The purpose of this assignment is to help chemistry students use their scientific understanding and research to understand public issues that relate to chemistry. The idea that prolonged exposure to direct sunlight is harmful represents one of the main reasons why the use of sunblock/sunscreen has been widely promoted. In particular, ultraviolet (UV) rays are known to cause damage to the skin upon direct contact which can lead to various adverse effects such as: premature aging, sunspots, wrinkles, formation of benign and malignant melanomas, cancer, and possibly death. However, it is also known that direct sunlight (and more importantly, its contact with skin that has not been treated with any sunblock/sunscreen) is required for the synthesis of Vitamin D within the human body; which means that to some extent, there is an essential need to actually be exposed to direct sunlight each day. As this issue continues to be debated more and more, the question that mostly remains is whether or not UV rays from the sunlight are ultimately more beneficial or harmful to human beings throughout their lifespan. To address this issue, you will be required to do the following:

Introduce, present, and discuss both perspectives critically based on valid research that exists. Choose a position on where you stand on this particular issue and provide supporting evidence of your claim by citing academic sources.