On Monday, December 19, 2022, professors of the School of Science, University of Hyogo held two mock examinations for first-year students at Higashinada High School.
The first mock examination, conducted by Professor Jun-ichi Yamada, had the title “A Glimpse at Organic Compounds - Let’s Learn Organic Chemistry!”

It began with an explanation of what organic compounds are, and had detailed explanations of the chemistry of carbon from the atomic and molecular levels.
It continued with explanations of examples of organic compounds that we encounter in our daily lives, with illustrations of their chemical structural formulas. Students were able to experience the appeal of organic chemistry while becoming aware of the necessity and depth of organic chemistry.
Thereafter, with regards to SDGs, examples were given of goals that could be understood further through organic chemistry and of organic chemistry being the way to achieve these goals.

The other mock examination, titled “The Past, Current, and Future Global Environment and Microalgae”, was given by Associate Professor Yasuhiro Kashino.
He explained that photosynthesis by microalgae has greatly changed the global environment and the concentration of carbon dioxide has decreased since the birth of the planet.
However, the current reality is that human production activities since the industrial revolution had lead to a dramatic increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide, with continuing global warming.

In that regard, he gave examples of the technological developments for stopping global warming using microalgae and about the production of renewable energy.
He also explained the University of Hyogo’s initiatives for using microalgae to achieve SDGs.


Representatives
　Professor Jun-ichi Yamada
　Associate Professor Yasuhiro Kashino