webquest



=Chemistry Web Quest= =The Chemistry of Farming=

You are about to research one of the hottest issues in the news today! News stories regarding the use of pesticides on conventional farms in the United States frequent the daily news reports. Put aside any preconceived ideas you may have regarding the issues and get ready to get the facts! The link to the introduction below will get you started. This net quest has been developed by Susan Steiner, high school chemistry teacher at the Millville Area High School in Millville, PA. This web quest can be utilized by any high school chemistry class when studying the practical applications of chemistry in today's society.

Web Quest Introduction A rural housing development is situated between two active farms. Since the nearest grocery store is twenty-five miles away, both farmer's stands are very popular with the residents for obtaining their produce. Recently, there has been a lot of media attention on both bacterial and chemical contamination of the nations food supply. The residents have become concerned and want to know more about the farms and their produce. The one farm is an organic farm using cow manure for fertilizer, a natural pyrethrin from chrysanthemums for an insecticide, copper and sulfur for fungicides, and cultivation for herbicide control. The other is a conventional farm using liquid nitrogen for fertilizer, Roundup as a herbicide, a synthetic pyrethroid as a pesticide, and cupric hydroxide with manganese as a fungicide. The residents want to know if these chemicals are safe and what the risks/benefits are of their use. A meeting of the residents of the development, the farmers, and a local analytical scientist will be held next week to discuss the benefits/risks to each type of farming. The goal of this meeting is to inform the residents about the facts of agricultural chemicals, not just the opinions of the media. Take a minute to put yourself in the shoes of each of the farmers and the residents of the housing development. What do you already know (or think you know) about the use of agricultural chemicals? What facts would you want to know? What sources would you trust? Who would you believe? Click on the link to the task below to find out how you will be preparing for the important meeting of the residents, farmers, and scientist.
 * The Chemistry of Farming**

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