“COVID-19 between Myth and Science”─Innovative Experiments for Analyzing Fake News Inside and Outside the Chemistry Classroom
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Lars Otte [1] ; Marco Beeken [1]
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[1] University of Osnabrück
University of Osnabrück
Kreisfreie Stadt Osnabrück, Alemania
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- Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 99, Nº 5, 2022, págs. 1890-1899
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the acceptance of numerous measures, such as mandatory wearing of face masks or social distancing, is declining. At the same time, the spread of fake news related to these measures is on the rise. The acceptance of and compliance with the measures depends to a large extent on knowledge about these very measures. For this reason, there is a need for adequate formats inside and outside the chemistry classroom that examine the mitigation measures and related fake news more closely. The practical and problem-oriented approach of the natural sciences provides a good basis for evaluating mitigation measures and fake news. Here, the focus is primarily on the knowledge gained by conducting and evaluating experiments. For this reason, experiments related to measures and fake news on the COVID-19 pandemic were developed that can be carried out with household objects and chemicals. All experiments can be performed without much effort and are therefore intentionally designed to appeal to students and adults with little background in science. This paper presents a total of four experiments on the dispersion of aerosols and droplets, the effectiveness of face masks, and the importance and mode of action of disinfectant and soap.
