ChemMatters : April 2010

Farming Goes Green

Teacher’s Guide (April 2010)

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Activities and resources to facilitate student comprehension. About the Teacher’s Guide

Feature Articles

*Available in print issue only

Using too much fertilizer can cause trouble to our environment. Scientists are coming up with ideas to use just the right amount of fertilizer and reduce its negative impact on the environment.

Clean Coal: Cleaning Up its Act*

Burning coal to produce energy is cheap, but it also causes smog, acid rain, and global warming. A new project by the U.S. Department of Energy promises to change all this and make “clean” coal.

Learn why bioplastics are better for the environment than common plastics

What’s in Sunscreens?*

How do sunscreens work and what do they protect us from?

Nuclear Reactors: A Safe and Clean Source of Energy?*

TheUnited States and other countries are planning to build more nuclear power plants in the future. How do nuclear power plants work and what risks do they pose to the environment and human health?

Departments

Was it easy for people to accept the idea that matter is made of atoms?

Unusual lakes on a faraway moon. Are rare earth metals helping the environment?

Profiles in Chemistry: A. J. Francis, Soil Microbiologist and Chemist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory*

Did you know that bacteria can clean up toxic chemicals in soil? Learn more by reading this interview.