Reflection

The course, Introductory Chemistry has really helped me to become a better critical
thinker. The course pushed me to think more critically about the concepts taught in chemistry
and then it pushed me to think about how the concepts taught in this course relate to daily life.
After taking this course I am surprised at how big a part chemistry plays in my day to day life. I
really enjoyed doing the case studies in this course because they were the most influential in
helping me connect the concepts to my daily life. One of my favorite case studies was the first
one we did because it helped not only to prepare me to study chemistry but, it also helped me to
think critically about my studying habits.
I have made a lot of connections with chemistry and my daily life. One connection I
made between Chemistry and my Psychology courses is that chemistry is an influential part of
psychology. For my scientific abstract I watched a Ted talk on Depression and the different types
of treatments. I though chemistry had very little or nothing at all to do with psychology. I did not
think that the two were interconnected. One of my favorite connections between chemistry and
my daily life is fireworks. One of my favorite summer activities is going to the park to watch
fireworks. I knew that science was involved in the workings of fireworks but, I had no idea how
fireworks worked or what science played a part in fireworks. I thought it was really cool how
different elements change the color of the firework.
This class has changed my perspective from seeing the world as pretty simple to realizing
and noticing all the complex details and interconnectedness of the world. As I have said I did not
realize how big a part chemistry played in my day to day life. When you use an ice pack in a first
aid kit or hand warmers these are elements of chemistry at play. When watching fireworks on the
fourth of July this is thanks to chemistry. When you are in a car accident and the air bags deploy
this is all with the help of chemistry. Chemistry has helped me to realize what a wonderful and
beautiful world we live in and it is beautiful and wonderful because of science. This class
changed me perspective on science because before I never really liked chemistry but, this class
helped me learn what chemistry does for us and know I have a better understanding of chemistry.
Now I can say that I like chemistry because it does a lot in our lives.