Chemistry in Education: Etymological Approach to the Teaching of Chemistry

Etimološki pristup učenju kemije je u tome da ne objasnimo samo što ime ili termin znači nego i da ukažemo na njegovo izvorno značenje te objasnimo kako je našao svoj put do kemije. U članku se razmatra povijest anorganske kemije kroz povijest imenovanja kemijskih elemenata. Povijest pak organske kemije otkriva, upravo kroz imena spojeva, da se temeljila prije svega na izolaciji čistih tvari iz prirodnih materijala. Etimološki pristup učenju kemije olakšava usvajanje kemijske nomenklature i terminologije te povezuje kemiju s drugim djelatnostima (filologijom, historiografijom, ekonomijom, politikom). Ovo djelo je dano na korištenje pod licencom Creative Commons Imenovanje 4.0 međunarodna.In the teaching of new terms in chemistry, it is not enough to explain their meaning; it is also necessary to explain their etymology. Such an approach leads to a deeper understanding of technical terms and provides an original insight into the history of chemistry. This paper shows through different ways of naming chemical elements (after their physico-chemical properties, in honour of nation or notable scientists), a different attitude toward chemistry and science in the past. On the other hand, analysis of the names of organic substances reveals that organic chemistry was basically an analytical discipline, not a synthetic one. The development of the systematic (IUPAC) nomenclature reflects, however, the rise of organic synthesis since the end of the 19th century. Finding the origin of chemical terms may be both amusing and instructive, and therefore it has to be popularized in the basic teaching of chemistry. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License