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The Human HPLC Column

The Science Teacher—January 2007

A highly relevant topic for adolescents is the impact of drug abuse on the nervous system. Out of 49,300 U.S. secondary school students surveyed, half of them will have tried an illicit drug by the time they complete high school (Johnson et al. 2005). Therefore, incorporating the topic of drug use with neuroscience, biology, psychology, health, chemistry, and math may increase attention and participation in the classroom, as well as emphasize the harmful effects of drug use and abuse. In this active, “minds-on” role-playing experience, students identify and explain key steps in chemical separation by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), while inferring the detrimental effects of drugs on the brain.
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