The teaching of polymer concepts early in an undergraduate's education is of great importance since a future career in the sciences may likely involve some interaction with, and the understanding of, polymers and materials. PUNK, Polymer Undergraduate Network of Knowledge , is a new online portal of teaching resources available for augmenting introductory course content. Here is described the use of concise lecture slides from PUNK for a first semester organic chemistry course. After giving a 30 minute lecture on olefin polymerization, an initial survey gauged the students' interest in polymers. Weeks later, PUNK slides were used to introduce several additional topics. Student feedback includes short paragraphs on usefulness and likelihood of visiting the website after the course. A few polymer-related questions were also included in subsequent tests based on the ACS Organic Chemistry study guide. Notably, our current textbook covers proteins, DNA, and synthetic polymers in chapters 25, 26, and 27, respectively, but due to time constraints rarely does the full sequence organic chemistry course cover material past chapter 21. Hence, the use of PUNK material may provide a more effective way to convey polymer concepts and appreciation to science majors in an organic chemistry course.

Use of a new online resource, P.U.N.K., to facilitate the inclusion of polymer topics in first semester organic chemistry

247th National Meeting (2014)

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