1. Home
  2. atomic properties

atomic properties

Ion Chip Challenge: A Brain Break for Chemistry Classrooms

Melissa Hemling | Thu, 07/25/2024 - 21:37

The Ion Chip Challenge is an interactive brain break game where students play rock-paper-scissors to exchange electron chips, helping them understand ion formation by addressing common misconceptions about positive and negative charges. This engaging activity combines movement and social interaction, making chemistry concepts more accessible and reinforcing that ions are formed through the transfer of electrons, not protons.

Three-dimensional figure to improve the didactics of the Periodic Table

PABLO CASSINELLO | Mon, 04/04/2022 - 10:00

A kaleidocycle is presented in which the entire periodic table has been collected. In this three-dimensional figure are the elements organized in four blocks according to their final electronic structure. It is intended that students with this playful figure actively participate in classes by rotating their kaleidocycle looking for the groups or elements that are being studied. The entire periodic table fits in one palm of their hands. It is also a didactic device because students only focus their attention on one block or group of elements from the entire Periodic Table. It can be achieved a more entertaining, motivating and exciting learning about the subject of the Periodic Table.

Electrons as Waves?

Thomas Shiland | Fri, 11/19/2021 - 18:01

A simple demonstration for high school chemistry students is described which gives a plausible connection between electrons as waves and the shapes of the s and p orbitals. This demonstration may build a transition from electrons as particles to electrons as waves.

M&Ms as Isotopes

Estelle Lebeau | Thu, 07/04/2019 - 13:34

Use Mega M&Ms, M&Ms minis, and regular M&M’s in this activity to examine the concept of isotopes and average atomic mass. The color of the M&M’s represent that they are the same element and have the same number of protons. The size represents, in a relative sense, the different numbers of neutrons.

March Madness with the Periodic Table

Tom Kuntzleman | Thu, 04/05/2018 - 10:19

This past March, I ran a multi-day poll on Twitter that was designed to be a fun way to determine the “best” element on the periodic table. I’m sharing about the poll here on ChemEdX in case others might want to try something similar in their classrooms.

The Search for the Final Element

Tom Kuntzleman | Thu, 01/28/2016 - 19:33

Have you ever wondered what is the theoretically largest possible value for the atomic number of an element? Using some introductory physics and algebra, you can get your students thinking about this idea.