Do atoms “want” full electron shells, do molecules “prefer” stability, and are electrons really “attacking” each other? Or could it be that while personifying molecules might be quietly teaching us the wrong ideas? Chemistry education researcher Jessie Stenlund joins Melissa and Jam to investigate anthropomorphism, analogies, scientific language, and why a satisfying explanation isn’t necessarily an accurate one. Along the way, Melissa reckons with learning that one of her strongest teaching opinions might need revisiting.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Timestamps

00:00 — Melissa discovers she may have been teaching something wrong
00:52 — Meet chemistry education researcher Jessie Stenlund
04:17 — Why does iron rust?
08:59 — What counts as anthropomorphizing molecules?
11:09 — Why personification makes chemistry easier to learn
15:17 — When chemistry’s official language already sounds human
18:49 — How personification can confuse cause and effect
24:58 — Oversimplification, unfalsifiable claims, and chemical evidence
34:07 — When scientific shorthand replaces real understanding
36:52 — Do students think atoms and molecules are alive?
40:48 — Can satisfying explanations stop us from asking questions?
47:35 — Are electrons really “attacking” other molecules?
52:09 — How to personify chemistry more responsibly
57:00 — Finding the right balance for different learners

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
Sara Hull
Dog Day Dan
Bri .
Summer Alden
Amanda Raymond
Kyle McCray
Justine
Ash
Vince W
Julie S.
Heather Ragusa
Autoclave
Dorien VD
Scott Beyer
Jessie Reder
J0HNTR0Y
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Venus Rebholz
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rebroadcast #068

This week we issue a correction, joining other science publications issuing the same correction. That's kind of an obvious answer to the question of "Is science always right?" So in this episode we explore that question, as well as what happens when science isn't right. And why that's NOT a bad thing.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

References from this episode

1. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/reactions/videos/2019/citrus-scent-debunked.html
2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfq.12226
3. Chemistry by Julia Burdge

Thanks to our monthly supporters
Sara Hull
Dog Day Dan
Bri .
Summer Alden
Amanda Raymond
Kyle McCray
Justine
Ash
Vince W
Julie S.
Heather Ragusa
Autoclave
Dorien VD
Scott Beyer
Jessie Reder
J0HNTR0Y
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Venus Rebholz
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can cooking pasta, rice, or bread, and then cooling it down, actually make it healthier? Could yesterday’s leftovers affect your blood sugar differently than a freshly cooked meal, or is this just another nutrition “hack” invented by the internet? Melissa and Jam investigate starch, glucose, insulin, digestion, crystallization, and the surprising chemistry that happens while your food sits in the fridge. Plus, the whole thing somehow turns into a Lord of the Rings battle involving glucose, hobbits, and ents, because of course it does.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Timestamps

00:00 — Can cooking and cooling starch make it healthier?
03:52 — Why bread, pasta, and rice get a bad reputation
04:36 — Starch: a polymer made from glucose
07:03 — How glucose, insulin, and blood sugar work
09:25 — The internet’s cook-cool-reheat claim
12:14 — What crystallization has to do with leftovers
14:43 — How starch changes as cooked food cools
15:48 — What is resistant starch?
17:20 — Studies on reheated bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes
19:51 — Resistant starch, fiber, and your gut bacteria
21:26 — Can repeated reheating make even more resistant starch?
23:14 — Jam explains resistant starch using Lord of the Rings
30:44 — A free food hack with actual science behind it
34:49 — Melissa and Jam’s favorite starchy meals

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
Sara Hull
Dog Day Dan
Bri .
Summer Alden
Amanda Raymond
Kyle McCray
Justine
Ash
Vince W
Julie S.
Heather Ragusa
Autoclave
Dorien VD
Scott Beyer
Jessie Reder
J0HNTR0Y
Cullyn R
Erica Bee
Elizabeth P
Rachel Reina
Letila
Katrina Barnum-Huckins
Suzanne Phillips
Venus Rebholz
Jacob Taber
Brian Kimball
Kristina Gotfredsen
Timothy Parker
Steven Boyles
Chris Skupien
Chelsea B
Avishai Barnoy
Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.