Here's a fear factor: chemistry.
High school teachers see this fear firsthand and take various approaches to eliminating teenage angst over this subject. Even adults approach the subject with trepidation.
Jeanne Suehr, a chemistry teacher at Yough Senior High School, wrote her master's thesis on students' fears of chemistry.
"There wasn't a lot of research on why students were afraid of chemistry," said Suehr, who has been teaching for 10 years. "What I've observed in my classes is that students come into high school chemistry with the general impression that it's a hard subject. Even adults and other professionals might say that."
The layman's view of the science, with its periodic table, formulas and equations, is that it is difficult to comprehend.
"The perception is that teachers will make you memorize a lot of useless information, but many chemistry teachers now work to make it understandable and enjoyable," Suehr said. "It's more important for students to understand the periodic table, not memorize it. I try to take the positive approach to facilitate students' learning."
Chemistry teachers use regular household items to demonstrate how chemistry works. Suehr has used gumdrops and marshmallows so students can build molecule models. Pretzel sticks are great for representing chemical bonds. She even has a "landfill in a bucket" that is used in class to demonstrate separating mixtures.
When Suehr was teaching at Bermudian Springs High School, Adams County, in 1996, she received the Bayer Award for a project where students monitored the toxicity of household chemicals on algae.
This year, she obtained computer sensors, to use in Yough High School science labs, through the Mon Valley Education Consortium's Great Ideas grant program. Chemistry students use the equipment to observe and graph fluctations in acid rain and the energy content of various foods. Biology students in Jason Kramer's classes have tested the water quality in local streams.
"Science teachers put a lot of effort into connecting what happens in the labs to what goes on in the real world," Suehr said. "We break science down into ways that students might understand, and that helps break through the fear.
"Learning should be fun, but fun isn't necessarily easy."
Sue Adams, of Greensburg, a former chemistry teacher, said she believes learning chemistry can be fun.
"There is all sorts of fun puzzles and learning games for kids in elementary and middle school, but there's nothing out there to make learning chemistry fun for high school students," said Adams, who taught chemistry at Yough for three years. "Just the word 'chemistry' has a reputation — like it's science-fiction stuff and all mysterious. Kids don't have confidence in learning chemistry."
Traditional chemistry teaching materials are dry and boring, said Adams, so she began creating puzzles and fun worksheets for her students. Not only did her students love the work, but Adams found a new career, as an author.
Her book, "Chemistry Puzzles and Games," was published this year and features 25 puzzles and games designed to cover all the major concepts in an introductory chemistry class. The solution to every puzzle is included, as is a glossary; vocabulary listing; and introductory notes for students, parents and teachers.
"It was seeing the students' fears of chemistry that led me to create this book," said Adams. "When I was in college, I had those same fears, and I spent a lot of time studying chemistry. I came to love it.
"When you understand chemistry, you understand so much about the world."
The book sells for $19.95 and can be ordered through Amazon.com or at Adams' Web site, www.gamesforscience.com. Adams is working on other science puzzle books covering physics, earth and space science, and biology.
"You need to spend time with chemistry and let it roll around in your head," Adams said. "Once you get kids over the fear of chemistry, they realize it's fun."
