how much does size matter?
March 16th, 2010 by Ψ*ΨI came across this recently, and thought it was worth sharing:
I’m elbow-deep in references now, writing my final paper for a class. Perhaps you can expect a lit post from me in the near future. Either way, expect SOMETHING, because my TAing days are over for the foreseeable future, and I can resume blogging![1]
[1] Highlights from TAing this quarter: “because calcium is not a metal”; “we calculated the morality of hydrogen peroxide.”
As natural as it gets.
More undergrad gems plz!
unfortunately, that’s all I got.
Don’t worry, in about a week you’ll have plenty of stories
The low point of my tenure as a TA was when a student turned in an assignment with a question that asked for the product obtained when benzoic acid was saponified with NaOH. The dude substituted the benzoic acid COOH group with Na with expulsion of CO2. This was definitely in the “not even wrong” category.
I have been grading Moscow Chemistry Olympiad for 4 years. Don’t get me started.
Not as good as the morality of H2O2, but: as an undergrad, one of the other students wanted to “Axe me a question about the MNR”.
this reminds me an experiment record from intro organic lab, as recorded by a Syrian student. Translated from Czech it goes like this: “The reaction is reactioning and getting black and spilling itself over me. So I go to see the bossman and the bossman says to dump it so I dump it.”
How moral is hydrogen peroxide anyway?
Reminds me of:
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=687
HAHAHAHA love the cheeeeez. Also, you have to love malapropisms and ignorance from students. Funny thing is for the most part those students generally go through to do a PhD or at least honours.
On a different note, I think Pi* would find this interesting:
“Role of Molecular Architecture in Organic Photovoltaic Cells”
D. Venkataraman*, Serkan Yurt, B. Harihara Venkatraman and Nagarjuna Gavvalapalli
Department of Chemistry, 710 North Pleasant Street, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003
J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2010, 1 (6), pp 947–958
DOI: 10.1021/jz1000819
Definitely interesting! Thanks for passing it on.
Another thanks
You’re welcome!
Hey. that’s my former advisor! I should see what he’s working on these days (especially since he’s on my committee)
your former advisor’s former advisor is my current advisor! that makes us, like, chemistry cousins. or something.
Wow, small world! I’m coming to the realization that there are only about 100 chemist, and we just all know each other and have worked with or for each other at one point time or another
Yes. All we need is the chemist equivalent of Paul Erdõs.
Six degrees of…separation science?
Demarcus Cousins > chemistry cousins
Ha ha! I’ve been waiting to see if anybody would pick this up. Unfortunately, I think chemists fit the geeky stereotype a little too well sometimes.
The funny thing is that UK’s rival tonight is more likely to evoke lively conversation here than DeMarcus Cousins.
Since OSU knocked off my alma mater, I will be booing them at a relentless pace until they lose. Go Tennessee!
…or we don’t give a shit about UK basketball, athank you very much. You don’t have to care about sports to not be socially inept.
I think I have to root for Tennessee at this point as well. (Or whoever is playing against Duke.)
excimer: fuck you.
Congrats on being done with TAing!