Nature of The Universe Book I
Sep 5 On the Nature of The Universe Book II
7 Aristotle Physics, II 1-9,
10 Physics, III 1-3, IV 1-5
12 Physics, IV 6-9
14 Pascal New Experiments Concerning The
Vacuum (including the Preface)
Account Of The Great Experiment
[LAB]
17 On The Equilibrium Of Liquids
19 On The Weight And Mass Of The Air
21 Boyle Touching the Spring of the Air (in
Shamos) -- Boyle’s Law [LAB]
24 Bacon Novum Organum - Book I , aphorism 1-
60
26 Novum Organum - Book II, aphorism
1-10
28 Novum Organum - Book II, aphorisms
11-20
Oct 1 Lavoisier Elements of Chemistry (to p. 15)
3 Black Lectures on the Elements of Chemistry
[LAB]
5 Macquer
Stahl
Theory and Practice of Chymistry,
A Dictionary of Chemistry
On Sulfur
8 Priestly On Depholgisticated Air
10 Lavoisier Memoir on the Calcination of Tin...
12 Memoir on the Calcination of Tin. [LAB]
CALENDAR
Gay-Lussac On the Combination of' Gaseous
Substances . . .
Lavoisier Memoir on the Calcination of Tin . . .,
Elements of Chemistry (selections)
Macquer Excerpts from A Dictionary of Chemistry,
The Theory and Practice of Chemistry
Mendeleev The Relation Between Properties and
Atomic . . . , The Periodic Table
Pascal Scientific Treatises
Priestly On Depholgisticated Air
Stahl Excerpts from On Sulfur
Thompson Source of the Heat Which is Excited by
Friction
17 Thompson
(Rumford)
An Inquiry Concerning the Source of
the Heat Which is Excited by Friction
19 Joule On the Mechanical Equivalent of Heat
(in Shamos)
22 LAB - On the Mechanical Equivalent of
Heat
24 Dalton Thomson’s explanation of Dalton, pp
211-220
Letters to Nicholson (one each by
Bostock and Dalton) in Journal of
Natural Philosophy, Chemistry
1808 Extract from Foundations of the
Molecular Theory
26 Gay-Lussac
Dalton
On the Combination of Gaseous
Substances. . .
1810 Extract
29 Avogadro A Manner of Determining the Relative
Masses...
31 Dulong Atomic Weights and Specific Heat
Nov 2 Clausius On the Nature of the Motion that We
Call Heat, Sections 1-9
5 Sections 10-15
7 Berzelius
Faraday
Electrochemical Theory
On Electrical Decomposition
[LAB]
9 Berzelius Chemical Symbols and Formulas
12 Cannizzaro Sketch of a Course of Chemical
Philosophy, to p. 18
14 to p. 34
16 Meyer
Mendeleev
Nature of the Chemical Elements. . .
The Relation Between Properties and
Atomic. . .
19 The Relation Between Properties and
Atomic. . .; The Periodic Table
[LAB]
26 Curie 1911Nobel Lecture On Radioactivity

FOCUS STATEMENTS
A focus statement is a 1-2 page paper intended for class discussion. It might take the form of:
- a summation of a reading,
- a close analysis of a particular passage,
- a personal but textually and argumentatively supported reaction to a reading,
- an extended question or series of questions raised by the text,
- a concise formal essay in which a thesis from or about a text is supported and discussed (see
"suggested basic approach" below).
Avoid being unfocused and scatter-shot. A good way to end a focus statement is with a thoughtprovoking
question for the class. As with essays, citations must include page references.
Process
The focus statement is read by the whole group before class. In class, the focus statement is first read
aloud by the writer and then discussed by the group. The focus statement is based on the reading(s)
being covered on the focus statement’s discussion date.
Students receive their focus statement discussion dates at the beginning of the course. We will only
have time to discuss one focus statement per class, so once a focus statement date is reserved, it is
usually not available to others. The focus statement writer provides a copy (collated and stapled if more
than one page) to each member of the class. If timely submission of a focus statement and copies for
distribution will not be possible, it is the student's responsibility to switch the assigned focus statement
date with another member of the class.
Each student shall complete the assigned number of focus statements, and is welcome to write extra.
If you write an extra focus statement, it will count as extra credit.
Suggested Basic Approach for A Focus Statement
Use a point made by an author in a reading as your thesis--after considering whether it can be
adequately discussed in a focus statement or essay of the prescribed length. Quote, paraphrase,
and/or summarize passages from the text where the point you have chosen is being stated, where it is
being argued, and, if appropriate, where it is being clarified or qualified. Add whatever clarifications and
interpretations of your own you consider helpful. You may need to provide definitions of key terms, in
the author's words if possible. Offering examples--the author's or your own--is almost always a good
idea.
After you have presented and explained the author's point and argument, go on to your own response
to it. Your response should be thought through, carefully phrased, and persuasively supported with
arguments and/or examples. Whether you agree or disagree, be sure to consider both sides. If you
disagree, do not confine yourself to giving your reasons, but also try to show what you think are the
blind spots or logical errors or gaps in the author's discourse. Agreement and disagreement are not the
only possible reactions. You may want to qualify, expand upon, or significantly rephrase the author's
point, to consider its implications, or point out its logical or social consequences.
Be careful not to lose focus. You can bring in other texts that support, reflect upon, or contradict the
primary text, but remember that you are writing about a particular idea in a particular reading and you
only have 1-2 pages.
If all else fails or you are thoroughly confused by the text, share your confusion and list your questions.
These sometimes serve as the basis of great class discussions.