• theUwUhugger@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    …you guys had to memorize the pepe table?!??? Why? The point of the pepe table is so that you wouldn’t have to memorize its contents!

    • BlemboTheThird@lemmy.ca
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      3 days ago

      A steadily growing portion of American education is about rote memorization instead of critical thinking because we tied testing to funding and true/false is easier to grade

    • passiveaggressivesonar@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Like not memorize the table but memorize the atomic numbers and valence electrons? Just memorize the alkali earth metals or the halogens? I don’t see how you wouldn’t be forced to memorize the table in some way

      • theUwUhugger@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Its gonna be a complicated concept so please hold my hands! You learn how to read it (we were taught in primary school) and you look at it when you need info off it?

        Like… I am studying bioengineering (bachelor, there is immeasurable amount of chem and the lack of knowing the atomic number of plutonium have yet to cost me my balls!

    • Wrufieotnak@feddit.org
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      3 days ago

      In high school I agree that learning it by heart is unnecessary. Studying chemistry in university though, I agree that the students there should know, at least roughly, where each element is. After all, a lot of reactivity and behavior depends on their period and which group they are in.

      • theUwUhugger@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Ppl absolutely must learn how to read it, but they rllllllly don’t have to know what the 2nd element is (neon?), nor its atomic weight, nor its electronegativity, nor… from memory! Thats why we have pepe tables

      • TonyTonyChopper@mander.xyz
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        3 days ago

        I have a PhD in chemistry. It was never expected that we memorize anything. You just take out a periodic table when you need one.

        • Wrufieotnak@feddit.org
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          3 days ago

          Interesting but not surprising that it differs. In my case it was mostly due to one seminar tutor, not a professor.