Bonus: Is higher pH water better? (and other questions)
Hey. I'm Melissa.
Jam:I'm Jam.
Melissa:And I'm a chemist. And I'm not. And welcome to chemistry for your life.
Jam:The podcast helps you understand the chemistry Of your everyday life, bonus edition.
Melissa:I'm very excited for this bonus edition. I guess I'm always excited. Maybe I should stop telling people that.
Jam:I But Yes. I mean, they're exciting. Why not?
Melissa:They're exciting. I think this one's gonna be especially fun.
Jam:So if you've never listened to one of these Q and r episodes or bonus episodes or whatever. Exactly what it sounds like. We now we do these, Actually, we've always done the once a month.
Melissa:Always once a month, but now once a month in place of an episode.
Jam:That's right. That's right. We used to do them in addition to, and that that was a lot of work, and that kinda killed us a little bit. So Yeah.
Melissa:A lot of work, especially as a grad student and a new father.
Jam:Yes. Yeah. Not so new, but still still yeah. You know? If you never noticed one of these before, this is where we answer those questions that we ask you guys to send us.
Jam:If it's not a full on episode, which a lot of the ideas I'll send, Melissa's like, oh, we gotta do an episode about that.
Melissa:Yes.
Jam:If it's not one of those, then we talk about it here. And it could be a Quick little correction, or it can be a totally other chemistry question. It could be a question about chemistry career kind of stuff. People have asked about that In the past and also And
Melissa:we're actually touching on that again today.
Jam:Nice. And sometimes we get fun, not at all commission related questions that we also answer here too. So
Melissa:So true. We have some of those today as well.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:But before we get started on all of those fun questions, I do actually have kind of a different activity that I wanna do.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:And that's gonna make this bonus episode a little bit longer. So if you're expecting our usual 15, 20 minute, it might be a little bit longer. So this is the 1st episode we have recorded during Black History Month. We released 1, but we We recorded it in January, and I really wanted to take that opportunity to use our platform to kind of uplift Some black scientists who have made a difference in everyday life because their show is all about science in everyday life. Right?
Jam:Yeah. Yep.
Melissa:And I really wanna do this partially because we learn a lot about white male scientists, and They have done a lot to contribute to the development of chemistry and other science fields for sure, but there are also so many other groups of people who have also contributed to the history of science. But because of the social climate, when they were contributing and because of some of the status quo that just keeps that going now, We don't talk about those people very much, and I think that kind of does a disservice to those groups.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.
Melissa:But also, I have read studies that actually show that there are the way we teach science can Maybe subtly or maybe not so subtly communicate to students that science is for them or science is not for them. And one of those things that can communicate that is seeing role models who look like them being in the field.
Jam:Right.
Melissa:So putting up a lot of the traditional people we hear about a lot like Linus Pauling and Boar and all these people who have done really amazing things Doesn't really encourage some of our students that we have in our classrooms today to realize that they can really make a difference and contribute to science too.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa:So that's part of why I wanted to take time to do this and also wanted to encourage. If you are an educator, there are a lot of scientists who are Still active in doing research that can tie into your curriculum. So putting their pictures up on the board and talking about them as we're going through your unit. I know it's like, Who has time to do any of this? Because Mhmm.
Melissa:We run through science at such a quick pace in a lot of our classrooms. But if you can find time to do that or Work that into an activity that can actually really benefit your students.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:And, actually, the way I do that is I have an extra credit essay for my Students where they can find a scientist that they identify with in some way and write about that person.
Jam:Nice. That's cool.
Melissa:I definitely did not come up with that idea, but I Definitely did not come up with that idea, but I wanted to share. I've I don't remember where I heard it, but I wanted to share. And I love reading those. I learn about new scientists every time My students turned those in, so very cool.
Jam:Yeah. That's awesome.
Melissa:So today, I wanna talk about Marie M. Daley. She was the 1st black woman to earn a PhD in chemistry.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:And I really wanted to highlight that because I can literally not Imagine how difficult that would have been.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:Just being a black person, being a woman, being both of those at the same time, And both of those are disadvantaged groups in science even still, but back then for sure. And the adversity that she must have overcome and the Crap that she must have dealt with just on a day to day basis, in addition to all the regular stuff that comes with being a grad student, I just Cannot imagine. So I want to just laud her with all the credit. Is laud the word I meant there?
Jam:That sounds right to me.
Melissa:Yeah. Okay. Good.
Jam:When When did she get her PhD? Or around when was she studying?
Melissa:It was in the 19 forties.
Jam:Okay. Cool. Wow. Yeah. Thing is.
Jam:Yeah. That was a very different time in a lot of ways.
Melissa:Yes. So she was born in 1921 in Queens, New York. And the first thing that kinda sparked her love of chemistry, her dad had studied chemistry, but because of his financial situation, was not able to finish his degree. And then she read a book called The Microbe Hunters about the scientists who started to see the world at a microscopic level. So that was probably So cool to read about.
Jam:Nice. Nice.
Melissa:And then she went on to get her bachelor's degree in chemistry at Queens College, And then she was awarded a fellowship to get her master's degree at New York University, and she did that in 1 year.
Jam:Wow. Dang.
Melissa:I know. It took me just for reference, it took me 3 years to get a master's degree. Yeah.
Jam:Dang.
Melissa:The standard time is 2, and I took of a different path, but 1 year seems very quick to me.
Jam:Yeah. Seriously.
Melissa:Now schools may have been structured slightly differently at that time, but I'm still very impressed with that Turnaround.
Jam:Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It still would have been in I mean, obviously, the idea of calling get a master's degree was a Higher level, higher achievement kinda thing. Right.
Melissa:I'm
Jam:sure it was not an easy feat no matter how different it was.
Melissa:Right. And then in 3 years, She got her PhD in at Columbia University, and all of those degrees were in chemistry.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:And when she was at Columbia, her research was into how enzymes work on cornstarch, which if you remember, we talked about Cornstarch and enzymes as a way to develop high fructose corn syrup.
Jam:Mhmm. Yes. Yes.
Melissa:So it might not have been the same enzymes, but is still really relevant work to us. I'm sure that is some of the foundational work to getting to be able to make high fructose corn syrup.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa:Or to understanding how enzymes work with cornstarch.
Jam:Yeah. Interesting.
Melissa:And then also, she after she left, she got a postdoctoral, fellowship, she also did some teaching. So she taught and ordered research at Howard College, which is still, active today, The Rockefeller Institute and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. And some of her research that she did after she graduated was Helping link high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which is very common in medicine today. Like, people know that high blood Pressure and high cholesterol are linked, but she did some of the pioneering work in that Nice. Nice.
Melissa:She worked on.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:And there's a paper that she published that had, Linked cigarette smoking with heart function.
Jam:Mhmm. Okay. Yeah.
Melissa:So how cigarette smokes impacts heart function.
Jam:Yeah. Dang.
Melissa:So that's very cool. I linked to some of her papers that were published with her name on it. So exciting.
Jam:Dang.
Melissa:In, peer reviewed journals That that you can find that on our show notes, but then she finished up with creating a scholarship in her dad's name for students at Queens College who are studying chemistry and physics.
Jam:Man, that's
Melissa:awesome. Very that so cool?
Jam:Very cool. Yeah. Absolutely.
Melissa:I was very excited to read about her.
Jam:I'm especially, like, just, you know, of all those things that are really cool, I have have know a little bit more and have, like, seen some of the history behind just how hard it was to start proving some of the connection of health health that affects, cigarettes and how they affect Her health, so knowing that she was part of that is really cool to hear.
Melissa:Yeah. I was really excited to learn about her. I'd never heard about her before. I tried to find articles on Lesser known chemists who have impacted everyday life, and, she was on a list from the chemistry and engineering news article put out, I think, last February. So I also linked to that as well.
Jam:Nice. Very
Melissa:cool. Thanks, doctor Daley, for all the cool work that you've done and for Literally blazing the path for black women studying chemistry. I feel like the work that you did in that way can never be highlighted enough.
Jam:Yeah. And thanks for telling us about her, Melissa. That's awesome.
Melissa:Yeah. Of course. Alright. Now let's get in to the listener questions.
Jam:Okay. So this first question is from, the username Boudreaux b, and they asked, when something stretches, What's happening at the molecular level?
Melissa:Okay. So I briefly looked this up, and I could not find any satisfying answers. I think they asked maybe in a message previously sent if, like, bonds are breaking, but I I don't think. That's not my instinct because if you zoom into the molecular level, atoms are very small, and they're held together, like, next to each other by Intermolecular forces. Right?
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:Well, I guess molecules are very small. Atoms are held together by bonds, and then molecules Made up of atoms are held together by intermolecular forces.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:So my guess is that there could be increasing space between the molecules As the work is happening to overcome those intermolecular forces so imagine, like, silly putty stretching apart.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:You may be slowly overcoming the intermolecular forces that are holding together piece by piece. You're creating enough space until it's not attached anymore. I would be surprised if you're physically breaking bonds because you'd have to be breaking bonds forming new bonds is a chemical reaction. So I think it's more of a physical change of the molecules physically separating than the molecules Changing.
Jam:Oh, yeah. I see what you're saying.
Melissa:Now the one case where I think that might be different is in the case of breaking apart something like a salt. A salt is a lattice, so it's held together where a lot of ions, like positively charged ions, are surrounded by negatively charged ions, which are surrounded by positively charged ions, which are surrounded by negatively charged ions.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:So that's an ionic bond. And if you break off a piece of salt, you're breaking off a piece of that lattice. So I would think in that case, you are overcoming the ionic VOD, I think.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:But I don't know for sure. That's my chemistry off the cuff.
Jam:Nice. That is very interesting. Very good question. Kinda reminds me of, like, Whenever I asked about what is stickiness. You know?
Melissa:Yes.
Jam:It's like that kind
Melissa:of thing.
Jam:Be like, what's what is stretchiness? What is really happening At the molecular level. That's cool.
Melissa:Yeah. I think it's space between the molecules by overcoming intermolecular forces. That's my thought.
Jam:Nice. Good question, Boudreaux.
Melissa:That is a good question. I really liked that a lot.
Jam:This next one is from Andrew l. And Andrew asked, Why do you think there is a strong stigma associated with Ochem? Now I know you don't have, like, strong opinions on this Melissa at all. So No. No.
Jam:We need to skip this question and you're just yeah. That's totally fine. No big deal at all.
Melissa:Well, guess what? I don't wanna skip this question.
Jam:Okay. Yeah. Okay. Whatever. Yeah.
Jam:We wanna be.
Melissa:So, Andrew, this is my area of research, which Jim knows, So that's why he laughed at me. I wish I could tell you everything about what I have researched about it, but it's currently submitted for publication. So If and when that is accepted, I will be able to summarize my research without fear of being plagiarized or someone else trying to, like, kind of scoop me, basically. But in the meantime, I can tell you what I think and not what my research has found. For one thing, I think OCHEM has this Reputation around it that it's really bad, and somehow this has spread beyond just chemistry.
Melissa:And so the way people feel about what they're learning, for example, fear of a subject that's been told is very hard, That can impact their learning experience. Yeah. And so I kind of think in some ways that is perpetuating itself. Right? Like, We've heard that OKEM isn't gonna be really hard, so we think it's gonna be really hard.
Melissa:And then we get in there, and we're scared, and so we're not functioning optimally because we have a lot of anxiety and fear around it, and then we don't do well, and then we tell other people that it's really hard.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa:So I think that's part of what it could be, but, really, our feelings do affect our learning experience. Like, if you can think of subject that you loved in how you approach that versus a subject that you dreaded and how you approach that, you're much more likely to have a positive learning experience where you actually are Creating new knowledge in your mind, then if not.
Jam:Yeah. That makes sense.
Melissa:And that's a whole learning or a whole learning theory called meaningful learning based on, his last name is Novak. I can't remember his first name off the top of my head, but he created this learning theory called meaningful learning. Students have to choose to integrate knowledge as part of their learning process. And if they're not interested or they don't have positive feelings towards that, they are less likely to make that choice. That's part of it.
Melissa:The other part of it is I think the class is not taught well. So we have developed these ideas about what students, quote, unquote, need to learn in order to be successful in their next class, and I think that minimizes how much they experience of the scientific process, right, where they're making observations and trying to figure out Why the things that we're observing happen the way that they do
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:And it's not often related back to everyday life. It's like Just a bunch of reactions thrown at you that you're expected to know, and then you leave the class and it never comes back in.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa:So that is part of why I made this podcast is because I believe it's taught in a way that's unhelpful, And so I want to change that, and that's also some of the research I'm doing, and other people have similar research. So one thing that's emerging is something called Systems thinking where we teach chemistry concepts by looking at a big picture problem. Like, okay, climate change. What's all the chemistry concepts that we can teach that connect to this system rather than just teaching isolated facts that don't connect to each other and don't feel as if they have any real world experience.
Jam:Yeah. That makes total sense.
Melissa:And then the last thought I have is that it's a lot of work. It's just really hard to learn organic chemistry. Even if you have an incredible teacher, if they're sticking to this curriculum that we've been told we have to teach and they're going at the pace that it goes out. A lot of times, that's difficult to keep up with. And, also, learning organic chemistry Because you have to learn all of these, like, shorthand symbols, it's kind of like learning a new language, and then immediately, you have to start speaking in the language.
Jam:That is a great analogy. I've not thought about like that. But that, like Yes. Makes total sense why why it'd be so hard then. You know?
Melissa:Yes. Yeah. It's really difficult. And there's even a book called Organic Chemistry as a Second Language. But if you think of it like that, I think you can have a little bit of grace for yourself.
Melissa:Like, Oh, this is hard.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:So it's gonna take a lot of work. That's part of how it gets all of its reputation.
Jam:Mhmm. But if
Melissa:you go in thinking this is hard, it's gonna take a lot of work. It is relevant to my everyday life, though, and I am capable of doing it if I put in the work. I think students would have a better experience than just the fear. Yeah. So I try to address that with my students at the beginning of class, but it's hard.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa:So those are all my thoughts on why it has a stigma associated with it. But once my paper gets published, I could tell you all about that, and, really, I could talk about the stigma associated with OKM all day. Nice. So
Jam:Yeah. So that's a little teaser sort of in some ways.
Melissa:Yes. It is a teaser. I it's been very hard for me not to talk much about my work now. I'm very excited for when I'll be able to do that.
Jam:Yeah. Definitely. We are too. So this next question is from Katie h. And Katie asks, why do I feel like I'm buying better water when it has a higher pH?
Melissa:So I have heard a few people ask me this question. And first, I wanna say, what does it mean when you have higher pH water or alkaline water? Those mean the same thing. Uh-huh. And pH is basically just a measure of hydronium ions or h plus ions or basically protons without electrons attached to them in water.
Melissa:And the more you have of those, the lower your pH, which I know that's kind of counterintuitive.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:And then the less you have, the higher pH, and it's actually more basic. So basic is a bigger pH. They both start with b, and It has less of those h plus ions floating around or hydrogen add a or hydrogen ions, protons, whatever you've heard them called, all those things. Yeah. But, honestly, I don't think it is better water.
Melissa:I think there is a marketing campaign that wants you to think that, and they've been pretty successful, but I've found a few research articles, and I linked them below. And none of them have conclusively shown that it does anything positive in your body. However, I think there is one thing that it could change, and that is the environment in your stomach and your gut. So Your gut health matters a lot for your overall health. There's a lot of bacteria in there, and they need a certain environment.
Melissa:But I believe that your stomach Acid exists to kind of help regulate and make sure it is at the right pH.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:So I think your stomach might neutralize that out either way. The other thing I've thought is if you have an acid stomach regularly so a lot of times, I've had damage previously to my Stomach lining. So I just tend to get, like, burning in my stomach Mhmm. Where basically my stomach lining can't handle the acid that's present in my stomach. Yeah.
Melissa:And I'll take Tums, which if you wanna learn more about how that works, we have a whole episode about it.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:But I'll take that, and it Cancels out some of the acid to relieve some of that burn. And I think higher alkaline water could actually help me with that. If I know I'm going to have ceviche for dinner, which is tons and tons of lime juice, then maybe I should drink alkaline water with it.
Jam:Yeah. Right. I see.
Melissa:But other than that, I don't see how it could improve your physical health. Now something I also don't know about is does it taste Better. And I think, Jim, you mentioned there was something you wanna talk about with that.
Jam:Yes. Totally. So, obviously, you know, the only thing I can really bring to the table is, does something relate to coffee or not? And if it does, then I probably have thoughts on it. So I That's hilarious.
Jam:I have used alkaline water. I forget the exact pH that I had used for a little while. I tested for about 6 months using it with coffee. And, this is a couple years ago. And I also talked to A q grader that I know, that is basically the same equivalency for, like, being a sommelier.
Jam:You have to, like, Pass tests and stuff. So I know AQ grader. It's a really difficult process. Basically, you have to have, like be able to prove that your pallet is accurate, Which is so hard to think about.
Melissa:Yeah. That is hard to think about. And accurate to what? Yes. Like, some objective standard.
Jam:Yes. Exactly. And it and it's like And sometimes they'll do things to the coffee to make you that they know they did and see if you're you can taste it. So that's one of the ways they do that.
Melissa:They're trying to trick you.
Jam:Yeah. They they'll taint coffee sometimes and see if you can pick up on it, stuff like that. All that to say, this is only 1 Q grader. I talked to him about it, and he said That in terms of flavor, not for health reasons or anything like that, that he thinks there are specific coffees that are more on the acidic side that using alkaline water would really help the flavor, and he has seen that to be the case. Not just, like, hypothetically, but in his He's used it a few times and has found that to be Okay.
Jam:A good thing.
Melissa:That makes sense if it's very acidic coffee that the basicity of the water can counteract some of the acidity, which I think as acidic foods are usually sour, and basic Foods are sometimes more bitter. So I could see that like, I have heard, although I don't know this for a fact, that Fish is more basic because it has some ammonia in it. Mhmm. And we like lemon on it because it neutralizes some of that Basicity. Yeah.
Melissa:So a similar idea that it can neutralize some of the unwanted acidity in the coffee.
Jam:Totally. And it obviously brings up, you know, tons of questions about What level of acidity in basicness in a food?
Melissa:Basicity?
Jam:Basic yeah. In a food, what Amount of that can we actually taste? How much does our dirty taste buds pick up on that? Because coffee the 1 coffee to another, they may be even roasted really similarly, and one may just taste a lot more acidic. That's that's tough to to really parse out.
Jam:You know what I mean? But, but he he did confirm that he thinks that there is a Flavor benefit for acidic coffees.
Melissa:So there there you go. Maybe that's why you feel better.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:I personally drink water from the tap. We do have a little filter that we put it through in our fridge.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:But sometimes I just still only use it from the tap. I don't know if that makes me terrible or not, but that's what I do.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah. That's something you do.
Melissa:Better for the environment. You know? Mhmm.
Jam:Makes sense.
Melissa:And I'm fortunate that the water that we have tastes fine and is safe to drink.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:So I have that that privilege to be able to drink water from the tap confidently. So I don't usually buy water bottled water.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:But I have heard That sometimes certain bottled waters are literally just tap water bottled.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:So really check things out and see what you're Buying. And if you're buying alkaline water, really ask yourself why you're buying it. Is it for the taste, or is it for what think might be health benefits that aren't proven yet?
Jam:Yeah. That's good. So this next question is from Sheeran as a I believe it's how it's pronounced. If If I mess it up, I'm very sorry. Sharon asked or said this, honestly speaking, I'm really interested in chemistry Even if it's difficult concepts, but I'm afraid of sticking in the lab for the rest of my life.
Jam:For this reason, I have no desire to continue my passion in the field.
Melissa:Okay. That totally makes sense. I also didn't wanna be in the lab for the rest of my life. One, because it's not the safest, healthiest environment To be in day in, day out, especially if you're a woman and you wanna become pregnant at some point, that kind of adds new complications that you would have to plan to deal with.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:Women can, for sure, work in lab long term if they want, but that just wasn't something that I wanted to deal with. Yeah. Yeah. So here are list of chemistry jobs that you can do with a chemistry degree even outside of a lab. Research in a lab is one of them.
Melissa:You could teach. You could be a chemistry tutor. And if you're really good at it, you can make Up to and above $100 an hour. You could be a science communicator. That's what I wanna You can be a science journalist.
Melissa:You can work in any area of the medical field helping people. You can work in a forensics lab. You can do pretty much any job that requires you to have some kind of problem solving. So we have a friend who got a degree in chemistry, and Actually, now he works in app development. Yeah.
Melissa:Because you develop skills in problem solving and thinking critically and observing things that many people need you to have to be successful in other jobs. You can work in the field. And what I mean by quote, Unquote, in the field is there's a lot of environmental jobs where you have to go out and test water or things like that so you can work at a job where you'll be out of the lab working in the field. A lot of, like, marine chemists that I know from my sister's career have jobs where they're in the lab some, but they're also, like, on boats a lot.
Jam:Nice. That sounds cool.
Melissa:If you learn more about the education side, you can go into curriculum planning and management, and you can also Educators on how to teach chemistry well. There are lobbyists who need to have a good understanding of chemistry. You can also go into patent review. So if you are interested in law, you can get a degree in chemistry and a degree in law, and you can review patents for a job and, From what I've heard, make a ton of money. And you can also get a higher level degree in chemistry and work on patents without the law degree, I think.
Jam:Interesting.
Melissa:You can be a data analyst if you work in one of the areas of chemistry that has high levels of data to be analyzed. You can do food science, which isn't a lab, but kind of like a A cool lab setting. You could do cosmetic science, which, again, lab, but kind of a different lab setting. You could work oil company and make a lot of money, although you might have problems with your morals because of all the stuff we learned about plastics. So be careful
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:If you're going down that path. So chemistry is really everywhere. Those are just ideas I thought of off the top of my head. Having a background in it will help you in so many fields. We know a chemist who I think was it a chemist or his parents were chemist who We're in a coffee shop, and he used his chemistry knowledge to inform his coffee brew.
Jam:Yeah. His parents were chemists. Exactly. Yep. Mhmm.
Melissa:Yeah. So, really, chemistry helps you anywhere you are. So if you're interested in chemistry and you need a college degree, That could be a fun one that would challenge you to think more and give you the tools to be in a lot of different spaces.
Jam:Awesome. There's a lot of great options. Very cool.
Melissa:I thought they were good options. Yeah. I was like, wow. These Yeah. Wow.
Melissa:I'm excited how many I came up with.
Jam:This next question is from Gracie, and Gracie asked, what advice would you offer to college aged chemists?
Melissa:And Gracie is a UNT Eagle, so go Mean Green, Gracie.
Jam:Oh, nice.
Melissa:There's a lot of advice I have for any college student. For any college student, I think it's okay to get enough sleep. It's important to get enough sleep.
Jam:Yeah. For sure.
Melissa:And if your schedule doesn't allow it, you need to consider what to take off your schedule or how to manage that better so that you can sleep. I thought I didn't have time to sleep, but what I actually Was doing was wasting a lot of time in college. It's also okay to change your mind about what you wanna do, so I thought that I wanted to do organic chemistry research. And then the more I did that, the more I realized I wouldn't be help happy in that long term. And so I switched gears and Stopped my PhD at a master's level and changed programs and started back over at the age of, like, 27 Yeah.
Melissa:Or 28. So I think some people think it's too late for me to change my mind, but it is never too late for you to move closer towards doing something that will bring you joy long term. And I think you should make friends in any job that you're in, in any class that you're in, any opportunity you have to make friends and study together, that will make your college experience a lot better. And, honestly, after watching my mom get sick and pass away, her coworkers were there, but her actual work was not there. So it's really more about The way that you care about the people around you while you're doing the work that you're doing, I think
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:Long term in our lives rather than the work that you're doing. I think being a good worker is important, but I think having friends while you're doing the work is also really important.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa:And then for chemistry specific, I think you should do undergraduate research to see if that's something you wanna do, and there's a lot of cool opportunities. I actually talked about this on my TikTok. The 2 main ones I know is you can do undergraduate research at your university, or you can do something called an REU, which is a research experience for undergraduates. It's funded by the National Science Foundation. I think it might only be open to American citizens or students studying in America, But you can go anywhere in the world to do it, and you basically get paid and your living expenses covered to do science for a summer, and it's incredibly cool.
Jam:That sounds awesome.
Melissa:Yeah. This is very cool. So that do undergraduate research so you can see if you would wanna be in a lab long term or be exposed to other things and develop new skills and learn about How people live in other areas. Yeah. Any other advice you'd have for college student, Jam?
Jam:I think this has come up in a couple of Q and R's in the past, And I can't really, like, what I said in the previous ones. I probably had more a little bit more time to kind of think of a response, but, I would kind of reiterate what you said about time management. I think it behooves any student of any, you know, major or whatever whatever degree you're in to find out what works well for you to manage your time well. If it's like a Did your digital calendar or paper 1 or whatever block out time for things, for 1, just for studying and homework. So I don't leave that late, obviously.
Jam:Then also block out time for fun and for sleep and for, you know, reading for fun and Things like that. Just be a person who becomes good at managing time, not just so that you got your homework done, but also so you Make time for the things that are good for your mental health and for your Mhmm. Physical health. I I think it's really important to to find a thing that you can do physically that you enjoy. And Yeah.
Jam:Sometimes the f the positive effect on your mental health from that is huge. So
Melissa:Yeah. 1 year Kind of gives you time back almost. Exactly.
Jam:Exactly. 1 year, I decided to take a racquetball class because it was a a semester that I I don't remember Hawaii for some reason, but I had, like the I had to take classes in a specific order in my program, and so I had some A slightly lighter load 1 semester and added a racquetball class. And, obviously, I coulda just gone and played racquetball on my own anyway, but I wanted to learn it better, and it was so fun. It was great. I made some friends in it.
Jam:It was good for me. It was kinda cool. Definitely built into my schedule every week I've had to play racquetball for for a class. You know? So Mhmm.
Jam:Things like that, I think, are are are really important for me in in my college experience. And friendships, like you already said, Melissa, were absolutely huge. I had some friends within my major, and I tried really hard also to make some friends outside of my major too and just, both of those things really helped sustain me through through my college experience. So yeah.
Melissa:Yeah. That while you're talking, that kind of reminded me that I think your mental health is more important than your grades.
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:And so if you're at a Crossroads where you feel like you're working so hard at school that your mental health is suffering, I think you need to take a step back. And if that means delaying a semester or taking a lighter load if you're able to do that, that's okay and good, and you should. And,
Jam:the
Melissa:other thing I thought is you will likely fail at things, and that does not make you a failure. Yeah. Yeah. You will You're gonna have some of the hardest classes you've ever had, and some of them are not designed well, and some of them maybe won't have the best teachers. It just depends kind of.
Melissa:But You aren't a failure because you've experienced something new and difficult that you weren't good at right away, and that's okay. And if you really love The work that you're planning to do, it's worth it to push through that failure, I think. Yeah. So those are my thoughts. Good question, Gracie.
Jam:Yes. And and I'm hearing right now, if you can't you can't see me guys, but I'm touching my ear like a newscaster would. I think we have another, correspondent on the line who might have a thought or two on what Helped them in their college, season. Is that right, Melissa?
Melissa:Yes. I think here with me, just walked into this Base is Mason Kaye. Mason got his engineering degree from West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. And he wants to share some thoughts on how to be a good I've I've lost my newscaster voice. Mason, how what helped you be good in college?
Melissa:What helped you succeed? What advice would you give to an undergraduate student?
Maison:Lot to think
Jam:this is
Maison:a lot to think about, on such short notice, when you're studying for tests. What I used to do is kinda split it up. So don't cram. Try to cram all the night before. You want to, Spread it out a little bit.
Maison:And if you do decide to cram the night before, You're gonna want to, study both in the night and then go to sleep, get your sleep, and wake up in the morning and study again that morning. Like, refresh the things, like, go over what you thought you didn't do as well at the night before, and refresh your mind on on that stuff.
Melissa:That's actually supported by learning theories that you learn better if you do a little at a time spread out Yeah. Because you interrupt your forgetting Getting processed regularly, and sleeping helps you perform a task better. So I tell my students if they're going to pull an all nighter, please do it 2 or 3 days earlier Mhmm. And then sleep before the exam. But, really, I beg them not to pull an all niner because it is not Worth it Mhmm.
Melissa:For your long term mental health. I think not sleeping enough is part of why my body doesn't function well because not Sleeping, your body interprets as being under attack, and it activates your immune system. Yeah. Fun fact. Learned it in a college a grad student presentation I did.
Melissa:Okay. Well, thanks for that input, Mason. You're a good correspondent, and we're gonna get back to our q and r.
Jam:Bye, Mason.
Maison:Bye, everyone. And Jim.
Jam:So this next question is from Renee c, and she asks, what would you do if you didn't have to work?
Melissa:Well, Renee, I would do the same thing I'm doing now, except I wouldn't be looking for a job after I graduated. I would just Instead of doing graduate school teaching and my podcast, I would only do my podcast. That would be the dream is do this podcast, and then I also have a TikTok where I make fun chemistry content And a YouTube where I actually do more OChem course material. So I would probably just do those And then go to beautiful places and spend a lot of time in nature, like, with trees and ice and lakes.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:What about you, Jam?
Jam:I'm in a similar boat in that I think a lot of the things I currently do would not change, To be honest, maybe
Melissa:I know what would change.
Jam:What would change?
Melissa:If your wife Didn't have to work.
Jam:Yeah. Definitely.
Melissa:That would be the dream Yeah. For you.
Jam:My wife didn't have to work for both of us. That would be the dream. She would have a much more interesting answer for this. But one thing that that would be a a natural result, she'd get to spend more time with our son, And that would give me a little more time also to do things like the podcast and the church stuff that I do as well. So there's a A few ways that that would give our life just more elbow room.
Melissa:Mhmm.
Jam:But some I mean, what what's cool, I think, is that I have tried really hard to make room as much as I can even though, you know, it's it is hard for the things I want to do that aren't Mhmm. That unfortunately don't make money or don't make very much, and try to have that be what what I try to have that be a part of my life no matter what. And so and that's part partly just because I want to, and it makes me happier and all that stuff. So Yeah.
Melissa:Yeah. I think we're both lucky that our jobs are passion projects.
Jam:Yeah. Definitely.
Melissa:But I also think we're both lucky that we Entered into a financial lifelong agreement with 2 people who support the income of our house.
Jam:Yeah. Definitely so. So And, yeah, and have a really stable situation and, yeah, all that stuff. So yeah.
Melissa:Yeah. So that helps us both to be able to do So we're both very lucky to be able to answer that question that way.
Jam:Yeah. A 100%. To have a way of having something you really love be part of your life.
Melissa:If
Jam:it's your job, huge bonus. If not, then then make it fit in there somewhere.
Melissa:Yeah. Definitely. That's a good thing to say.
Jam:If you love sewing, Then find a way to make sure you can sew some time.
Melissa:Oh, I'm taking that on as a hobby, actually. I just bought a mini sewing machine used mini sewing machine for $40, I'm very excited.
Jam:Nice. Awesome. Totally random out of my head. I just thought that's something that some people can make a career, and some people can just do for fun. You know?
Melissa:Mhmm. That's a good one. Or
Jam:go go roast coffee. You know what I mean? In my case
Melissa:Roasting coffee.
Jam:Yes. One of several things that I do that don't make me very much money, but are fun, and I enjoy them. So
Melissa:Yeah. Yep. Well, I think our very last question is also from Renee C, and I am very excited to answer this one.
Jam:So Renee C asked, why didn't you use my question last night?
Melissa:Okay, Renee. She's my sister, so that's more of a sister type question.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:But there might be listeners who are also wondering that who are not my sister.
Jam:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Melissa:So for those of you who have that same question, it's very hard to answer everyone's questions. We try to make these episodes mini. Mhmm. You know, short, in bite sized, easy to take in. Also, sometimes people ask questions that require a whole episode So to answer.
Melissa:For example, someone asked about the chemistry of tears. That's not a q and r type question. So those are the two reasons, but We do read all your questions, and we are excited by all of
Jam:them. Yes. Yes. And sometimes somebody come in that we don't have a chance to, even though we try to to tell people, thanks for your question. That will probably show up in some way.
Jam:At some at some point in the future, maybe it's a full episode. And Right. So that's just the downside of this This not being our main thing, sometimes we get Instagram stuff, email stuff. We noticed in that message on Facebook we hadn't Realized was there sitting there for, like, a month. So Yeah.
Jam:Something like that. We definitely want all your questions, and you guys since it's Such great ones that sometimes there's just no way to fit them all. So
Melissa:And sometimes we start recording before the timer has run out on the Instagram story. So sometimes people send in their questions later than
Jam:Right.
Melissa:Our recording date. That's on me. I post the Instagram stories late sometimes. But we are really thankful for all of our listeners who send in questions, and We're really thankful for our listeners who support us on Cofi. And for those of you who don't know, that is our digital tip jar where if you wanna help contribute to the show or help us expand our equipment or do other new cool things.
Melissa:Like, recently, we've been able to release transcripts of every episode that more people have access to the information is very exciting. So thank you so much to those of you who have supported us in that way.
Jam:And those people who are either monthly givers or have given since we thanked, one time givers last time are Chelsea b, Christina g, Nate s, Hunter r, Jacob t, Emily c, Timothy p, an anonymous person, but you know who you are. So thank you. Steven b, Alyssa Os or o s. I'm not sure how to pronounce that. Derek l and Julian e.
Jam:Thank you guys much for helping keep our show going. We love to be able to make the show free for everyone, but, obviously, the cost of making it, is not free, unfortunately. So thank you guys for helping us bring this podcast to everyone and bring Chemistry to everybody's lives.
Melissa:And I especially wanna shout out Emily c who's a fellow chemistry instructor who wrote us a really nice message. We really appreciate that, Emily. Thank you so much.
Jam:This episode of chemistry for your life was created by Melissa Cleany and Jam Robinson. And we'd like to give a special thanks to E Robinson reviewed this episode?
