Superheroes to the rescue of chemistry students

USC academics have devised a cunning plan to harness the power of superheroes to help first-year Chemistry students better understand the complex concepts of the periodic table of elements.

In research published recently in the international Journal of Chemical Education, USC Fraser Coast Lecturers in Science Dr Greg Watson and Dr Jolanta Watson outlined how they used ‘pseudo’ periodic tables filled with superheroes, food types and iPad apps, as an effective teaching strategy.

Dr Greg Watson said the periodic table, with its 118 elements arranged into symbols, unique chemical properties and atomic numbers, was the most important and fundamental tool of chemistry.

“Many students starting a science-based degree do…