Volume 5, No. 5Chimica nella Scuola n. 5 2025
Full Issue
Editoriale
Pagine di storia
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Il verde di Parigi: un pigmento killer
The fascinating story of Paris Green and of the previous pigment, Scheele’s Green, both containing arsenic, is reported here. The problem of poisoning from interior decorations and clothes is described, together with the use of Paris green as rodenticide and for the fight against malaria.
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Spinelli “conquista” i palermitani
Professor Domenico Spinelli, during the five academic years, from 1969 to 1974, in which he worked at the University of Palermo, succeeded in impacting Palermo’s organic chemistry so deeply, both scientifically and humanely, that even today, fifty years after his move to Bologna, his first- and second-generation students from Palermo still remember him fondly. The salient passages of the years he spent in Palermo are reported in this article, in the hope of being able to give an idea of one of the personalities who made a notable contribution to Italian chemistry in the second half of the 20th century.
Percorsi didattici per la Scuola primaria
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Acidi e basi, facciamo un po’ di ordine!
The article describes a learning unit project for primary schools, developed using active teaching methodologies, to classify substances as acidic, basic, or neutral and introduce the concept of pH as a measurement scale. The hands-on learning aims to enable all students, each at their own pace, to master the required knowledge and skills. A modular approach involving a sequence of activities designed to be carried out collectively under the guidance of the teacher structures a process of active knowledge construction, using an inductive approach. At the end of each laboratory activity, the key concepts are formalised in the notebook to structure and consolidate them. Ongoing formative evaluation is planned to monitor students’ progress, as well as a summative evaluation at the end of the didactic unit, aimed at providing the teacher with a final judgment on the students’ learning.
Percorsi laboratoriali per la Scuola Secondaria di secondo grado
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L’esempio della pasta rinforzata come Capolavoro per tecnici chimici
Fortified pasta with ingredients derived from agriculture leftovers or expired foods was already proposed in scientific literature and it could suggest an interesting field at the crossroad between food science and biochemistry for the terminal year of chemistry technical high school, strictly linked with sustainability and territory traditions. In this article we proposed a teaching activity based on Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology applied to the preparation of fortified pasta with olive paté (OP) and to the design of some simple analysis performed on this material.
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Un approccio sperimentale induttivo alla regola di Bredt e alle molecole anti-Bredt
Currently, even at a popular science level, the news of a recent and very important discovery has caused quite a stir, concerning the possibility of making stable some so-called anti-Bredt organic molecules; they were previously considered unstable, as a consequence of a rule that has been in force in organic chemistry since 1924.
In this article, an inductive experimental approach to this rule is proposed, at the level of basic chemistry, with the main objective of deepening it, providing students with cultural information not limited exclusively to media communication.
Un ponte fra Università e Scuola Secondaria di secondo grado
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Il “Cruciverba di Mendeleev” come strumento di divulgazione scientifica: un’esperienza di successo tra scuola e università
This article describes the design and organization of the “Mole Day 2024” initiative, an event inspired by the U.S. Mole Day Foundation and adapted for Italy through a periodic table-themed competition. The project involved 94 classes from 30 schools across a wide national territory, totaling over 1000 students, and leveraged the collaboration of undergraduate, master, and PhD students as tutors.
The initiative revolved around the use of a crossword puzzle based on chemical element symbols to stimulate learning and interaction, culminating in a final day with awards and interactive activities. The results highlight the effectiveness of playful and collaborative approaches in promoting interest in chemistry among high school students.
Ricerca in didattica – Una finestra sul mondo
Dare voce ai giovani
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Importanza della chiralità e dell’analisi enantioselettiva: applicazioni in campo forense
Chirality is defined as the property of a molecule to exist in two non-superimposable mirror images, known as enantiomers. Despite the presence of numerous physical properties in common, enantiomers exhibit divergent interactions with chiral biological systems, thereby impacting pharmacological activity and toxicity. The thalidomide case represented a significant turning point in the realm of pharmaceutical regulation, underscoring the paramount importance of enantiomeric separation for ensuring drug safety. The advent of sophisticated techniques, such as chiral HPLC in conjunction with mass spectrometry, has rendered the analysis of complex chiral samples with exceptional precision attainable. This analysis is of crucial importance not only for research and clinical practice, but also for forensic science and chemical and forensic intelligence. It allows us to distinguish between legal and illegal uses, identify routes of administration, metabolic processes and synthesis methods.