Re: [Phys-L] Energy & Bonds

["John Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

I would like to see the relevant texts!!!  Remember how hard Feynman worked
to make physics texts more accurate, but in the end he was defeated.  The
big problem will then be the existing teachers who still repeat the
inaccurate information.  So has this been corrected in the middle school and
HS texts?  It is extremely hard to corrent any information in textbooks
which are written supposedly by several good authors, but have anonymous
editors who change things.  They use inaccurate stock diagrams and graphs
which are repeated through many different books.  My favorite is the heating
curve (T vs Q) for water, from ice to steam.  Ok, they often show the
process, but neglect the slopes of the lines, and the scales are often
distorted.

As to the internet, the amount of misinformation probably exceeds the good
information, and students do not have very good filters for the crap.  But
since students hardly ever crack open textbooks, getting them right will not
have much effect.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> This may have _historically_ been the case, but my 
> conversations with biologist indicate that this has been 
> corrected in the past ten years.
> Not sure about all the bio books, but the internet empowers 
> students to question "authoritative" textbooks, which is a 
> good thing -- keeps everyone learning.
>
>  Dr. Roy Jensen
> (==========)-----------------------------------------¤
>  Lecturer, Chemistry
>  E5-33F, University of Alberta
>  780.248.1808
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:09:59 -0600, you wrote:
>
> > YES, YES, YES.  I have repeately pointed out that it the released 
> > energy comes from hydration, forming new bonds.  This is 
> always ignored 
> > in bio books.  But if you read the Wikipedia account it gets 
> it right!  
> > The bio books do more than gloss.  They state that breaking 
> the bonds 
> > releases energy, but many books will say that this only true for 
> > breaking the bonds in the Krebs cycle.  In other words they are 
> > completely wrong.  This also is done in physical science books.
> >
> > John M. Clement
> > Houston, TX
> >
> > > So here's the thing...  Ultimately, energy is not stored 
> in a bond.  
> > > You can often, however, ADD energy, break that bond, form 
> a NEW bond, 
> > > and end up with a NET release in energy.
> > > That (extra) energy comes from the field between the 
> original atoms 
> > > and NEW atoms in their vicinity... BUT... that 'field energy' can 
> > > only be accessed by breaking the original bonds.
> > > Going back to ATP, you have to break those initial bonds, 
> absorbing 
> > > energy, and THEN new, stronger bonds form releasing more 
> energy than 
> > > was initially added.
> > >
> > > Biology typically glosses over the intermediate steps and 
> leaves kids 
> > > with a completely incorrect concept.  As a result, the topic of 
> > > bonding in chemistry is one of the most confusing they ever face.
> >
> >
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