>> host: In May of 2011,
more than 38,000 fish died
over the course of a few days
on the Ogeechee River
near Sylvania, Georgia.
It was the biggest fish kill
in the state's history,
and set in motion
a series of events
that included
a thorough investigation
as to its cause
and consequences.
How do you get to the bottom
of a catastrophe like this?
If you're sitting
in a chemistry classroom,
the answer might be closer
than you think.
♪♪
Welcome to
"Chemistry Matters."
A lot of students, and
maybe you're one of them,
think chemistry is just
one more science class
they have to take
in order to graduate.
And it might be.
But what you might not realize
is that chemicals
impact our lives
in countless ways--
from manufacturing...
to agriculture...
to healthcare...
to space exploration.
Chemistry is used
to build smartphones
and to make fuel
for racecars and rockets.
We can combine molecules
to develop new medicines
and build prosthetic limbs.
The chemistry
of basketball shoes
helps us jump higher.
Chemicals in armored vests
can protect us.
We can prevent food
from spoiling and even make
soft drinks taste better.
We can figure out
how old dinosaurs are,
invent new materials
for furniture and houses,
or for packages and toys.
And then we can use chemistry
to figure out how to recycle
those materials.
We can stay safe
and warm and dry,
smell really good,
create jewelry
and keep ourselves clean--
all with chemistry.
Countless discoveries
led to a lot of the products
I just mentioned.
And the truth is
that some of those discoveries
were made by accident.
But most were the result
of careful research,
using a logical approach
to solving a problem.
Scientists use a variety
of methods called Science
and Engineering Practices
to investigate the world
and solve problems.
Those include asking questions
and defining problems,
developing models,
planning and carrying out
investigations,
analyzing and interpreting data,
using mathematics
and computational thinking,
constructing explanations
and designing solutions,
engaging in argument
from evidence,
and obtaining, evaluating,
and communicating information.
In this chemistry course,
you'll learn how to use
these practices to figure out
how matter
throughout the universe
reacts and interacts
to form new matter,
and a whole lot more.
For now, let's get back
to the Ogeechee River,
using both chemistry,
and the Science and Engineering
Practices I just mentioned
to figure out what happened,
and maybe even
to help suggest ways
to prevent similar incidents
from happening again.
And you'll see an icon
like this...
and hear a sound like this...
♪♪
to draw attention
when Science and Engineering
Practices come into play.
By the way, those places
might also indicate a good time
to have something to write on--
for your notes,
or sometimes for other tasks.
The Ogeechee is a typical river
in rural Georgia.
Like many rivers,
it's been used for everything
from recreational purposes
to irrigating
the region's agriculture.
But in May of 2011,
when more than 38,000 fish
died in the river--
all within a roughly
120 kilometer area,
along with turtles, crayfish,
alligators and other wildlife,
something had obviously changed.
Today, you'll be an employee
of the State Department
of Natural Resources.
And it's your job
to figure out why this happened,
along with suggesting ways
to prevent something like this
from happening again.
How could you use chemistry
to solve this challenge?
>> professor: Yeah,
good question.
We'll talk about that
some more today.
>> student: Okay. Thank you.
>> professor: Alright, everyone,
let's go ahead and get started.
We're going to start by talking
about what we already know
and what we want to find out.
This means figuring out
what we know about rivers,
about wildlife,
about what could have
killed the fish,
stuff like that.
This is the first
Science and Engineering
Practice-- "Asking Questions
"and Defining Problems."
This is where scientists
use their senses
and sometimes instruments
to make qualitative
and quantitative observations.
Qualitative observations
are characteristics
of a substance
like it's cold or blue or tall.
Quantitative observations
use measurements.
So the cold, blue,
tall object
might have a temperature
of 10 degrees Celsius,
reflect light with a wavelength
of 460 nanometers,
and is 2 meters in height.
Scientists analyze
their observations,
and organize them
to look for patterns
and relationships,
which usually leads
to questions.
So this is a good time
to write down three questions
asking what might have caused
the fish to die.
>> host: We'll take
a quick break
from this first video
on our playlist
to give you time
to come up with
your three questions.
After you've written down
your own questions,
share and discuss them
with a partner
if you've got one.
Then choose
the top three questions
designed to figure out
what happened to the fish.
When you're done,
move on to the next video
on the playlist.
We'll be ready when you are!
♪♪
