The atomic dating game
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Catherine E. Matthews, Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: Atoms are lonely hearts that are constantly in search of partners to bring stability to their lives—at Least that's the premise of our Atomic Dating Game, a chemistry activity that helps students visualize and understand how and why atoms combine.
With the exception of the Noble Gases, atoms are unstable on their own. They must combine with atoms of other elements to become stable. When an atom of one element enters into chemical combination with another element, both atoms usually attain a stable outer shell consisting of eight electrons. As a science teacher, 1 realize that this concept is critical to a student's understanding of chemistry. We can see chemicals bubble, change colors, or give off smoke, but unless we examine what is happening on the atomic level, we are presenting chemistry as a magical experience rather than a scientific reality. The Atomic Dating Game was created to help students visualize atoms combining, and to increase student understanding of how, and why, combinations occur.
The atomic dating game
PDF (Portable Document Format)
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Created on 1/1/2002
Views: 31152
Additional Information
- Publication
- Science Scope, 25 (4), 46 – 47.
- Language: English
- Date: 2002
- Keywords
- Atoms, Science teaching, Chemistry, Games,