HANDWASHING: THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE CONTROL OF CORONAVIRUS

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December 19, 2020

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

Upper school chemistry students work on ways to get critical pandemic health information out to the community using professional media.

Chemistry class at Notre Dame Prep typically covers among many topics stoichiometry, energy, chemical bonding, solutions, acids and bases, and gas laws. Skills used by students in class could include chemical analysis, identification of metals with flame tests and writing electron configuration.

What the course catalog doesn't list, however, are skills such as graphic design, PR and podcast creation. But this week, in Louise Palardy's virtual Chemistry 1, 2 class, those "non-scientific" talents were front and center as students worked on an at-home lab Palardy called "The Chemistry of Hand Sanitizer and Soap," which obviously has real-world applications and benefits, especially this year.

Palardy said the students compared the differences between simple hand-washing with soap and water and using alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Then, they had to create some sort of public service announcement comparing the options and explaining the chemistry behind the products. She said students could create an infographic or podcast or other means to get the word out to the general public.

"We have a new software available to the students for creating podcasts called Sound Trap," Palardy said. "I think we are the first class here on campus to use it. The infographics the kids created also were very creative and professionally done.

"They really did a great job."

Listen to the podcast below. 

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.