HOW BAD ARE PESTICIDES?

Another example of why its important to let the students choose what they want to learn. Doing this they show initiative and independence.

co-authored by Grace and Audrey

Advanced Chemistry XII students were given this challenge by Dr. Paulianda Jones, their chemistry teacher.

At the start of our academic year, we explored the idea of objectivity in science. In this final project-based unit, you will study the social, ethical, and cultural impact of Chemistry in our world. This unit will be a self-directed project that covers a topic of your choice and couples it with a relevant real world connection. You will complete a group paper and presentation coupled with a lab demonstration or activity. The final assessment will cover the content presented by each group. You will work in groups of 2–3.

The objective for the final projects was for students to explore a topic we did not cover during the course and teach it to their classmates. They were required to make engaging presentations and include a lab activity or demonstration .

Our primary objective in every single chemistry class is to have fun — and enjoy the process.

Pesticide exposure is fatal not only to insects or weeds but to humans, other species, and the environment. In the process of removing unwanted pests, pesticides are capable of contaminating soils, water, and turf. Since agricultural systems are dependent on the resources being contaminated, there is a high risk of lower crop yields and, subsequently, food insecurity. However, there are methods of lowering the toxicities of harmful pesticides and insecticides through chemical kinetics. Degradation kinetics, used to study the rate of drug degradation, is the key to breaking down harmful pesticide residues in our environment, such as those caused by Permethrin. It is often difficult to understand and model the degradation of pesticides in soil because of soil diversity and variations in chemical composition. Thus, pesticides are often over-applied to compensate for this lack in understanding. Therefore, it is essential to study the degradation kinetics of different pesticides in order to correctly measure the amount of pesticides necessary to be effective. The business of agriculture and pesticides is a vicious cycle where those of the lowest socioeconomic background are harmed the most and those of the highest reap the most benefits. By developing a better understanding of the kinetic behaviors of pesticides, scientists can help lower the health risks that often target the most vulnerable groups in our society.

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